Duluth Trading Company invests $53 million in automated facility (chainstoreage.com)

Fourth Quarter 2023 Results: Net sales decreased 1.1% year-over-year, to $5.7 billion. The fourth quarter included net sales of approximately $164 million from the 14th week. Comparable sales, which compare the 13-week period ending January 27, 2024 versus the 13-week period ended January 28, 2023, decreased 4.3%. Operating income was $299 million compared to $302 million loss in the prior year. As a percentage of total revenue, operating income was 5.0%, an increase of 1,005 basis points year-over-year. Net income was $186 million, or $1.67 per diluted share. This compares to net loss of $273 million, or ($2.49) per diluted share in the prior year.

In a keynote video address this week to partnership groups composed of Postal Service leaders and the nation’s commercial mailers, USPS Postmaster General and CEO Louis DeJoy said the Postal Service is a different organization now than when he arrived more than two years ago. “Together, we have now started to change the direction of the Postal Service. We are a better organization in a better financial position than we were just one year ago. And we have achieved this exciting momentum during the pandemic. The ball is now in our court to effect the operating and marketing strategies we need to accomplish this transformation,” DeJoy said in his video remarks to over 90 Postal Customer Councils (PCCs) participating in National PCC Week.

*Comparable sales increased 2.7 percent, on top of 12.7 percent growth last year. *Comparable sales growth was driven by 1.4 percent traffic growth and a 1.3 percent increase in average ticket. *Category performance was led by growth in frequency businesses including Beauty, Food and Beverage and Household Essentials, which offset continued softness in discretionary categories. *The Company saw unit share gains across all five core merchandising categories.*Third quarter operating margin rate of 3.9 percent improved meaningfully compared with the second quarter results, but fell far short of expectations.