Increase in Net Income
Net income for the first quarter increased to $35.2 million or $0.70 per share, up from $34.8 million or $0.69 per share in the previous year.
Growth in Net Sales
Net sales rose by 3.7% to $272.1 million compared to $262.5 million last year. Comparable store sales increased by 3%, and online sales grew by 4.5%.
Women's Merchandise Performance
Women's merchandise sales increased by 10.5%, with the denim category seeing an 11% rise. This segment now represents 50% of total sales, up from 47% last year.
Improvement in Gross Margin
Gross margin increased to 46.7%, a 70 basis point improvement from the previous year, driven by a 60 basis point increase in merchandise margins.
Strong Private Label Growth
Private label sales represented 47.5% of total sales, up from 46% last year.