Surf retailer Tilly's rides sales wave in Q4

Marketing and a strong assortment helped teen retailer Tilly’s report an increase in profits and same store sales in the fourth quarter.

Revenues increased 9.2% from last year to $152.82 million. Analysts expected revenues of $151.43 million. The company said same store sales, which include e-commerce sales, increased 2.9% from the corresponding period in 2013.

“I am very pleased with the continued progress we have made on our initiatives to increase sales and profitability, which delivered positive comparable stores sales and fourth quarter earnings above our upwardly revised expectations and up 32% year-over-year. We achieved healthy product margins and exited this period with inventory well positioned for the Spring season,” said Daniel Griesemer, president and CEO. “I am very proud of the hard work and disciplined execution of our team during the past year. The fundamentals of our business are strong and I believe we are prepared to take advantage of the opportunities we see to further improve our business performance in fiscal 2015 and the longer term.”

The company has previously outlined differentiation in its product assortment, better marketing initiatives and improved e-commerce as its focus areas for 2015.

For the full fiscal year of 2014, the specialty retailer reported net income of $14.1 million, or $0.50 per diluted share. Revenue was reported as $518.3 million, an increase of 4.5% compared to $495.8 million for the prior year. The company also announced that Jason Nazar was appointed to the board of directors. Nazar is the co-founder of Docstoc Inc., an online subscription service for small businesses.

“We are pleased to welcome Jason Nazar to the Tilly’s board of directors,” said Hezy Shaked, executive chairman. “Nazar’s executive experience with e-commerce and online business strategy will be of immense value as we continue to focus on that important aspect of our business.”

The company expects first quarter same store sales to increase in the low single digits, and net income per diluted share to be in the range of $0.03 to $0.05.

Tilly's is a fast-growing specialty retailer of West Coast inspired apparel, footwear and with 211 stores and its website, www.tillys.com.