Wacoal US: $44M Annual Loss

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Wacoal International Corp. (U.S.), the Americas segment of the company, reported an operating loss of 6.884 billion yen, (about $43.8 million at current exchange rates) on revenue of 28.038 billion yen, (about $178.3 million), in the year ended March 31.

The year before, the division reported an operating loss of 9.448 billion yen (about $60.1 million) on revenue of 28.014 billion yen (about $178.1 million). Wacoal Europe Ltd, which sells some of its brands in the U.S. as well as Europe, reported an operating profit of 1.816 billion yen (about $11.5 million) on revenue 20.353 billion yen (about $129.3 million), compared to an operating profit of 1.680 billion yen (about $10.7 million) on revenue of 19.184 billion yen (about $121.9 million) in the previous year.

Parent Wacoal Holdings Corp., which is based in Japan and has other divisions worldwide, reported a company-wide loss of 8.743 billion yen (about $ 55.6 million) on total revenue of 187.208 billion yen (about $1.19 billion) for the twelve months ended March 31, 2024.

The company explained that “sales from Wacoal International Corp. (U.S.) fell below the level in the previous fiscal year mainly due to a significant decrease in revenue from Intimates Online, which was decided to be withdrawn from the business.” That segment represented the Lively brand.

“Sales from retail store channel of Wacoal America, Inc., which distributes “Wacoal” brand, remained strong on the back of solid growth in consumer spending. And sales from our e-commerce business also showed strong sales due to sales promotion activities and strengthening of digital marketing,” the company continued. “On the other hand, sales of third-party e-commerce websites were lower than expected, partly due to the continued restraint on purchases by wholesale stores, resulting in a decrease in revenue on a local currency basis. Sales from Intimates Online fell short of our expectations despite our efforts to sell down inventory through discount promotions since November.”

“Sales from Wacoal Europe Ltd. in the United Kingdom and the Europe, its main markets, remained at the same level as the previous fiscal year for both markets due to a recovery in sales from retail stores during the current consolidated fourth quarter, despite the negative impacts of the suspension of shipments due to a cyber security incident in September and a decrease in sales of our swimwear products caused by a cool summer. On the other hand, overall sales from Wacoal Europe Ltd. declined on a local currency basis due to weak sales in the United States and other regions.”

The company noted that its company-wide loss was “mainly due to the impact of the recording of impairment charges of 7.80 billion yen [about $49.6 million] on goodwill related to the business withdrawal and liquidation of Intimates Online at Wacoal International Corp. (U.S.). — NM