Despite the effects of COVID-19, net sales increased 22.9 per cent in 2021 due to strong sales in all regions, mainly driven by the Performance Running category and the Core Performance Sports category.
With the expansion of COVID-19, production at the company’s plant in southern Vietnam was temporarily halted, but the group has worked to minimise the impact on sales in 2021 by securing supply systems in each region and effectively utilising inventory on hand. There was also an increase in ocean freight costs due to the global shortage of containers, the company said in a press release.
In fiscal 2021, the company’s operating income increased significantly to ¥21,945 million from the previous fiscal year, mainly due to the strong performance of Performance Running in all regions. Gross profit increased by 30.8 per cent in fiscal 2021 to ¥199,878 million due to the impact of the increase in net sales.
In 2021, the group was identified as a global leader for engaging with its suppliers on climate change, being awarded a position on the Supplier Engagement Leaderboard three years in a row, by global environmental impact non-profit CDP. Also, the group has been selected for the seventh time as a component company of the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia/Pacific Index. The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) is a series of globally-recognised Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) indices.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RR)