Supply chain constraints are easing, but footwear company Deckers Brands has been shipping products to key markets ahead of the holidays to ensure it has them on hand for the peak selling season, company executives said Thursday (Oct. 27) during the company’s quarterly earnings call.
“From a logistics standpoint, we are still experiencing delays, and the timing of container arrivals remains difficult to predict, but we feel good about the improvement in transit times, which has led to a reduction of inventory in transit on both a dollar and a percentage basis as compared to last year,” Deckers Chief Financial Officer Steve Fasching said during the call.
Container costs have come down, and there has been less need to use expensive air freight to get products to the countries in which they are to be sold, Fasching added.
Heading into the UGG brand’s peak selling season, inventory availability in key markets around the globe is better than it was last year, Deckers President and CEO Dave Powers said during the call.
The comments came as the parent company of the UGG and HOKA footwear brands reported that its revenues leapt 21% year over year during the quarter ended Sept. 30, according to a Thursday press release.
Powers attributed the growth to Deckers’ compelling brands, flexible operating model, nimble organization and omnichannel capabilities.
For example, generating fashion-forward versions of UGG’s iconic styles has created widespread press coverage and virality on TikTok, Powers said.
The company also deployed a brand survey and is using the responses from consumers to build a unified message to be delivered by local influencers in key markets, he added.
In addition, all its brands benefit from Deckers’ omnichannel capabilities.
“Our powerful brands paired with strategic marketplace management, omnichannel capabilities and disciplined financial management gives me the confidence that our organization can achieve a compelling guidance set forth for fiscal year 2023, even in the face of macro pressures that will impact the broader retail space,” Powers said.
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