Zumiez reports that the sales of Blue Tomato rose by 33.6 percent to $64.4 million in the first quarter ended on May 2, in spite of a negative currency impact of $5.0 million. The parent company's total sales went up by 9.0 percent to $178 million, with growth of 3.0 percent on a comparable store basis. The gross margin improved to 31.8 percent, but the operating margin remained at 2.3 percent. The company's net income went up by 11 percent to $2,770,000 from $2,496,000, including higher charges of about $1.1 million related to the acquisition of Blue Tomato. After a weak month of May, a slowdown is expected for the full year, with sales predicted to rise by less than 5 percent in spite of the opening of six stores in Europe and 51 in North America. As of May 30, the group operated a total of 627 stores - 567 in the U.S., 38 in Canada and 22 in Europe - in addition to its e-commerce operations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

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