G-III revenue up 14 percent in Q4, but swings to loss

G-III Apparel Group swung to a loss in the fourth quarter ended January 31 despite revenue increasing 14.2 percent year-on-year.

The Nasdaq-listed company, whose portfolio includes brands Karl Lagerfeld, DKNY, and Donna Karan, made a net loss of 261.1 million dollars compared to a profit of 48.4 million dollars a year earlier.

That came as revenue increased to 854.4 million dollars from 748.2 million dollars the prior year.

For the full year, the company made a net loss of 133.1 million dollars, compared to a profit of 200.6 million dollars a year earlier, while its sales increased 16.6 percent to 3.23 billion dollars.

Chief executive Morris Goldfarb said the company made “significant progress” in the year “despite a challenging environment”.

“We successfully shifted our category focus based on market demand and expanded our brand ownership and global reach with our Karl Lagerfeld acquisition,” he said.

Full-year outlook

Looking ahead, the company now expects net sales for the coming year to remain flat, and for net income to drop to between 117 million dollars and 122 million dollars, citing inflationary pressure and incremental costs associated with managing higher levels of inventory.

Goldfarb also announced the re-positioning and expansion of its Donna Karan brand in Spring 2024, which will include it being “distributed in better department stores, digital channels, and our own Donna Karan website in North America and internationally”.

He also announced that G-III has signed a long-term license with Reebok-owner Authentic Brands Group for the Nautica brand in North America.

Goldfarb said: “Donna Karan and Nautica are two of the most recognized American lifestyle brands with significant opportunity in the women’s space.

“Our track record of having successfully grown major brands to more than 3 billion dollars in net sales today, gives us confidence in our ability to unlock the potential of both Donna Karan and Nautica.”