RYU Apparel sees revenue jump 80% in first quarter

By

Jennifer Braun

Published
May 2, 2017

Vancouver-based athletic brand RYU Apparel Inc (Respect Your Universe) reported on Monday an 80 percent increase in revenue for its first quarter, ended March 31, 2017.
 
Revenue was $467,003 for the quarter, compared to $259,727 recorded during the same period in 2016. Gross profit was $219,256 compared to $134,994 in 2016, marking RYU's seventh consecutive quarter of increasing gross profit.

 
Sales soared this quarter essentially due to profits from two retail stores as opposed to one, as well as profits from a successful Kickstarter campaign, and e-commerce sales from its improved website, which received higher visitor traffic than in early 2016.

Moreover, both men and women apparel segments were strong with a sales ratio of 46 percent for men and 54 percent for women.

Still, the company says that first quarter revenue could have been higher, but the brand ran into inventory issues due to higher than anticipated demand. As a result, closing inventory as of March 31, 2017 decreased 6 percent to $1,001,667 from $1,067,560 at December 31, 2016, while inventory deposits increased 391 percent.
 
By the end of 2017, RYU plans to increase revenue from its e-commerce. The athletic brand currently has 16 percent of revenue from e-commerce with a target of reaching 30 percent.
 
RYU's retail store expansion plan is also on target. The company plans to open two more stores in 2017, bringing its total store count to five.