New Wave Group, which counts 13 brands within its sports & leisure segment, reported a 39 percent drop in Q2 operating income to 74 million Swedish kronor (€6.6m) for the unit. Segment sales for the parent of Craft and Cutter & Buck, among others, declined by 5.1 percent to SEK 910 million (€81.5m) for the period ended June 30. Segment gross margin inched up 10 basis points to 56.0 percent.
The Swedish company, which is seeing some signs of a market turnaround that is difficult to predict due to various factors, suffered a 20 percent decline in Q2 net income to SEK 167 million (€15.0m). Total revenues fell by 4.1 percent to SEK 2,300 million (€206.0m) and year-over-year gross margin contracted by 100 basis points to 48.0 percent. Sales for the period were negatively impacted by currency translation, including by approximately 10 percent in North America.
During Q2, the group continued to make investments in warehouse automation, IT and marketing. One of New Wave’s Dutch companies became the first in the group to implement a new warehouse automation system, HA1 Robotics, and introduced a new ERP system. But both outlays negatively impacted sales and profitability during the quarter.
