Store closures due to the pandemic pushed Clarus Corp.’s sales for the first quarter down by 12 percent to $53.6 million. The parent company of Black Diamond, Pieps and Sierra Bullets saw its net income tumble to $36,000, compared with $3.8 million for the three months ended on March 31, 2019. This included an 18 percent drop in domestic sales to $25.0 million and a 7 percent slide in international sales to $28.5 million. Overall, direct-to-consumer sales advanced by 16 percent.Black Diamond, the biggest brand of the group, saw revenues decline by 13 percent to $45.8 million, hit by store closures in Europe and North America in March. Leading up to that point, revenues for the brand had gone up by double digits. The apparel business was flat. The group’s gross margin contracted by 1.5 percentage points to 34.6 percent, due to inefficiencies and logistics problems caused by the pandemic, along with foreign exchange headwinds. The adjusted Ebitda margin dropped by 5.0 percentage points to 6.8 percent. More in The Outdoor Industry Compass.

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