Outdoor lifestyle brand Roots has recorded total sales of C$41.5m ($31.1m) in the first quarter (Q1) of fiscal year (FY) 2023, down 3.7% from C$43.1m ($32.29m) in the same period of FY22.
During the quarter ending 29 April 2023, gross profit was C$24.5m ($18.36m), a drop of 6.6% from C$26.2m ($19.63m) in FY22.
The retailer’s gross margin declined 190 basis points (bps) to 59.0% from 60.9% a year ago.
Direct-to-customer (DTC) sales, comprising corporate retail stores and e-commerce, reached C$35.4m ($26.5m), down by 5.3% from the same quarter of the prior year.
Sales for Partners & Other (P&O), comprising wholesale Roots branded products, licensing to select manufacturing partners and selling certain custom products, increased to C$6.1m ($4.5m) in Q1 FY23.
The retailer’s net loss was C$8.0m ($5.98m) in Q1 FY23 from C$5.3m ($3.9m) in Q1 FY22 and its loss per share was C$0.19 ($0.14) against C$0.13 ($0.09) a year ago.
Roots president and chief executive officer Meghan Roach said: "Our Q1 2023 results aligned with our internal projections and reflect a challenging economic environment.
"Considering our historical patterns, it is worth noting that the first quarter traditionally represents less than 15% of our annual sales. Consequently, our results also include several of the strategic investments made in our business during the first half of the year that support our revenue-intensive second half."
Roach added: “In Q1, we achieved our highest average unit revenue in the company's history while maintaining gross margins above pre-pandemic levels."
