Holiday sales boost Abercrombie & Fitch’s Q4 sales and operating margin outlook

“Better than expected” holiday sales boosted Abercrombie & Fitch’s Q4 sales and operating margin outlook and growth forecast for the full year of fiscal 2022.

According to Reuters, shares of the American omnichannel specialty retailer of apparel and accessories Abercrombie that owns the Hollister label jumped more than 11% in afternoon trade on January 9.

“I am pleased with our quarter-to-date performance. Our brands performed well during the peak holiday selling period, delivering sequential sales trend improvement from third quarter levels, leading us to increase our fourth quarter sales and operating margin outlook,” stated Chief Executive Officer Fran Horowitz.

“The strong momentum we have seen all year at the Abercrombie & Fitch brand continued in the holiday season with the women’s business on track to deliver its highest fourth quarter sales ever. Importantly, this strong performance has been complemented by an acceleration in men’s growth from third quarter trends. For Hollister, while we expect to finish the fourth quarter with sales below 2021 levels, the sales trend improved nicely from third quarter as we have begun to realise initial benefits from assortment adjustments and personnel changes.”

“Moving into 2023, we continue to balance playing both offense and defense in this evolving macroeconomic environment. We are managing operating expenses tightly, and we continue to target an inventory level consistent with 2021 by year end, positioning our brands to chase receipts in the spring season. At the same time, we are leveraging the company’s strong financial position to drive key, long-term investments in our operations, specifically in technology, stores and supply chain. We believe these investments will best position us to achieve our 2025 Always Forward Plan,” Horowitz shared.