Fossil Q4 and FY15 sales down

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Feb 18, 2016

Texas based Fossil Group, Inc. released its Q4 results showing global sales down 2% over Q4 last year, and annual sales for FY15 also decreased 1% over the previous year.

Fossil pointed to the stronger US dollar having a negative impact on net sales by $55.6 million for Q4, and $207.5 million for the fiscal year which comes out to 1% annually using the constant currency model. Constant currency factors in the fluctuations of the US dollar to give investors a better understanding of underlying trends in the business.

Using those figures to see underlying trends in business, sales still shrunk across the Americas, with watch sales down 3% from the previous year. Leathers and jewelry sales increased, however for the brand most known for watches, a decrease in sales is troublesome.

Kosta Kartsotis, Chief Executive Officer, commented on the results, saying “we anticipated economic, competitive and consumer headwinds, which all materialized and in some cases intensified, putting pressure on sales and earnings.  Despite disappointing operating results, our team remained focused on our strategic priorities to strengthen our leadership position in our core business and to extend that leadership further through our investments in wearable technology.”

Kartsotis noted the company’s digital focus, with “the launch of a new Fossil website and elevated our CRM initiatives, which combined drove double-digit growth across our e-commerce channel,” as well as the acquisition of Misfit, a platform to help drive wearables.

In addition to the Fossil and Skagen brands, Fossil acquired Kate Spade New York and Chaps as well during FY15.

Kartosis concluded, “we remain very optimistic about our future and confident in our long-term strategies.  As a global leader in the traditional watch market, we will continue to leverage our many competitive advantages to earn a disproportionate share of the anticipated growth in the category.”