Reitmans (Canada) Limited, one of Canada’s leading specialty apparel retailers, today reported its financial results for the first quarter ended May 3, 2025, describing the results as “disappointing.”
Highlights
- Net revenues decreased 4.1% to $158.9 million, primarily due to severe winter weather in the month of February and economic uncertainty.
- Comparable sales decreased 4.5%.
- Gross profit % was down 100 basis points to 55.7%.
- Adjusted EBITDA was negative $10.6 million.
- Net loss was $10.0 million, or $0.20 per share.
“While our e-commerce revenue grew in Q1, it was not enough to offset lower in-store traffic resulting from near-record snowfall accumulations in some regions during February,” said Andrea Limbardi, President and CEO of RCL.
“We saw improvement once the weather cleared; however, consumers were more price-conscious amid ongoing economic uncertainty. We proactively moved our merchandise with selective and strategic promotional activity, ending the quarter with healthy inventory levels. However, these actions resulted in a year-over-year gross profit impact. I am pleased with the performance of our Reitmans brand, which performed well in the quarter, responding to customers’ concerns over the economy with its hallmark of great styles and quality at accessible price points.
“Our disappointing financial results underscore the importance of implementing the five-year strategic plan we announced in April. This strategy is designed to drive long-term profitable growth and ultimately make our business more resilient. As part of our ongoing efforts to optimize our store fleet, we opened three new Reitmans stores, one RW&CO store, and two PENN stores that were relocations during the quarter. Meanwhile, under our strategy to fuel growth with modernization, we moved forward with the first phase of our digital strategic roadmap. Reflecting our commitment to a seamless customer journey across all our touch points, this first phase will include newly designed front-end e-commerce storefronts for all three brands and migrating to ShopifyTM. We expect the migration and launch of our enhanced e-commerce offering to be completed this fiscal year.”
The Company operates 394 stores under three distinct banners consisting of 225 Reitmans, 86 PENN., and 83 RW&CO
On May 3, RCL said it had working capital of $134.8 million, including cash of $85.4 million compared to working capital of $165.7 million, including cash of $158.1 million as at February 1, 2025 and working capital of $153.4 million, including cash of $98.9 million as at May 4, 2024. At the end of the first quarter, RCL had no long-term debt other than lease liabilities and no amounts were drawn under the Company’s bank credit facilities.
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