Tom Tailor reports 3.4 percent rise in Q1 sales

Tom Tailor Group grew sales by 3.4 percent between January and March to 215.7 million euros (241 million dollars). The company has attributed the strong growth momentum to upbeat performance of the Bonita brand. The Group’s recurring EBITDA amounted to 9.1 million euros (10.1 million dollars) compared to 11.1 million euros (12.4 million dollars) in the previous year.

"We're off to a good start in 2015 and have once again outperformed the market. For the first time, Bonita has substantially contributed to this development. With the new structure established at the beginning of April, we will meet individual customer needs even better than before and thus achieve sustainable growth in sales and earnings," said Dieter Holzer, CEO of Tom Tailor Holding.

In the first quarter, both brands contributed to the sales growth. For the first time, Bonita achieved a 5.8 percent increase in sales. Key factors behind this positive trend were improved product and design quality, as well as shorter procurement times. On a like-for-like basis, brand sales increased by 7.4 percent. The brand contributed 33.5 percent of Group sales.

Compared to the very strong prior year quarter, Tom Tailor Retail recorded a more moderate start to the fiscal year 2015, with January and February being particularly affected. In March, the segment experienced an upward trend. Consequently, sales of 58.9 million euros (65.8 million dollars) in the period under review were slightly below the strong previous-year figures. On a like-for-like basis, sales were down by 4.6 percent. The Tom Tailor Retail segment accounted for 27.3 percent of Group sales.

Tom Tailor Wholesale achieved a 4.2 percent sales increase in the period under review, along with the increase in the number of shop-in-shops from 2,686 to 2,722. In March, the company also entered into a partnership with the e-commerce portal Jabong, which is giving the Tom Tailor brand a presence in the rapidly expanding Indian market.

The Group's gross profit margin decreased from 56.9 percent to 55.3 percent over the first three months of the year. This decline is mainly attributable to the slightly lower gross profit margin of Bonita. Bonita’s gross profit margin, at 65.6 percent, remained high. The Management Board affirmed the 2015 goal of moderate, single-digit growth in Group sales and a recurring EBITDA margin at the previous year's level.