ZUMIEZ ACQUIRES AUSTRALIAN SKATE RETAILER
Washington-based specialty retailer Zumiez, Inc. has acquired 100 percent of the outstanding stock of Fast Times Skateboarding for $6.9 million consisting of $5.5 million in cash and $1.4 million in shares of common stock subject to certain pre-closing and post-closing adjustments.
Founded in 2008, Fast Times is an Australian specialty retailer of skateboards, hardware, apparel and footwear and currently operates 5 stores and an e-commerce website. Fast Times will continue to operate under the Fast Times name and be headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.
“Fast Times is an important component of the Zumiez global retail network and joins our existing operations in the United States, Canada, and Europe,” said Rick Brooks, chief executive officer of Zumiez. “Our intent is to help the Fast Times team grow their operations across Australia leveraging our proven skills in profitably scaling culture and brand. We are all excited about the opportunity and about having a proven local Australian team to lead the way.”
Andrew Tebb, one of the co-founders and the general manager of Fast Times, added, “We are very excited to be partnering with Zumiez and believe that we have found the right team to help us grow in the Australian marketplace and beyond.”
The company has also reported its results for the second quarter ended July 30, 2016. Total net sales for the second quarter decreased 0.9 percent to $178.3 million from $179.8 million in the same quarter last year. Net loss for the second quarter of fiscal 2016 was $0.8 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, compared to net income of $3.2 million, or $0.11 per diluted share in the second quarter of the prior fiscal year.
“We continue to navigate through the current retail environment with a balanced approach to executing our strategic growth objectives and protecting near-term profitability in the face of challenging consumer demand,” continued Brooks. “While our monthly comparable sales improved as the quarter progressed led by solid gains in our men’s category, our overall business continues to underperform versus our long-term expectations. Therefore, we continue to manage our expense structure to better align with current trends, which is what allowed us to exceed our bottom line guidance for the quarter. We are confident that we are making the right decisions that will allow us to best serve our customers and expand our global market share while delivering sustained growth and increased shareholder value well into the future.”
