RH details 2024 growth on heels of disappointing year
RH reported disappointing fourth-quarter earnings and revenue, which the company attributed to shipping delays related to the Red Sea conflict and “severe” January weather.
The luxury furniture and hospitality retailer, however, struck a positive note about the current year. It expects demand to pick up through 2024, forecasting sales growth of 8% to 10%.
“While we expect business conditions to remain challenging until interest rates ease and the housing market begins to rebound, we expect our demand trends to accelerate throughout fiscal 2024,” RH chairman and CEO Gary Friedman said in his quarterly letter to shareholders.
RH reported net income of $11.4 million, or $0. 57 per share. for the quarter ended Feb. 3, compared with $106.9 million, or $4.21 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted earnings were $0.72 cents per share, missing analysts’ estimates of $1.67 per share.
Revenue fell to $738.2 million, also below estimates, down from $772.4 million last year.
For the full fiscal year ended Feb. 3, RH’s adjusted net income plunged to $128 million from $528.6 million last year. Sales fell to $3.03 billion from $3.59 billion.
During the company’s earnings call, Friedman told analysts that 2023 had one of the most “challenging housing markets in three decades.” But he said that RH has been positioned to to gain significant market share in 2024 and beyond while building the foundation for its global expansion across the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and the Middle East during the next several years.
2024 Expansion
The company continues to expand its design galleries (stores) with the opening of five new locations in 2024, including three in California (Palo Alto, Newport Beach and Montecito). Other new locations include Raleigh, N.C., and Cleveland. All the outposts feature restaurants and wine bars, as well as design offices.
In other 2024 plans, the company will unveil its first RH Interior Design Studio, in Palm Desert, California.
“We believe there is an opportunity to address new markets locally by opening Design Studios in neighborhoods, towns and small cities where the wealthy and affluent live, visit and vacation, as well as augmenting some of our Design Galleries in larger markets with additional design services in stand-alone Design Studios,” Friedman said.
On the global front, RH recently opened a gallery in Brussels, and has one scheduled to open in Madrid this summer. The company noted that both galleries are located in beautiful historical buildings “that elevate our product and render our brand more valuable. “
Looking further out, RH announced plans to open in Sydney, Australia, in fall 2026. The Gallery in Double Bay will be a five-story development with a rooftop restaurant and wine bar.
In other global developments, RH Paris has been delayed until spring 2025 due to construction restrictions relating to preparations for the Olympic Games this summer.
The company is also planning to move beyond the home furnishings market into the $1.7 trillion North American housing market with the launch of RH Residences, described as fully furnished luxury homes, condominiums and apartments with integrated services "that deliver taste and time value to discerning time-starved consumers."
Waterworks
RH is increasing its focus on its luxury bath and kitchen brand Waterworks, which it acquired in 2016. It plans to open a 3,500-sq.-ft. Waterworks Showroom in its design gallery in Newport Beach, Calif. in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The company is also developing a new Waterworks sourcebook (RH speak for catalog) with plans for a test mailing in 2025.
“Waterworks today is just shy of a $200 million business with mid-to-high teens EBITDA margin that we believe has the potential to become a billion-dollar global brand on our platform,” Friedman said.
Currently, Waterworks generates the vast majority of its revenues from the trade market, selling to architects, designers, developers and builders, but RH plans to expand the audience.
“We believe there is a significant opportunity to amplify the Waterworks business on the RH platform by exposing the brand to a much larger audience, similar to how we’ve expanded other mostly trade focused businesses and brands over the years,” Friedman said.