(Filed Under Financial and General Interest News). Wacoal America sales in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016 “exceeded” the previous year, while “operating income on a local currency basis fell” because of “an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses which resulted from increased labor costs, while we controlled PR related costs.”

Despite this, Japan-based parent Wacoal Holdings Corp., noted that operating income for Wacoal America “on a yen converted basis exceeded the results for the previous fiscal year due to the depreciated yen.” Wacoal does not break out separately its exact figures for the U.S.

Wacoal Holdings itself reported a combined increase in sales of 5.8% and a 32.2% increase in net income. The company, which operates in China and other parts of Asia, Europe, Australia and Israel, as well as the U.S., reported a profit of 11,159 millions of yen (about $102 million, at current exchange rates) on sales of 202,917 millions of yen (about $1.86 billion) in its most recent year, compared to net income of 8,444 millions of yen on sales of 191,765 millions of yen in the year ended March 31, 2015.

Wacoal’s intimate apparel brands include Eveden and b.tempt’d among several others.

“In the United States, Wacoal America, Inc. made efforts to improve profits by expanding its share in the high-end market and through enhancing sales of our “b.tempt’d” brand products,” the company stated in its annual report. “Despite inventory control at department stores in the United States, overall sales exceeded the results for the previous fiscal year as a result of strong performance of our core Wacoal brand products and favorable results of our sales from e-commerce websites and of our exports to surrounding countries (Canada).”

Four years ago Wacoal made a dramatic move into the European market when it purchased Eveden (which also owns the Freya, Fantasie, Goddess and Huit brands). In the report the company stated, “With respect to Wacoal Europe, we made efforts to promote our Wacoal portfolio brands’ recognition and to expand sales of the Wacoal brand across Europe and Australia. With regard to sales, sales in the United States and Australia were strong, while sales in the United Kingdom remained unchanged from the previous fiscal year. However, consumer spending in the Eurozone area did not show recovery due to an unstable political and economic atmosphere. Therefore, sales in the Eurozone area fell significantly below the results for the previous fiscal year, due to the impact of the weak performance of our Huit brand products, in addition to the poor performance overall, particularly in France. As a result, total sales on a local currency basis fell below the results for the previous fiscal year, but sales on a yen converted basis remained unchanged from the previous fiscal year. With regard to profit, operating income largely fell below the results for the previous fiscal year as a result of decreased sales and an increase in purchase costs due to the appreciation of the dollar.”

Wacoal Holdings also discussed its overall predictions for the rest of the year ahead. “In our domestic business, while we cope with the downsizing of existing distribution channels and promote streamlining of organization, human recourses and inventory, we will initiate infrastructure development to place our directly managed stores and e-commerce websites at the core of future customer contact. In addition, we will review our business infrastructure allocated separately for each business division and make efforts to achieve efficient resources allocation. In our overseas business, we will work to stabilize profits in the United States, Europe and China, the three largest markets in the world, and thereby establish a stable management structure. We will make efforts to enhance competitiveness by promoting collaboration among group companies. In addition to our aim to stabilize our production base in the ASEAN region in the early phase, for which we have already taken initiatives, we will enhance the production capability of Lecien.” There are various Lecien divisions across Asia.

Wacoal noted that “Our overseas business is and will always be our group’s biggest growth engine. An accurate understanding of the social environment and consumers’ needs in each country and region and the establishment of community-based product and marketing strategies will be essential for us. In addition to expanding sales in emerging markets, we will work to enhance our brand recognition in the United States, to enhance our management system for our business in Europe, and to further improve profitability for our business in China, and work to build a stable management structure in these three largest markets in the world.”

“We are also facing challenges in an increasingly difficult external environment for manufacturing due to increasing salaries in Asian countries and risks from the procurement of raw materials. We will strengthen the collaboration among group companies to extend our global supply chain and to enable the improvement of product competitiveness and a stable supply.”

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Published 05-12-2016 by Nick Monjo