Baker's Plans 35 New Units

ST. LOUIS-Bakers Footwear Group Inc. says its number one priority this year is to expand its store base. The specialty retailer, which sells moderately priced fashion footwear for young women, will open 30 to 35 new units this year alone, in addition to remodeling 20 to 25 existing stores.

Baker’s chairman and CEO Peter Edison outlined the growth plan during the chain’s fourth-quarter earnings conference call. During the quarter, the chain opened six stores in its new Bakers format, ending the year with 118 stores in this format. At the end of fiscal year 2005, the company operated a total of 235 Bakers and Wild Pair stores.

“For 2006, our priorities are to continue to expand our store base while appealing to our consumers with differentiated and stylish footwear and with creative marketing,” Edison said during the conference call. “We continue to believe our current initiatives in merchandising and marketing, along with the success of our new store format, has us poised to deliver another year of solid performance in fiscal 2006.”

For the fiscal year ended Jan. 28, 2006, net sales increased 29.1% to $194.8 million, compared to net sales of $150.9 million for fiscal 2005. Comparable store sales increased 16.7%, compared to a comparable store sales increase of 1.4% last year. Gross profit increased 45.9% to $65.3 million, or 33.5% of net sales, compared to $44.8 million, or 29.7% of net sales for the same period last year. The chain’s net income increased $7.3 million to $6.6 million from a net loss of $695,000 in the comparable period. Fiscal year 2005 diluted earnings per share increased to $1.04 compared to a loss per share of 14 cents in the comparable period last year.

The strong yearly results were favorably impacted by record fourth-quarter results, Edison said during the call. Net sales in the fourth quarter were up 37.7% to $61.3 million from $44.5 million for same period last year. Comparable store sales increased 24.5%, compared to a 0.1% decline during the same period last year.

Gross profit increased 54.7% to $23.1 million, or 37.7% of net sales, compared to $14.9 million, or 33.5% of net sales, in the same period last year. The chain’s net income increased $2.9 million to $4.5 million compared to net income of $1.6 million in the comparable period in the prior year. Fourth quarter fiscal 2005 diluted earnings per share increased to 68 cents, compared to 31 cents for the same period last year.

During the fourth quarter, boots, dress shoes and closed casual footwear were strong sellers, according to Bakers president Michele Bergerac.

Looking forward, Edison said that he expects closed dress and casual footwear to perform well during the first quarter, pushing comparable store sales to low- to mid-single-digit growth.