Select Comfort Registers Double-Digit Q1 Sales, Profit Gains

April 20, 2017  by Larry Thomas in Economic News, Industry   

The company, which makes the Sleep Number bed, said comparable-store sales rose 2% at its company-owned retail stores, boosting the average annual sales per store to $2.365 million.

Net income for the quarter ended April 1 totaled $24.5 million or 57 cents per share. That was up from $13 million or 27 cents per share in last year’s first quarter.

Gross margin rose to 62.6% from 59.2% in the comparable quarter.

“Consumers are responding enthusiastically to our brand and differentiated products. Our investments over the past few years have made us a stronger competitor and this is evident in our first quarter results,” said Shelly Ibach, president and CEO.

The company also boosted its earnings estimates for the calendar year to $1.25 to $1.50 per share. That’s up from a January forecast of $1.20 to $1.40 per share.

Ibach said the remainder of the year should get a boost from the new line of Sleep Number smart beds that was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. The new products will begin hitting retail floors in the second quarter, she said.

The company ended the quarter with 546 retail stores – six more than it had at the beginning of the year and 49 more than were open at the end of last year’s first quarter.

Select Comfort said it generated 91.5% of its sales from the company-owned stores, and another 6.7% from online and telephone orders.