Roots reports higher profit, boost in e-commerce even as pandemic hurts sales

Roots Corp. reported a handsome profit in its last quarter as strong online sales and demand for its upscale comfort wear offset the impact of pandemicrelated store closures and a dip in overall sales.

The outdoor lifestyle retailer said Thursday it earned a profit of $12.3 million in its fourth quarter even as sales in what is traditionally the strongest period for the company slipped to $99.4 million from $127.5 million in the same quarter last year.

The company, known for its premium branded sweats and leather goods, recorded a 60 per cent increase in e-commerce sales in the quarter.

“We’re seeing some good shifts in the marketplace from a casualization perspective that plays into our strengths,” Roots chief executive Meghan Roach said during a conference call.

“We are a business that has offered these things for quite a long period of time and our proprietary products have made us successful for that reason.”

The company recently launched a retro collection, featuring the brand’s athletic logo from the late 1980s and is marketed with the tagline “classic comfort makes a comeback.”

“It’s performed well for us in the marketplace,” she said. “Consumers are really liking what we’re doing, so that’s very positive.”

Despite the company’s increasing move online, Roach said the Roots brick-and-mortar stores continue to be a key focus for the retailer.

“We’ve been spending a lot of time this past year really learning more about our customers, their lives, the way they live, and what they want from us from a product perspective,” she said, noting that 60% of Roots customers say they still want to come into a store to try things on.