U.S.-headquartered retailer Genesco has reported its fourth quarter and full 2023 fiscal year results, with net sales down by 2% for the year.

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, ended January 28, 2023, the company reported net sales of US$725 million, down from US$728 million in the same period of the previous financial year. This result was up by 7% from its pre-pandemic fiscal 2020 Q4 result.

The sales drop from last year was reportedly due to foreign exchange pressure in the Schuh business, partially offset by an increase of 15% in e-commerce sales. Excluding the exchange rate impact, Genesco reports that sales were up 2% for the quarter year-on-year.

Sales in Q4 2023 were up by 7% at Schuh, 17% for Johnston & Murphy and down by 2% at Journeys and a significant 34% drop in the Genesco Brands Group. The gross margin for the quarter was 46.4%, down 250 basis points year-on-year. Genesco reports operating income of US$51 million for the quarter, adjusted for excluded items in all periods, and an adjusted operating margin of 7% of sales.

Net sales for the full fiscal 2023 year were down by 2% to US$2.38 billion, but 9% up on the pre-pandemic fiscal 2020 result. E-commerce sales for the year were down by 5% but up by 67% over the 2020 financial year.

Overall sales for the year were up by 2% for Schuh and 24% at Johnston & Murphy, while Journeys recorded a drop of 6% and Genesco Brands Group fell by 8%. The gross margin for the year was 47.6%, down by 120 basis points from fiscal 2022. The company reported an adjusted operating income of US$96.8 million for the year with an adjusted operating margin of 4.1% of sales.

Looking forward to fiscal 2024, Genesco expects sales to be flat up to a 2% increase, excluding the 53rd week.

CEO Mimi E Vaughn said: “For fiscal 2024, we have a number of initiatives planned to drive growth as well as more immediate actions to reshape our cost structure to better align with consumer behaviour. Given the macroeconomic uncertainty, we believe it is prudent to adopt a cautious view for the current year.

“That said, we believe that the strong, strategic positioning of our businesses and our experienced teams’ proven ability to successfully execute in both favourable and challenging markets, has the company on course for delivering increased profitability and greater shareholder value over the longer term.”