Blue Tomato working on entering new market

By

Olivier Guyot

Published
Mar 24, 2015

Zumiez is beginning to reap the fruits of its investment in Europe. But 2015 isn’t yet the year in which the company will accelerate the pace of its openings on the continent.

The company is looking to open six new stores. "We’ll continue to focus on Germany and Austria, between which our stores are now about equally divided,” said Chris Work, CFO of Zumiez, responding to questions from financial analysts at the presentation of its annual results. During the beginning of the year, the brand also opened a location in Cologne, Trier, and is about to open another in central Vienna on March 28 and in Bonn on March 31.

However, plans for openings in new markets also seem to be on the table. "We still have good opportunities in Germany and Austria for the next year or two,” said Rick Brooks, CEO of the group. “But we should be adding a new country in the next two years. The question is which one, why and how we will get there. And this is really what the team is working on right now." 

Zumiez, which acquired Blue Tomato in 2012 for 59.5 million euros, saw its sales in Europe grow by more than 32% for its fiscal year ending on January 31 compared to 2013-14. Its turnover reached 64.4 million US dollars (56.8 million), generated by its website and its 19 European stores. 

Overall, the US group Zumiez achieved a turnover in 2014-15 of 812 million US dollars (716 million euros), up 12% from the previous year.