Vera Bradley has released their second quarter financial reports and they reported a net income of $9.3 million, compared to a loss of $29.8 million that they saw during this same period last year. Photo courtesy of Google.

News Release

FORT WAYNE — Vera Bradley has released their second quarter financial reports and they reported a net income of $9.3 million, compared to a loss of $29.8 million that they saw during this same period last year.

In a press release, CEO Jackie Ardrey noted, “We are very pleased with the meaningful year-over-year improvement in second quarter earnings, driven by significant gross margin expansion and successful expense reduction efforts. During the quarter, we carefully managed our debt-free balance sheet, adding to our cash position while continuing to strategically improve our inventory position. One of our key goals this year is to stabilize revenues. We continue to make progress on that front, with second quarter consolidated revenues of $128.2 million only modestly below last year.”

According to Ardrey, “total second quarter revenues for the Vera Bradley brand were down 1.2% from last year. Vera Bradley Direct revenue declines resulted from store closures over the last year, while we saw a small comparable store gain in our full line stores. The successful return of the Vera Bradley Annual Outlet Sale offset weakness we experienced in our factory outlet stores in addition to compensating for the elimination of one online outlet sale during the quarter.”

The company has permanently shut down 19 full-line and two factory outlet stores and opened three factory outlet stores over the course of the last 12 months.

Pura Vida, a jewelry and accessory brand acquired by Vera Bradley in 2019, had a 3.6% decrease in year-over-year sales, which Ardrey attributes to the decrease of wholesale revenues. Store sales remained strong. She believes the company will see an increase in the second half of the year.

“In general, at both brands, customers have responded enthusiastically to our collaborations and to our product offerings when they are innovative and trend-right, even as they have been more selective in their discretionary spending in light of the current macro environment. We are taking strategic actions to stabilize and steadily grow Pura Vida’s revenues and to reverse the trends in Vera Bradley’s factory outlet stores through a thorough, multi-pronged approach, including potential pricing adjustments and targeted marketing initiatives aimed to drive traffic and average order size. Our team is focused on generating long-term revenue increases, expanding gross margin, and ensuring strong financial discipline and cost control, which we expect will drive long-term profitable growth,” Ardrey explained in the press release.

Project Restoration was launched in hopes of returning Vera Bradley to a profitable brand with a focus on: consumer, brand, product, and channel. Through the restructure, the company cut almost $40 million in costs and eliminated 30 corporate jobs.

“Through the first half of Fiscal 2024, we have progressed as expected. We anticipate execution of Project Restoration will drive this long-term profitable growth and deliver value to our shareholders,” Ardery explained.

View the financial report here.