Journeys’ Business Continues to Improve as Genesco Closes Out 2024 With ‘Strong Finish’
Genesco president, chief executive officer and board chair Mimi Vaughn said on Friday that the company delivered a strong finish to the year with fourth quarter sales and gross margins exceeding expectations.
According to the Nashville-based footwear company, total net sales in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 increased 1 percent to $746 million compared to $739 million in the same period last year. Net earnings in Q4 were $34.4 million compared to $27.2 million last year.
Genesco noted in its earnings release that this sales increase reflects a 10 percent increase in comparable sales, including an 18 percent increase in e-commerce comparable sales and a 6 percent increase in same store sales.
The company further noted that overall sales increase for the fourth quarter was driven by an increase of 5 percent at Journeys, partially offset by a decrease of 3 percent at Schuh, a decrease of 6 percent at Johnston & Murphy and a decrease of 12 percent at Genesco Brands.
As for the full fiscal year 2025, the company reported net sales were flat at $2.3 billion compared to fiscal 2024. The company reported a net loss of $18.9 million in fiscal 2025 compared to a loss of $16.8 million last year.
Genesco said that the flat sales for the year reflected an increase in comparable e-commerce sales offset by 63 net store closings, the negative impact of the extra week in fiscal 2024 due to the 53-week calendar shift of approximately $25 million in retail sales and decreased wholesale sales compared to last year.
The company added that overall sales for the year increased 3 percent at Journeys, offset by a decrease of 6 percent at Johnston & Murphy and an 11 percent decrease at Genesco Brands, while sales at Schuh were flat.
Despite these results, shares for Genesco fell over 16 percent by the closing bell on Friday afternoon.
Vaughn said in a statement that this quarter’s performance was led by Journeys as the strategic growth initiatives the company has implemented over the past 12 months “fueled strong full priced selling and mid-teens comp growth.”
At the same time, Vaughn noted that sales trends at Schuh and Johnston & Murphy “further improved” with fourth quarter comps for both businesses reaching the highest level of the year.
“It is rewarding to look back and see that we accomplished the strategic priorities we outlined at the start of fiscal 2025 and that our efforts led to improved comparable sales and enhanced profitability as the year progressed,” the CEO said. “We are in the early innings of returning Journeys and the overall company to historical rates of sales and profits, but we are heading in the right direction.”
Looking ahead, the company expects net sales in fiscal 2026 to be flat to up 1 percent compared to fiscal 2025 including a foreign exchange negative impact of approximately $14 million and closed store impact of approximately $30 million. What’s more, Genesco expects adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations in the full year to be in the range of $1.30 to $1.70.
“We are excited about the actions we are taking to build on our momentum in fiscal 2026 centered around our footwear focused strategy and Journeys’ strategic growth plan, and we feel confident we are positioning the business to deliver profitable growth and shareholder value over the long-term,” Vaughn added.
Genesco president, chief executive officer and board chair Mimi Vaughn said on Friday that the company delivered a strong finish to the year with fourth quarter sales and gross margins exceeding expectations. According to the Nashville-based footwear company, total net sales in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 increased 1 percent to $746 million compared…