Stitch Fix returns to sales growth, narrows earnings losses
Stitch Fix announced on Wednesday sales returned to growth in the third quarter, as the U.S. subscription fashion service continues to turnaround a decline in its customer numbers.
The San Francisco-based company said revenues rose 0.7%, compared to a 5.5% decline in the prior quarter, to reach $325 million for the three months ending May 3.
The gain was propelled by a 3.2% increase in revenue per active client to $542, partially offset by a 10.6% drop in active client numbers to 2.353 million.
The company also managed to narrow net losses to $7.4 million, compared to a net loss of $21.3 million in the prior-year period.
'Stitch Fix delivered strong third quarter results, marked by our overall return to year-over-year revenue growth,' said Matt Baer, CEO, Stitch Fix.
'Our performance, which exceeded expectations, is the direct result of the strength of the Stitch Fix value proposition and the team's disciplined execution of our strategy. Now in the growth phase of our transformation, we are focused on cementing our role as the retailer of choice for apparel and accessories by consistently delivering the most client-centric and personalized shopping experience.'
Looking ahead, the company said it now expects full-year sales to be between $1.254 billion and $1.259 billion for a decline of 6.2% to 5.9%, compared to its prior sales guidance of $1.225 billion and $1.24 billion, or down 8.4% to 7.3% for the year.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fashion Network
13 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Fabletics names new marketing chief among management promotions
Fabletics announced on Wednesday the promotion of Carly Gomez to the role of chief marketing officer, alongside the expansion of Meera Bhatia's role from chief operating officer to the U.S. activewear brand's president and COO. Bhatia joined Fabletics in February 2020. As COO, she has led strategies across e-commerce, production, operations, and technology, while driving the brand's expansion into new channels. The California-based brand said her appointment to president and COO will see her remit now include product creation, retail, wholesale, and international operations, aligning both brand and operations. Likewise, Gomez joined Fabletics as senior vice president of brand marketing in April 2024. In her new role as CMO, she will lead all brand, digital innovation and customer engagement initiatives. 'Meera and Carly have been exceptional leaders for our team during a pivotal point in our growth trajectory,' said Adam Goldenberg, co-founder and CEO of Fabletics, who said both leaders will continue to play critical roles in propelling the brand forward, as it enters its next phase of growth. 'This is a big year for Fabletics, as we are on track exceed $1 billion in revenue while continuing to expand our retail fleet beyond our current 100+ stores. We're introducing new store formats and pursuing plans for international expansion – all while continuing to deliver the innovative partnerships and best-in-class product we are known for. We are thrilled to have Meera and Carly expand their roles and position us for continued success.' Last October, the brand announced its expansion into Mexico through a partnership with Liverpool, a local omnichannel retail group founded nearly 200 years ago.
Euronews
17 hours ago
- Euronews
EU remains ‘highly vulnerable' and dependent on US defence production
Despite recent efforts to boost European defence production, the bloc remains 'highly vulnerable' and heavily reliant on the United States—particularly for major, high-end defence equipment—according to a new analysis by the Brussels-based economic think tank Bruegel. Trade statistics show that the value of weapons imported to Europe increased from approximately $3.4 billion for the period 2019–2021 to $8.5 billion for 2022–2024 across the 27 member states, with the US leading this increase despite concerns over its capabilities. 'Europe has the industrial production capacities to increase production of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles,' said Guntramm Wolff, Bruegel's senior fellow, during the launch of the report Fit for war by 2030? on Friday morning.* 'What is more concerning is the more modern weapons systems, where we have limited capabilities,' he added. Bruegel and Kiel Institute for the World Economy researchers have detected that the reliance on the US for certain defence and security domains is very high, including hypersonic missiles, next generation jets, AI integrated systems and intelligence services. 'There has been some increase in various systems—artillery in particular has grown substantially—but these increases are still relatively small compared to the overall demand,' Wolff said. For example, the report notes that Europe held 1,627 main battle tanks in 2023, while projections suggest 2,359 to 2,920 will be needed in the coming years, depending on the scenario. As for air defence systems such as the Patriot and SAMP/T, stock levels in 2024 stood at 35 units—far below the 89 required. 'Major investments in research and development will be essential,' the authors advise EU policymakers and national governments, especially given Europe's lagging defence R&D compared to global competitors. In 2023, Europe invested €13 billion in military R&D. By contrast, China invested €21 billion, while the US allocated a staggering $145 billion. In March, the European Commission unveiled its rearmament initiative—now called Defence Readiness 2030—with a target of mobilising up to €800 billion to address the bloc's most critical defence shortfalls. Meanwhile, NATO is expected to call on its 32 members to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2032—or potentially by 2035—a target Spain has already criticised as 'unreasonable'. But simply increasing budgets won't solve the problem, the report warns. 'More military spending will not automatically and immediately translate into military capabilities, especially if the defence industrial base is already under strain,' the researchers argue. The real challenge, they stress, lies in converting funding into tangible capabilities through a coherent, forward-looking strategic and operational plan. With the European defence market still highly fragmented, greater integration would improve cost-effectiveness. But alongside procurement reform, military planning must also be strengthened. 'This is really about rebuilding the ability to understand war through the lens of peer conflict—and that is just as much of a challenge as disbursing the money,' said Dr. Alexandr Burilkov, assistant director for research at the GLOBSEC GeoTech Center. According to the researchers' estimates, even the proposed €800 billion may fall short—insufficient to cover the development of missile capabilities, procurement of tanks, artillery, and infantry fighting vehicles, modernisation of forces, and investment in air defence systems. Russian drones struck the Black Sea port city of Odesa and the northeastern city of Kharkiv overnight, killing at least one person, Ukrainian officials have said. The attacks against Odesa sparked fires in several apartment blocks, Ukraine's Emergency Service said. Flames engulfed a four-storey residential building in the city, which partly collapsed and injured three emergency workers. A separate blaze spread across the upper section of a 23-storey high-rise, leading to the evacuation of 600 residents. In total, one person was killed and 14 others were wounded in the overnight strikes against the port city, according to Odesa's regional prosecutor's office. At least eight drones hit civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv, injuring two children and two others, Ukraine's Emergency Service said. A further four people were wounded in a second Russian strike on Friday. Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 80 Shahed and decoy drones overnight, with Ukrainian air defences intercepting or jamming 70 of them. A Russian missile strike on a nine-storey Kyiv apartment building earlier this week was a sign that more pressure must be applied on Moscow to agree to a ceasefire, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday. The drone and missile attack on Kyiv early Tuesday, the deadliest assault on the capital this year, killed 28 people across the city and wounded 142 others, Kyiv Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said. 'This attack is a reminder to the world that Russia rejects a ceasefire and chooses killing,' Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram, and thanked Ukraine's partners who he said are ready to pressure Russia to 'feel the real cost of the war". As Russia proceeds with a summer offensive across the roughly 1,000-kilometre front line, US-led peace efforts have failed to gain traction. Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively rejected an offer from US President Donald Trump for an immediate 30-day ceasefire, making it conditional on a halt to Ukraine's mobilisation effort and a freeze on Western arms supplies. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday that the date for the next round of peace talks is expected to be set next week. Ukrainian officials have not recently spoken about resuming talks with Russia, last held when delegations met in Istanbul on 2 June, though Ukraine continues to offer a ceasefire and support US-led diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting. The two rounds of brief talks yielded only agreements on the exchange of prisoners and wounded soldiers.
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Monsters and memes: Labubu dolls ride China soft-power wave
Beijing-based Pop Mart is part of a rising tide of Chinese cultural exports gaining traction abroad, furry ambassadors of a "cool" China even in places associated more with negative public opinion of Beijing such as Europe and North America. Labubus, which typically sell for around $40, are released in limited quantities and sold in "blind boxes", meaning buyers don't know the exact model they will receive. The dolls are "a bit quirky and ugly and very inclusive, so people can relate", interior designer Lucy Shitova told AFP at a Pop Mart store in London, where in-person sales of Labubus have been suspended over fears that fans could turn violent in their quest for the toys. "Now everything goes viral... because of social media. And yes, it's cool. It's different." While neighbouring East Asian countries South Korea and Japan are globally recognised for their high-end fashion, cinema and pop songs, China's heavily censored film and music industry have struggled to attract international audiences, and the country's best-known clothing exporter is fast-fashion website Shein. There have been few success stories of Chinese companies selling upmarket goods under their own brands, faced with stereotypes of cheap and low-quality products. "It has been hard for the world's consumers to perceive China as a brand-creating nation," the University of Maryland's Fan Yang told AFP. Pop Mart has bucked the trend, spawning copycats dubbed by social media users as "lafufus" and detailed YouTube videos on how to verify a doll's authenticity. Brands such as designer womenswear label Shushu/Tong, Shanghai-based Marchen and Beijing-based handbag maker Songmont have also gained recognition abroad over the past few years. "It might just be a matter of time before even more Chinese brands become globally recognisable," Yang said. TikTok effect Through viral exports like Labubu, China is "undergoing a soft-power shift where its products and image are increasingly cool among young Westerners," said Allison Malmsten, an analyst at China-based Daxue Consulting. Malmsten said she believed social media could boost China's global image "similar to that of Japan in the 80s to 2010s with Pokemon and Nintendo". Video app TikTok -- designed by China's ByteDance -- paved the way for Labubu's ascent when it became the first Chinese-branded product to be indispensable for young people internationally. Joshua Kurlantzick from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) told AFP that "TikTok probably played a role in changing consumers' minds about China". TikTok, which is officially blocked within China but still accessible with VPN software, has over one billion users, including what the company says is nearly half of the US population. The app has become a focus of national security fears in the United States, with a proposed ban seeing American TikTok users flock to another Chinese app, Rednote, where they were welcomed as digital "refugees". A conduit for Chinese social media memes and fashion trends, TikTok hosts over 1.7 million videos about Labubu. Labubumania Cultural exports can "improve the image of China as a place that has companies that can produce globally attractive goods or services", CFR's Kurlantzick told AFP. "I don't know how much, if at all, this impacts images of China's state or government," he said, pointing to how South Korea's undeniable soft power has not translated into similar levels of political might. While plush toys alone might not translate into actual power, the United States' chaotic global image under the Trump presidency could benefit perceptions of China, the University of Maryland's Yang said. "The connection many make between the seeming decline of US soft power and the potential rise in China's global image may reflect how deeply intertwined the two countries are in the minds of people whose lives are impacted by both simultaneously," she told AFP. At the very least, Labubu's charms appear to be promoting interest in China among the younger generation. "It's like a virus. Everyone just wants it," Kazakhstani mother-of-three Anelya Batalova told AFP at Pop Mart's theme park in Beijing. Qatari Maryam Hammadi, 11, posed for photos in front of a giant Labubu statue. "In our country, they love Labubu," she said.
