DXL REPORTS INCREASED EARNINGS AND NEW MARKETING INITIATIVES

by Brian Lipton Mar 20, 2017

Massachusetts-based Destination XL Group, Inc. the largest omni-channel specialty retailer of big and tall men’s apparel, has reported its operating results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2016.

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016, EBITDA for the quarter increased 48.2 percent to $10.8 million from $7.3 million in the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, total sales declined 1.1 percent to $122.6 million from $124.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, and the company posted a comparable sales decrease of $2.7 million, or 2.4 percent. Sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 were negatively impacted by the overall weakness in the retail environment. In addition, the company now believes its decision to eliminate a fall marketing campaign also had a negative impact on our fourth quarter sales.

For fiscal 2016, EBITDA increased 35.8 percent to $31.6 million from $23.3 million in the prior year. Meanwhile, total sales for the year increased 1.8 percent to $450.3 million from $442.2 million in fiscal 2015.

“Despite the 2016 retail environment being one of the most challenging in recent memory, we were very pleased to deliver strong growth in EBITDA and free cash flow,” said the company’s president CEO David Levin. “We enter the new fiscal year keenly focused on continuing to grow our customer base by leveraging our fully developed fleet of DXL stores and elevating our digital distribution channel. Six out of ten big and tall guys still do not know who we are and, therefore, our top priority in 2017 is customer retention and acquisition. We intend to fuel that objective with a marketing dollar increase of approximately 40 percent this year, including reinstituting television advertising beginning April 2nd.”

Levin also commented on the fact the DXL now has over 200 stores in the U.S. and Canada, including a just-opened store in South Portland, Maine, giving it greater scale to reach its customers. The company is also accelerating its efforts to build a stronger online experience designed for both existing and new customers.