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CarParts.com’s Q2 earnings sag as CEO discusses transition

Kevin Williams — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 20:33:28 +0000

CarParts.com saw its Q2 earnings decline 18% from the same period a year ago to $144.3 million. Still, company leaders expressed confidence that the lower earnings are part of a broader transition at the company that they believe will lead it to profitability.

“In the second quarter, we made significant progress on gross margin and operating efficiencies, which reinforces our confidence that we’re on the right track,” said CarParts.com CEO David Meniane. “We expect the fiscal year 2024 to be a low watermark year as we execute on the changes we have been making.”

CarParts.com is No. 147 in the Top 1000 Database, where Digital Commerce 360 ranks the largest North American ecommerce retailers by annual online sales. There, it is classified as an Automotive Parts & Accessories retailer. Digital Commerce 360 projects that CarParts.com web sales will reach $677.51 million in 2024.

CarParts.com web sales by year

CarParts.com Q2 earnings results

Meniane said the company expects its newly realized operational efficiencies will lead to more robust earnings in 2025. Other notable numbers from the Q2 report include:

Gross profit of $48.4 million, a reduction from $60.4 million in the year-ago period, with gross margin of 33.5%.
Net loss was $8.7 million, or down $0.15 per share, compared to a net loss of $0.7 million, or $0.01 per share.
Adjusted EBITDA of $0.1 million, which is a reduction from $6.3 million the prior year.
Cash of $34.1 million and no revolver debt.
Total cumulative mobile app downloads of 450,000, more than doubled from the beginning of the year.

Importance of mobile app for CarParts.com digital sales

While CarParts.com has no physical presence — all its sales are digital — it is heavily promoting and refining its mobile app ordering capability, and that appears to be paying off.

Meniane said in the earnings call that 12 months after launching, mobile app sales accounted for 8% of total ecommerce revenue, with approximately 80% of customers shopping on mobile.

“Over time, we expect direct in-app purchases to drive savings and advertising spending by reducing our reliance on search engines and performance marketing, as well as incentivizing repeat purchases,” Meniane says.

But that doesn’t mean CarParts.com isn’t continuing to invest in more conventional channels.

“We continue to invest in our marketing channels,” Meniane told investors. “We are making strides on building brand awareness and recognition of our leading digital-first and customer-centric automotive ecommerce strategy, which is critical to capturing our target high-value customer base.”

Welcoming a new chief marketing officer

The earnings call also allowed CarParts.com to introduce Christina Thelin, who joined the company in July. Thelin brings over 20 years of experience in marketing with brands like Visa, Twitter, and Google. She replaces Houman Akhavan, who served in that role until last year.

“Christina will lead our strategic marketing initiatives as we continue to expand our market presence, drive customer engagement, and increase awareness for CarParts.com,” Meniane said.

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Alibaba rolls out an AI-powered B2B sourcing tool

Mark Brohan — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 19:17:08 +0000

Alibaba introduced its latest use of artificial intelligence (AI) to push B2B marketplace services — this time in the form of a new tool for sourcing.

About 30,000 businesses on the marketplace use Alibaba’s AI tools to increase product exposure in targeted markets. Sellers on the marketplace say the practice helps them grow, even with limited internal staff.

Now Alibaba is rolling out its latest tool: an AI-powered conversational sourcing engine.

Alibaba owns the world’s two largest online marketplaces by gross merchandise value (GMV), Taobao and Tmall. Taobao ranks No. 1 in the Global Online Marketplaces Database, Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest such marketplaces by GMV. Tmall ranks No. 2. Both operate in China.

How Alibaba’s new AI tool for B2B works

Unlike traditional search engines, which rely heavily on simple ranking and indexing, Alibaba’s AI sourcing engine will focus on understanding natural language and transforming it into professional sourcing requests.

It can even predict sourcing needs and provide suggestions. Another feature also allows complex queries or full documents as inputs. The system will distinguish and respond to them in natural language, according to Alibaba.

“Traditional search engines evaluate web page importance through interlinking, credibility and ad spend,” said Alibaba.com president Kuo Zhang. “In this AI era, the B2B sourcing engine offers an intuitive and organic way to query, as well as rapidly and accurately match business buyers and business sellers based on their proven track record.”

The sourcing engine’s features

Alibaba’s sourcing engine includes two significant features:

Reconstruction of information.
A digital assistant.

First, in reconstructing information, Alibaba looked at how ecommerce has traditionally used product listings with titles, descriptions, keywords and pictures. Business buyers often need to compare multiple suppliers. With that in mind, the sourcing engine will reorganize such information to enable direct, custom-made and side-by-side comparisons, Alibaba said.

Next, the digital assistant will leverage 25 years of expertise in digitalizing various trade aspects — products, payments, logistics, customs and currency exchanges. Alibaba believes its AI technology in this context can now mimic the experience of having a sourcing professional at a buyer’s side.

“This technology can level the playing field and significantly reduce costs, enabling small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to become integral players in the global supply chain,” Alibaba said.

Alibaba’s larger push for B2B AI tools

In November, Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group introduced its generative artificial intelligence (AI) toolkit, branded “Aidge,” which has been adopted by approximately 500,000 merchants, with daily API usage reaching 50 million calls.

Features include a virtual try-on tool for apparel and a 24/7 AI customer service capability.

Since last April, Alibaba International has assembled an AI business team of 100 analysts and developers.

In May, the marketplace company surveyed 500 micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) companies that do business on Alibaba.com and range in size from one to 250 employees.

Among the survey’s findings:

25% to 35% of respondents use AI daily.
Using AI tools led to an average 37% increase in product exposure to promote growth in commerce.
Companies using AI tools accepted 70% of product optimization suggestions.

The survey also found that companies from developing countries accounted for much of the use of the marketplace’s AI tools.

“Among the top 20 countries making the most frequent use of Alibaba.com’s AI tools, approximately 50% are from developing countries,” Alibaba assessed.

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Israeli B2B digital payments startup Monto gets new funding

Mark Brohan — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 22:00:59 +0000

An Israeli startup, Monto, that wants to simplify and digitize B2B payments has received $9 million in new funding.

Monto builds an artificial intelligence (AI) connector for enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems for universal B2B payments. And it will use a big part of the funding money to begin operations in the U.S.

Monto’s platform connects users’ ERP systems to its customers’ payment platform.

“Monto is a strategic decision for CFOs, futureproofing them against a landscape where most, if not all, customers will soon use portals,” says Maya Cohen, the company’s co-founder and CEO. “With Monto, getting paid by customers will be fully automatic, a concept we call ‘zero-touch.’ And we succeed in achieving that by working with, not against, the portals, an important distinction.”

Monto gets new funding

The funding comes from Scale Venture Partners with participation from Verissimo Ventures, F2 Venture Capital, Firsthand Alliance and Room40 Ventures. Monto will use the funding for its U.S. expansion and continued product development.

Monto’s AI connections between ERPs and accounts payable (AP) portals learn each customer’s invoicing requirements to ensure a payment flow for the supplier to significantly reduce manual workload, mitigate the risk of overdue payments and improve cash flow management, the company says.

Monto serves large enterprises from various industries, including publicly traded companies like Shutterstock and TechTarget, as well as technology companies like Miro and G2.

The company’s AI platform has helped suppliers get paid $1 billion through thousands of smart connections to different buyers in more than 300 portals, Monto says.

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Pitney Bowes reworks its biggest unit by revenue: Global Ecommerce

Paul Demery — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 21:57:09 +0000

Pitney Bowes Inc. has its eye on Global Ecommerce, the primary but changing revenue-producing business unit at the worldwide shipping and mailing products and services company.

Global Ecommerce made over $1.35 billion last year for Pitney Bowes. That was more than 40% of Pitney’s total revenue of $3.27 billion that year. It also led Pitney Bowes’ fiscal first quarter, which ended March 31, with segment revenue of $333 million. Global Ecommerce provides business-to-consumer online companies with logistics services for domestic and cross-border fulfillment, delivery and returns throughout the U.S. and more than 200 other countries.

132 retailers in the Top 1000 use Pitney Bowes as a shipping carrier. Those 132 retailers made more than $529 billion in 2023 web sales, according to Digital Commerce 360 data. Additionally, 68 use it for international ecommerce services, and 16 use it for fulfillment services. The Top 1000 is Digital Commerce 360’s database ranking North America’s largest online retailers by their web sales.

Pitney Bowes Global Ecommerce hits growing pains

In this year’s first quarter, “Global Ecommerce grew domestic parcel volumes 20% in a challenging market and reduced operating expenses,” Pitney’s then-interim CEO Jason Dies said on a Q1 earnings call.

But Global Ecommerce, one of three Pitney operating segments, has also been reporting the company’s steepest segment revenue and earnings declines: a Q1 EBITDA loss widened 14% year over year to $21 million as the unit’s revenue fell 26% to $333 million. By comparison, Pitney’s other two segments — SendTech Solutions (a mailing technology and services unit) and Presort Services (a mail-sortation business) — each amassed relatively strong financial quarters, as Pitney Bowes’ total revenue dipped by 0.005% to $830.51 million.

In 2023, Global Ecommerce’s revenue fell 14% year over year to $1.36 billion, as Pitney Bowes total revenue dropped 8% to $3.3 billion.

Lance Rosenzweig, interim CEO, Pitney Bowes Inc.

The Stamford, Connecticut-based company, under a new interim CEO appointed in May, Lance Rosenzweig, is conducting a review of Global Ecommerce’s options going forward. In addition, it recently sold the unit’s fulfillment services business to Stord, an Atlanta-based company that specializes in providing fulfillment services to online merchants. Pitney Bowes didn’t provide details on that sale but told industry publication Freightwaves that fulfillment services were a “small piece of the business.”

Rosenzweig joins Pitney Bowes after serving as a top executive at several public and private companies, including Boingo Wireless, technical support services firm Support.com, and customer experience software company Startek.

Pitney seeks a new head of Global Ecommerce

Gregg Zegras, former president, Global Ecommerce, Pitney Bowes

The Global Ecommerce unit’s recently departed president, Pitney veteran Gregg Zegras, retired earlier this month. Pitney Bowes has yet to name a replacement for Zegras.

Pitney Bowes said earlier this month that it was in the final stages of an “expedited strategic review of Global Ecommerce to eliminate ongoing operating losses.” The company recently identified $70 million in cost savings outside of Global Ecommerce and expects to eventually realize overall savings between $120 million and $160 million.

Stord’s acquisition of Global Ecommerce’s fulfillment services includes a 640,000-square-foot warehouse facility in Hebron, Kentucky, with robotic automation and other features. Stord said that facility is now the largest warehouse in its North American network.

Earlier this year, Stord acquired Pro-Pack Logistics, a fulfillment services provider to multichannel merchants in the U.S. and Canada, and it launched Stord Europe with fulfillment centers in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to support B2B and B2C markets throughout Europe. Stord says it manages more than $5 billion in commerce annually through its fulfillment, warehousing and transportation services.

Paul Demery is a Digital Commerce 360 contributing editor covering B2B digital commerce technology and strategy. paul@digitalcommerce360.com.

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Beyond Q2 earnings show revenue down 5.7%, but key metrics show positive trends

Beth Duckett — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 20:08:04 +0000

Beyond Inc., the parent company of Overstock, Bed Bath & Beyond and Zulily, released its Q2 earnings results on July 29, reporting total net revenue of $398 million, marking a 5.7% decrease year-over-year.

Despite the drop, the online-only retailer reported some positive developments for the quarter ended June 30. Revenue was up 4% from the previous quarter. Beyond credited a 35% increase in active customers and an 18% rise in average order value from the same period a year ago. The net loss for the quarter was $42.6 million, an improvement from last year’s $73.5 million loss.

Beyond Inc. is No. 63 in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 1000 database of the largest North American online retailers. Bed Bath & Beyond formerly ranked No. 47 before its bankruptcy and Overstock.com previously ranked No. 50. Digital Commerce 360 projects Beyond’s total web sales in 2024 will reach $1.58 billion.

Beyond Inc. web sales by year

Beyond updates on turnaround effort in Q2 earnings report

“We have made significant progress in the past 150 days and will continue to execute on our plan to achieve growth and profitability,” Marcus Lemonis, Beyond’s executive chairman, said in a statement.

After acquiring the intellectual property of bankrupt Bed Bath & Beyond for $21.5 million in June 2023, Overstock.com rebranded as Bed Bath & Beyond. It then shut down the Overstock ecommerce website. By November, the company had rebranded again as Beyond Inc.

In March, Beyond backtracked on its decision and relaunched Overstock.com. It also acquired the intellectual property of ecommerce retailer Zulily for $4.5 million, with the new Zulily website slated to go live on Sept. 10.

Beyond expects profitability in 2025

In Beyond’s Q2 earnings call, Lemonis outlined plans to turn Bed Bath & Beyond into a $1 billion-plus ecommerce brand, emphasizing the need for “thoughtful and creative ways” to expand and leverage the brand’s IP for cash flow.

David Nielsen, president and CEO, highlighted that during the quarter, Bed Bath & Beyond experienced growth in core categories such as bedding, bath, and decor, as well as higher-ticket items like patio and outdoor furniture.

On the Overstock front, the brand’s online relaunch, supported by a new AI-driven marketing campaign, delivered strong performance in traditional categories like area rugs and furniture, Nielsen said. Its ecommerce site has expanded its product lineup and improved the user experience. Additionally, Overstock is set to finalize a deal with a major closeout and reverse logistics company, which could draw in more customers.

Looking ahead, Beyond plans to test a new technology, Vercel. Vercel provides an ecommerce solution that integrates with Shopify to speed up and personalize customer interactions. Over the next 18 months, the company plans to create a global loyalty program that leverages its database and partnerships with non-competing companies, with options to use and transfer reward points.

“Think about it like a Bonvoy at Marriott or a Star Alliance in the airlines,” Lemonis said.

In the coming months, he noted that Bed Bath & Beyond and Overstock typically see Q2 revenue outpace Q3 by about 12% to 14%, with Q3 serving as a transition to the busy Q4 season. The goal is to maintain or surpass this trend and improve gross margins every quarter, he said. Lemonis said he expects Beyond will achieve profitability sometime in 2025.

Other Q2 highlights reported by Beyond

Active customers numbered 6.2 million, up 35% year over year.
Orders delivered were 1.9 million, up 8% year over year.
Gross profit was $80 million or 20.1% of revenue. That’s a 530-basis-point decline year over year but a 70-basis-point improvement from the prior quarter.
Cash and equivalents totaled $186 million at quarter’s end.

The company is two-thirds of the way through a plan to cut fixed expenses by $45 million annually.

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Etsy preps beta launch for paid Insider membership program

Brian Warmoth — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 19:46:47 +0000

Etsy Inc. debuted early details for a paid Insider membership program that it plans to debut in September. The online marketplace has faced revenue headwinds recently and will use Etsy Insider to try to strengthen customer loyalty.

To incentivize signups, Etsy Insider will offer a variety of perks. They range from free shipping and special offers to donation boosts.

Etsy is No. 20 in the Global Online Marketplaces Database. The database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the 100 largest such marketplaces by third-party gross merchandise value (GMV). Etsy’s musical instrument marketplace Reverb is No. 45 and used-clothing marketplace Depop is No. 54. Digital Commerce 360 projects that Etsy’s total GMV will reach $753.7 billion in 2024.

Etsy total GMV by year

What is the Etsy Insider paid membership program?

“In mid-September, we’ll launch a closed-beta version of Etsy Insider to select buyers in the United States,” wrote Simona Shakin, vice president of product and retention marketing at Etsy, in a company blog post on July 31.

Etsy did not specify how much membership fees for the program would be, but Shakin listed the benefits that members would receive as follows:

Free U.S. domestic shipping on millions of items
A birthday bonus
Limited edition annual gift, designed by an Etsy seller
First access to special discounts and select merchandise
Double impact with Donate the Change

Donate the Change is an Etsy program that gives shoppers the option to round up order totals to donate to its Uplift Fund for promoting entrepreneurship.

“While Etsy Insider’s benefits deliver great value for buyers, the program comes at no cost to the Etsy seller community,” Shakin explained. “Benefits, including the free shipping, will be funded by Etsy and through the membership fee.”

Why Etsy is launching a paid membership program

Etsy CEO Josh Silverman said when addressing the company’s fiscal first-quarter earnings in 2024 that it was confronting a “challenging environment for consumer discretionary product.” That environment was reflected in a 3.5% year-over-year decline in gross merchandise sales during the quarter, which ended March 31. In addition, Etsy faces fresh competition from rivals such as Michaels, which launched its own MakerPlace marketplace in 2023.

“We’re confident Etsy Insider will make it easier and more joyful than ever for buyers to seamlessly discover pieces they will love from real people they’re proud to support,” Shakin said in her blog post.

Still, as a pure marketplace where all goods are sold by third parties — unlike hybrid marketplaces such as Amazon.com and Walmart Marketplace — Etsy lacks centralized fulfillment, making Etsy Insider an atypical program example among online marketplaces broadly, according to James Risley, research data manager and senior analyst at Digital Commerce 360.

27.8% of Top 1000 retailers have a free loyalty program, while 5.9% have a paid membership, Digital Commerce 360 analysis shows. The Top 1000 Database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of North America’s largest online retailers by annual web sales.

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Distributor Global Industrial delivers mediocre Q2 results

Mark Brohan — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 18:13:33 +0000

Through the mid-point of 2024, it’s been a so-so year financially for Global Industrial Inc. and its sales.

For its fiscal second quarter ended June 30, Global Industrial posted revenue of $347.8 million. That compares to $325.8 million the prior year, a 6.8% gain. Global Industrial does about 60% of all its sales digitally.

But the growth in sales came primarily from the company’s acquisition of Indoff, which Global Industrial acquired for $72.6 million in cash in May. Indoff is a B2B direct marketer of material handling products, commercial interior products and business products with operations in North America.

Without Indoff, Global Industrial sales increased 1.8% in Q2 and 1.7% on an average daily sales basis. Net income for the second quarter was $20.3 million compared with $21.5 million in the second quarter of 2023.

Global Industrial sales in Q2

For the first six months of the year, Global Industrial sales increased 11.9%. That’s up to $671.2 million and compares to $599.6 million for the previous year. Excluding Indoff, sales increased 3%.

Global Industrial’s “retention trends remain healthy,” interim CEO Richard Leeds told analysts on the earnings call.

“During the quarter, we saw a continuation of cautious customer purchasing behavior with mixed revenue performance on a monthly basis,” Leeds said.

However, for the year, company growth predictions remain uncertain given current economic conditions, he told analysts.

“It’s been a challenging environment the first 6 months of the year, and our focus remains on the things within our control,” he said. “We continue to make investments that will strengthen our competitive position, help us capture market share and drive long-term revenue performance.”

Check back for more earnings reports. For reference, here’s last quarter’s update on Global Industrial sales.

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Tractor Supply Company’s earnings show net sales increase in Q2

Kevin Williams — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 21:08:26 +0000

Tractor Supply Company announced its Q2 earnings results, registering an increase in sales during Q2 but falling short of analyst expectations.

Tractor Supply, which sells everything from rabbit food to garden tillers and other products with rural vibes, reported that its net sales increased 1.5% to $4.3 billion during its second fiscal quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, net income was up 0.9%.

Tractor Supply ranks No. 93 in the Top 1000 Database, where Digital Commerce 360 ranks the largest North American ecommerce retailers by annual online sales. It is categorized as a Hardware & Home Improvement retailer. As of June 29, 2024, the company operated 2,254 Tractor Supply stores in 49 states. Digital Commerce 360 projects that Tractor Supply’s web sales in 2024 will approach $1.1 billion.

Tractor Supply web sales by year

Tractor Supply Q2 earnings highlights

Compared with the same period a year prior, Tractor Supply’s net income was up 0.9% to $425.2 million in Q2, which ended June 29. That’s up from $421.1 million a year ago. Despite the gain, the result was still lower than what a consensus of analysts expected.

More highlights from the report include:

Comparable store sales decreased by 0.5%.
Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses, including depreciation and amortization, increased 4.1% to $994.2 million from $955.4 million during the same period last year.
Operating income was $561.5 million in the second quarter of 2024 compared to $559.3 million in the second quarter of 2023.

CEO calls spending landscape ‘choppy’

During a conference call to discuss Q2 earnings, Tractor Supply CEO Hal Lawton said the company’s customers are dealing with an unfavorable macroeconomic environment.

“Consumer sentiment and consumer confidence are both subdued, and the consumer spending landscape continues to be rather choppy,” Lawton said.

Lawton also credited the quarter’s opening of 21 new Tractor Supply stores and three Petsense by Tractor Supply stores with boosting performance.

“Our new store productivity continues to perform very well,” Lawton stated.

Tractor Supply online results boost loyalty club

The company does not break out sales numbers for online vs. in-store, but Lawton touted TSC’s revamped loyalty program, which has a robust online component. Lawton says that the Neighbors Club loyalty program now has more than 36 million members, 5 million of whom have enrolled over the last 12 months, which has helped retain a loyal corps of customers.

“Our Neighbor’s Club retention rate remains remarkably consistent as our best customers continue to shop us more frequently and remain extremely loyal,” Lawton said, while noting some “disengagement” from non-core customers during problematic macro conditions.

Lawson made no explicit mention in the call of controversy raised during the past quarter when Tractor Supply outlined and then backtracked from its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals after a backlash from some customers.

Tractor Supply, though, generally does an effective job of knowing its customers, according to Michael Zakkour, founder and chief strategist at retail consulting company 5 New Digital.

“Tractor Supply understands its core consumer very well,” Zakkour told Digital Commerce 360. “Their demographic and the products they sell are better aligned with physical retail, and their focus on new store openings has boosted performance.”

However, Zakkour notes that its online presence is growing and improving.

“For their customers who want to shop online, the focus on improvements to their website and APP has also boosted performance,” Zakkour said.

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Deckers reports growth in Q1 earnings driven by Hoka and Ugg

Beth Duckett — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 18:42:20 +0000

Deckers Brands reported growth across its footwear properties in its Q1 earnings. The company’s first fiscal quarter of 2025, which ended June 30, saw a 22% rise in net sales to $825 million, up from $676 million the previous year. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) net sales, including digital sales, also saw a major boost, climbing 24% to $311 million from $250 million a year ago.

The company’s Hoka athletic footwear brand was the main growth driver, making up two-thirds of its net sales for the quarter.

“The brand is on track to deliver another year of healthy growth with premium products and elevated experiences that enhance our consumer connections,” said Dave Powers, Deckers’ outgoing CEO, during the earnings call.

Deckers Brands web sales by year

Deckers, which also owns Ugg, Teva, Sanuk and Koolaburra, holds the No. 51 spot on Digital Commerce 360’s Top 1000 ranking of the largest online retailers in North America. The company falls under the Apparel & Accessories category. Digital Commerce 360 projects that web sales for Deckers Brands will reach $2.1 billion in 2024.

Deckers Brands Q1 earnings growth led by Hoka and Ugg sales

Hoka set a new record in the company’s first quarter, with revenue surging 30% year-over-year to $545 million. The brand’s DTC revenue, primarily sales from its ecommerce website, grew by 33%.

Powers attributed the surge to high demand for Hoka’s products, including new launches, across the global market.

“From a DTC perspective, Hoka continues to see global gains through consumer acquisition and retention, with particular strength among retained consumers,” he said.

Ugg also delivered strong results in the quarter, with global revenue rising 14% year-over-year to $223 million, according to Powers. The growth was driven by robust full-price sales of key franchises like the Tasman and the Golden Collection, which significantly contributed to the boot brand’s DTC success in both the U.S. and international markets, he noted.

Future outlook and leadership changes at Deckers

Looking ahead, Deckers projects a 10% increase in overall revenue for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, reaching $4.7 billion. Hoka is expected to grow around 20%, while Ugg is expected to see mid-single-digit growth.

Powers is retiring as president and CEO on Aug. 1, with Stefano Caroti, the current chief commercial officer, set to take over both positions. Deckers also plans to nominate Caroti to the board at its 2024 annual meeting of stockholders, while Powers will remain on the board through the 2025 meeting.

Shareholders will also vote on a proposed six-for-one forward stock split during the annual meeting on September 9.

In addition, Deckers has reached an agreement to sell its Sanuk brand, which it acquired for $120 million in 2011. Details about the deal, expected to close in August, were not provided.

During the company’s October earnings call, Powers noted Sanuk’s strong product performance but said scaling the brand meaningfully within the Deckers’ portfolio would take too long.

“There’s other things that we think we can invest in, and we think that this is a brand that consumers love,” he said, adding that Sanuk “deserves a good home” versus being the “fourth or fifth brand in our portfolio.”

More Q1 earnings highlights for Deckers

For the quarter ended June 30, 2024, Deckers reported:

Sanuk’s net sales decreased by 28.4%, to $6.9 million from $9.6 million a year ago.
Teva’s net sales fell 4.3%, to $46.3 million from $48.4 million.

Other brands, primarily Koolaburra, saw net sales surge 123.5% to $4 million from $1.8 million.

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How Watsco grows ecommerce sales and an entrepreneurial spirit

Paul Demery — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 14:30:49 +0000

Watsco Inc. owes its market position to a long-running strategy of acquiring family-owned businesses and giving the freedom to continue operating as entrepreneurs — and to a substantial dose of ecommerce technology and sales strategy, founder, chairman and CEO Albert Nahmad said today.

Albert Nahmad, founder, chairman and CEO, Watsco Inc.

The company said quarterly revenue rose 6.8% year over year. That’s up to a record $2.139 billion for the second quarter ended June 30. And ecommerce grew at nearly twice that rate, at 13%, to $770.16 million.

In Q2, Watsco ecommerce sales accounted for 38% of total sales. Watsco is well-known as a prominent online distributor in the highly fragmented, $64 billion North American HVAC and refrigeration products industry.

“A cornerstone of Watsco’s growth strategy is the acquisition of long-standing, family-owned businesses,” Nahmad said on the Q2 earnings call. He noted that, since its founding in 1989, Watsco has completed 69 acquisitions, “achieving industry-leading scale and preserving many wonderful business legacies into future generations.”

Nahmad added, “Over the last five years, Watsco has acquired eight businesses that today generate approximately $1 billion in annual sales.”

Watsco’s entrepreneurial spirit and ecommerce sales focus

The company’s growth strategy relies heavily on continuing the entrepreneurial spirit of acquired companies, whose executives typically remain to lead their operations.

“Simply put, Watsco’s entrepreneurial culture, which empowers local leaders to make local decisions, continues to perform well,” Nahmad said on the earnings call today.

He noted that Watsco’s long-running strategy of investing in digital commerce technology “continues to have an impact” on financial performance.

“Greater adoption and use of our platforms by a growing number of contractors has produced growth and market share gain,” he added.

Watsco is a Miami-based company that other HVAC suppliers have said they emulate for its digital commerce strategy. It also noted other developments related to its “digital ecosystem of technologies” configured to “transform the customer experience and transform how our industry operates.”

Watsco’s digital ecosystem

The digital ecosystem includes:

OnCallAir
Watsco’s HVAC Pro+ Mobile Apps
Watsco’s product information management (PIM) system

OnCallAir is Watsco’s ecommerce sales platform that lets HVAC contractors digitally engage with homeowners and sell them products and services. It compiled approximately $1.4 billion in gross merchandise value for the 12-month period that ended June 30.

For the six months ended June 30, contractors used OnCallAir to present quotes to about 160,000 households. That’s an 18% year-over-year increase. It also generated a 27% increase in GMV to $743 million.

Watsco’s HVAC Pro+ Mobile Apps provide contractors and their customers with real-time access to ecommerce activity. They also include such information as product specifications, inventory availability, systemwide product matchups, and technical support. For the 12 months until June 30, the number of HVAC Pro+ Mobile Apps users grew 12% to approximately 60,000.

Watsco’s product information management (PIM) system is a repository of rich product data. It provides data on over 1.5 million SKUs to more than 375,000 contractors and technicians who visit or connect digitally with one of its nearly 700 physical locations across the United States, Canada and Latin America.

Watsco is updating its technology systems to “optimize the launch of new GWP (Global Warming Potential) A2L” refrigeration systems designed to be more efficient and sustainable to reduce the adverse effect of refrigerants on climate change.

Though it accounted for 38% of total Q2 sales companywide, Watsco ecommerce sales exceeded 60% in some regions.

Watsco’s pitch to would-be partners: ‘Come to Miami to see us’

In his earnings call remarks, Nahmad, forever on the lookout for acquisitions, said, “Our proven culture, customer-focused technologies, scale and access to capital provide unique advantages and opportunities.” He added to anyone listening: “If you have an interest in learning more, please come to Miami and see us. We are transforming an industry, and we would enjoy telling you about it.”

Here’s last quarter’s update on Watsco ecommerce sales.

Paul Demery is a Digital Commerce 360 contributing editor covering B2B digital commerce technology and strategy. paul@digitalcommerce360.com.

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