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By Greg Stiles Mail Tribune October 01. 2014 6:26PM Harry & David netted $9 million in fiscal 2014 Harry & David revenue grew, earnings declined during its final year before latest takeover Workers pack gift baskets at Harry & David, which has reported improved earnings for fiscal year 2014. MT file photo With Harry & David's acquisition by 1-800-Flowers.com completed this week, the list of unknowns far exceeds the knowns. CEO Jim McCann will visit the Rogue Valley next week to take a better look at the sprawling south Medford operation. What  the gourmet food and gift company — which remains region's largest employer — will look like going forward remains a matter of speculation. More certain, however, is that once the company emerged from Chapter 11 restructuring three years ago, it steadily progressed. Harry & David wrapped up fiscal 2014 on June 28, having netted more than $9 million and adding $20 million in stockholder equity to $109.3 million. For all of fiscal 2014, the company boosted revenue to $386.6 million, up from from $380.3 million in 2013.  By comparison, the company routinely exceeded a half-billion dollars in revenue during the early 2000s, in the years before the burst of the housing bubble and the Great Recession.  The recently completed year, however, looks better when placed alongside the second-quarter 2011 (Christmas 2010) revenue of $262 million, which preceded the company's bankruptcy filing. The fourth quarter results, which are always anemic, grew about 13 percent to $43.5 million from $38.6 million, accounting for about 12 percent of the entire year's revenue. "Adjusted for the Easter shift and comparable stores, our fourth quarter net sales increased 7.1 percent over last year," Harry & David CEO Craig Johnson said in a statement, noting orders from new customers rose 3.2 percent. "Our operations and support teams performed extremely well in handling higher order volumes in a more compressed time frame," Johnson said. More to the point of attacking the company's non-holiday doldrums, Johnson said merchandising and supply chain teams are building year-round businesses. At the same time, organizational structure and processes have showed promise. During fiscal 2014, Harry & David retail stores' numbers declined from 49 to 47; it also had 33 holiday "pop-up" stores. Despite a same-store sales decrease of 6.1 percent, Harry & David sees opportunity with a new retail approach. In late August, the company opened a concept store north of Denver in Loveland, Colo. The 2,514-square-foot space next to an Oakley outlet  features walls using reclaimed wood crates from Rogue Valley pear orchards. Customers can sample coffee and peruse books on decorating and entertaining ideas. "We've been looking to enhance our store footprint for some time and this opening reflects our new prototype," said  John Bancroft, senior vice president of marketing. "Our new flagship store will showcase the brand's latest gourmet offerings. The greater Denver metro area is an attractive market for Harry & David operations." As part of its rollout, Harry & David wined and snacked the people of Denver for three days last month, serving up treats from its company truck dubbed the Epicurean Express. Executive chef Tim Keller doled out free treats, ranging from blue cheese to trademark Royal Riviera pears, as well as brie with peach and pepper jelly, roast beef sandwich bites and peanut-butter chocolate s’mores.  Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31, and read his blog at www.mailtribune.com/Economic Edge.     http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20141001/News/141009948 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->