West Marine Reports Mixed Q3 Financial Results

By Tom Kaiser
(October 25, 2013) – West Marine, the country’s largest specialty retailer of boating supplies and accessories, reported its third-quarter financial results showing pre-tax income down 23.2 percent compared to the same time last year.

For the period ending September 28, 2013, West Marine’s net revenues were $193.4 million, an increase of 0.7 percent compared to last year. Comparable store sales increased by 0.9 percent, partially due to using a new definition that now includes direct-to-consumer and wholesale sales channels.
The company reaffirmed its 2013 full-year pre-tax guidance, which predicts that its pre-tax income will be in the range of $15.5 million to $17.5 million, compared to pre-tax income of $24.3 million for 2013.

Matt Hyde, CEO of West Marine, bluntly said, “None of us are satisfied with this year’s results. This keeps us extremely focused on redirecting resources to higher-value work and investing to position West Marine to deliver steady, predictable, profitable growth.”

He continued by outlining the company’s plans to continue its expansion into ecommerce and repositioning the company into both a boat parts supplier and a lifestyle retailer.

“This repositioning is not a dramatic shift from the work we’ve been been doing for several years … what’s different is that we’re going to accelerate this evolution through our growth strategies.”
Beyond expanding its online retailing, West Marine has renovated a handful of stores to accommodate additional lifestyle products. The company is also working on a new website, as well as a new portal for its PortSupply.com business, which Hyde said is an outlet for growing the core products part of the company.

West Marine also opened three new flagship stores in Portland, Oregon, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Newport Beach, California. Hyde said its Newport Beach location best exemplifies the company’s future retail strategies.

For the upcoming holiday season, the company is undergoing tests at 20 locations in an effort to increase holiday sales at large-format locations, but he added that the changes in these stores would likely not be enough to significantly impact the company’s overall 2013 performance. Full Report