The Finish Line Details ‘Disappointing’ Year-End

(Image courtesy of The Finish Line.)

Indianapolis-based The Finish Line Inc. (Nasdaq: FINL) is reporting a fiscal full-year loss of $18.2 million, compared to net income of $21.9 million a year earlier. Chief Executive Officer Sam Sato says the results capped "a disappointing finish to a challenging year financially."

The sports apparel retailer says it lost $19.5 million in the fiscal fourth quarter, compared to a profit of $4 million during the same period one year ago. Sato says "as elements of our footwear offering did not resonate with our customers as we expected and the overall retail environment in February became increasingly difficult, we made the decision to get more aggressive on pricing to be competitive and clear slow moving product. While this allowed us to end fiscal 2017 with clean inventory levels, it put significant pressure on fourth quarter product margins. We know we must improve the execution of our merchandise strategies to drive increased full price selling and fuel sustained comparable sales growth. At the same time, we are confident that the numerous operational improvements we made throughout the past year have created a more efficient company with a stronger foundation to support enhanced profitability and increased shareholder value over the long-term."

In January, The Finish Line announced the sale of its unprofitable JackRabbit specialty running shoe business. You can connect to the company’s complete earnings report by clicking here.