VF has started reopening its outlets, and now plans the mid-calendar year 2020 to reopen all stores globally. VF has since reopened its Asia Pacific retail stores including Mainland China.
VF has also begun a phased reopening of its retail stores in its Europe, Middle East and Africa region and is prepared to embark on a similar approach for North American stores, subject to local government guidance. E-commerce is still in the works.
Net revenues of retailer for the quarter ended March 28 fell 10.8 percent to $2.10 billion from $2.36 billion, with the decrease mostly due to lower consumer demand connected with the coronavirus outbreak and temporary store shutdowns as mandated by local authorities.
Gross margin for the period fell 150 basis points to 53.1 percent. That was driven by elevated promotional activity to clear excess inventory, but was partially offset by favorable mix shift toward higher margin businesses.
The organization reported a net loss of $483.8 million, or $1.22 a diluted share, against a year-ago net profit of $128.8 million, or 32 cents. The results of the quarter included a loss from discontinued operations, its workwear business and the spin-off of its jeans business which now operates under the name Kontoor Brands Inc. a year ago. In constant dollars, earnings per share fell 69 percent to 10 cents on an adjusted basis.
The company expects sales from the first quarter of fiscal 2021 to fall significantly more than 50 percent, and to reach $600 million in full-year fiscal 2021 free cash flow.
