Zumiez is hoping to break even in Europe. It is still losing money in the region, where it ended the past financial year on Feb. 3 with 34 Blue Tomato stores and an internet shop, because of numerous investments in the last couple of years, increased costs, sales shortfalls and writeoffs. Coupled with the revenues of Fast Times Skateboarding's seven stores in Australia, Zumiez' European operations raised their total sales by 21.7 percent to $42.6 million in the fourth quarter, with growth of 9.2 percent in local currencies. For the full financial year, the American action sports retailer's sales outside North America went up by 14.9 percent to $99.6 million. The group's total sales rose by 10.9 percent to $927.4 million, with an encouraging growth of 5.9 percent on a same-store basis. The momentum carried on in the four weeks ended March 3, which saw a 9.2 percent increase on a comparable store basis. While operating earnings rose by 22.7 percent to $48.7 million, the group's net profit grew by 3.4 percent to $26.8 million. They rose by 5.4 percent to $27.3 million excluding special items. This year Zumiez is planning to open up to six new stores in the U.S., five in Europe and two in Australia.

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