Vera Bradley doubles yearly profit
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) – Fort Wayne-based Vera Bradley Inc. (Nasdaq: VRA) is reporting full-year net income of $17.8 million in 2021, up from $8.7 million during the previous year. Chief Executive Officer Rob Wallstrom says the company essentially returned to pre-pandemic revenue levels.
“Our Vera Bradley brand had a solid year of revenue growth, with year-over-year total sales increasing over 18%, as customers responded to our product innovation and collaborations, supported by data-driven and targeted marketing,” said Wallstrom. “Our customer base grew year-over-year, and our demographics are younger and more diverse.”
Wallstrom says total sales for the company’s Pura Vida brand grew more than 6% for the year.
“We saw double-digit growth in Pura Vida wholesale revenues and our first successful retail store opening during Fiscal 2022,” said Wallstrom. “However, the significant shift in social and digital media effectiveness due to the Apple IDFA update affecting DTC companies resulted in e-commerce sales falling short of expectations. In addition to the Apple IDFA update, we faced a series of other unprecedented macro issues – including dramatic supply chain delays and freight cost increases, the delayed renewal of GSP (generalized system of preferences) tariff relief, and substantial digital advertising cost increases – all of which materially affected profitability during the year.”
The company is also reporting fourth quarter net income of $5.2 million, down from $7.9 million during the same period the year before.
Wallstrom says the company began initiating price increases across both of its brands during the fourth quarter in an effort to offset some of the inflation and supply chain challenges. The company plans to continue implementing price increases throughout 2022.
“In hindsight, we should have implemented price changes more quickly,” said Wallstrom.
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