// VF Corp books 2% full-year sales uptick but expects Q1 sales to halve
// In Q4, sales plummeted 11%
// VF Corp has started to re-open stores across the globe and expects all to reopen by mid-2020
VF Corp has reported a slight increase in full-year sales but warned of a potential halving of its first quarter revenue as countries slowly start to ease their Covid-19 lockdowns.
For the year ending March 28, the parent company of The North Face and Vans saw full-year revenue increase by two per cent, or four per cent in constant dollars, to $10.5 billion (£8.53 billion).
However, for the final quarter of that year, revenue tumbled by 11 per cent – or 10 per cent constant dollars – to $2.1 billion (£1.7 billion) due to plummeting consumer demand amid lockdowns in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
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VF Corp also reported a net loss of $483.8 million (£392.9 million) for the fourth quarter, compared to a profit of $128.8 million in the same period last year.
As a result of the pandemic, VF Corp said it now expects revenues in the first quarter of the current financial year to be down more than 50 per cent.
“Through the first 10 months of fiscal 2020 our business delivered results above our stated long-term growth objectives,” VF Corp cheif executive Steve Rendle said.
“Then the world changed for all of us as a result of Covid-19.
“As we’ve implemented measures to care for and protect our people, we’ve also taken several key actions to advance our Enterprise Protection Strategy.”
VF Corp said these measures include a $3 billion bond offering, the temporary suspension of its share repurchase plan, the previously announced divestiture of its Occupational Workwear business, and temporary salary reductions for its executive leadership team.
The retail giant also said it had around $3 billion cash on hand as well as around $2.2 billion available through its revolving credit facility.
“These prudent actions, most of which have been precautionary, have helped us preserve liquidity and given us more flexibility to manage our global business operations through the prolonged crisis,” Rendle said.
“Moving forward we’re committed to using this moment to set VF and our brands up for the next successful chapter in our 121-year history.”
VF Corp added that while all of its retail stores in the APAC region, including mainland China, have reopened, traffic remains “significantly” down compared with the same period last year.
It has also kicked off a phased reopening of its retail stores across the EMEA region, and is preparing for the same in North America.
The company expects all of its retail stores globally to be open again by mid-2020.
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