Digital sales up 35.1% at Hudson's Bay Company

A big jump in digital sales and the integration of Saks Fifth Avenue helped Hudson’s Bay Co. post a larger increase in profit in the fourth quarter.

HBC said its digital sales were up 35.1% from a year earlier, rising to $304 million — about 11.5% of the total. Net income increased to $111 million or 61 cents per share, in the quarter ended Feb. 1, nearly four times higher than a year earlier when the company had expenses related to its purchase of Saks Inc. in mid-2013. The stronger U.S. dollar also helped bump up HBC's profit, which is reported in Canadian dollars.

Same-store sales overall were up 3.2%, including a 2.6% improvement at its Saks Fifth Avenue stores and a 12.1% jump at its discount Off 5th stores. The retailer said total sales rose 9.3% to 2.63 billion Canadian dollars ($2.11 billion) from C$2.41 billion a year earlier.

“It was a strong conclusion to a successful year for our company,” said Richard Baker, HBC's governor and executive chairman. “Sales growth, further progress with the Saks integration and continued strength at HBC Digital has us well-positioned to deliver on our fiscal 2015 strategic priorities and initiatives.” The company operates 322 stores under the Hudson's Bay, Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue, OFF 5th and Home Outfitters brands. “

With great teams in place and building off the momentum established in 2014, we believe there are tremendous opportunities to drive growth across our retail banners, including strengthening the connection between our store and digital businesses, expanding our off-price business and investing in our world-class store base,” Baker added.

The company said it plans to invest $50 million in growth initiatives in fiscal 2015.