Torrid makes two C-suite appointments; Q1 sales fall 4.8%
Torrid Holdings Inc. announced several executive changes and also reported its first-quarter results.
The retailer, which specializes in apparel and intimates for women sizes 10 to 30, promoted chief technology officer Hyon Park to COO, and Ashlee Wheeler, senior VP of company planning & strategy, to chief planning officer, with both appointments effective immediately. In other changes, Mark Mizicko, chief commercial officer, is retiring.
As COO, Park, in addition to his responsibilities as chief technology officer and supply chain management, will also have oversight of store operations. Park joined Torrid in 2022 as chief technology officer from Belk, where he served as executive VP, CIO.
As chief planning officer, Wheeler will lead all facets of planning, strategy, pricing & promotion, omni-channel fulfillment and analytics, with an emphasis on growth. Wheeler has been with Torrid for 13 years in a variety of roles of increasing responsibility including merchandise planning, commercial planning, and inventory management
First quarter
Torrid reported net income of $12.2 million, or $0.12 per share, for the quarter ended May 4, compared to net income of $11.8 million, or $0.11 per share in the the year-ago quarter.
Net sales decreased 4.8% to $279.8 million compared to $293.9 million for the first quarter of last year. Comparable sales decreased 9%.
Adjusted EBITDA was $38.2 million, or 13.7% of net sales, compared to $38.3 million, or 13.0% of net sales, in the first quarter of last year.
"We are pleased with our start to fiscal 2024,” said Torrid CEO Lisa Harper. "In the first quarter we delivered higher-than-expected adjusted EBITDA driven by strong gross margin expansion, while maintaining our focus on tightly controlling inventory levels. Our customers responded positively to our ongoing assortment changes, leading to improved traffic and sales throughout the quarter.”
Torrid ended the quarter with 658 stores.