Yesterday, Stitch Fix ($SFIX) reported disappointing earnings for its fiscal third quarter. The online apparel subscription service posted revenue of $371.7 million, down 9% from the year prior, missing the Wall Street analyst consensus of $406.7 million. Stitch Fix also lost 33 cents a share.
“We are proud of the way our team has responded quickly and thoughtfully to unprecedented challenges over the past several months, and the results we delivered in these extraordinary times,” Stitch Fix CEO Katrina Lake said in a statement. “We believe our business model and balance sheet uniquely position us to thrive in retail’s next era, and we’re excited to demonstrate that in the quarters ahead.”
Apparently, active clients rose 9% to 3.4 million, and revenue per client went up 6% to $498. This is something, but it’s not much. Maybe you’d expect a business built on delivering wardrobe staples would thrive in a time when we aren’t supposed to be shopping in stores. But it turns out many people decided they don’t need new clothes every month when they aren’t leaving the house.
Stitch Fix’s Twitter following has been in decline over the past three months.
Over the last week, Stitch Fix has been losing followers on Instagram. That means people are actively opting out of the company's content. It's been volatile before then, but considering straight growth is the norm, this is a little unusual to see on all of these social platforms at once.
The company’s Facebook mentions hit 18,600 in April, but they’ve since fallen off, as page likes plateau.
In the third week of March, Stitch Fix closed facilities in Dallas, South San Francisco, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Warehouse capacity was down about 70% by the end of March. Now, Stitch Fix will start to reopen, but the company's job postings have yet to reflect a larger workforce.
Since February, job postings have fallen by 41%. Stitch Fix's LinkedIn employee headcount grew by 5% from March to June but has been dropping over the last week.
Maybe this is a bump in the road. Maybe, as people return to public life, they'll want easy, pre-determined clothing options.
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