Lillian Vernon Corporation said this week that revenue for its third quarter of fiscal 2002 fell to $87 million from $104.1 million last year.
“The recession and the aftermath of the Sept. 11 tragedies severely impacted our earnings for the quarter,” said Lillian Vernon, chairman and CEO. “We successfully launched our two upgraded web sites, http://www.lillianvernon.com and http://www.ruedefrance.com, this fall to expand our online product offerings and increase online sales. Online revenues rose 33 percent for the nine months compared with the same period last year.”
The decrease in revenues was principally a result of a reduction in catalogs mailed in response to the recession, the effects of Sept. 11 and a downturn in consumer spending affecting the direct marketing and retailing industries. Also, the company mailed its November catalogs later in the quarter compared to last year to more effectively target the mailings, shifting revenue from the fiscal third quarter to the fiscal fourth quarter.
Net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2002 totaled $2.6 million compared to $5.1 million during the third quarter of fiscal 2001.
Lillian Vernon, Rye, NY, implemented a workforce and salary reduction plan during the quarter to cut costs and mitigate the shortfall in net income.
Revenues during the nine months ended Nov. 24 totaled $163.5 million, compared to $191.9 million last year. The net loss for the nine months was
$4.7 million compared to a profit of $1.5 million during the prior year.
