Abercrombie pins lacklustre Holiday sales outlook on supply chain hurdles
U.S. apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch
The New Albany
“After a strong start to the quarter in inventory receipts and product sell-through, we experienced unexpected inventory receipt slides in key categories due to extended port and transportation delays,” said Fran Horowitz, chief executive officer, Abercrombie & Fitch.
“As a result, we did not have enough inventory to keep pace with customer demand, resulting in lost sales during the peak holiday selling period. While all brands were impacted, Hollister
For fiscal 2021, net sales are expected to be up between 19% and 20%, compared to 2020 net sales of $3.125 billion and up 2% to 3% compared to 2019 net sales of $3.623 billion. Abercrombie also predicts full-year operating margin of 9% to 10%, in-line with its previous outlook, compared with adjusted non-GAAP operating margins of 1.7% and 2.3% in fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019, respectively.
“I am incredibly proud of how our global teams and partners have continued to execute in the face of ongoing Covid-related disruptions, putting us on track to achieve our highest annual operating income and margin in over a decade,” concluded Horowitz.
