The Chinese sportswear retailer offering a portfolio of athletic brands, dominated by Nike and Adidas, suffered a 25 percent drop in net income attributable to shareholders to 1,836.6-million-yuan renminbi (€258.8m) for the 12 months ended Feb. 28. Gross margin slipped by 170 basis points to 41.7 percent from 43.3 percent in the prior year as the group cleared out excessive inventory die weak market demand.
Annual revenues fell by 15 percent to RMB 27,073.2 million (€3.81b), but online sales rose to more than 20 percent of the total. FY sales of Nike and Adidas fell by 15.4 percent year-over-year to RMB 23,324.0 million (€3.29b). Revenues generated by other brands, including Puma, Converse, Vans, The North Face, Timberland, and Skechers, among others, decreased by 12 percent to RMB 3,520.3 million (€496.0m). The group’s average inventory turnover period increased to 149.5 days from 130.4 days in the prior year.
By increasing its number of retail stores at 300 sq. meters or larger to 1,056 doors from 989 the prior year, Topsports’ single-store selling area increased by 9.2 percent last year despite a 14.7 percent decline in the total number of stores to 6,565 and a 6.8 percent drop in gross selling area.
