Canada's Reitmans sees e-commerce gains but Q1 loss widens to $10 mn

The gross profit margin of the company dropped by 100 basis points (bps) to 55.7 per cent. It reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $10.6 million and a net loss of $10 million, or $0.2 per share.

“While our e-commerce revenue grew in Q1, it was not enough to offset lower in-store traffic resulting from near-record snowfall accumulations in some regions during February. We saw improvement once the weather cleared; however, consumers were more price-conscious amid ongoing economic uncertainty. We proactively moved our merchandise with selective and strategic promotional activity, ending the quarter with healthy inventory levels,” Andrea Limbardi, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Reitmans, said in a press release. “However, these actions resulted in a YoY gross profit impact. Our disappointing financial results underscore the importance of implementing the five-year strategic plan we announced in April. This strategy is designed to drive long-term profitable growth and ultimately make our business more resilient.”

“As part of our ongoing efforts to optimise our store fleet, we opened three new Reitmans stores, one RW&CO store, and two PENN stores that were relocations during the quarter. Meanwhile, under our strategy to fuel growth with modernisation, we moved forward with the first phase of our digital strategic roadmap,” added Limbardi. “Reflecting our commitment to a seamless customer journey across all our touch points, this first phase will include newly designed front-end e-commerce storefronts for all three brands and migrating to Shopify. We expect the migration and launch of our enhanced e-commerce offering to be completed this fiscal.”

Reitmans reported working capital of $134.8 million, including cash reserves of $85.4 million as of May 3, 2025. The company had no long-term debt aside from lease liabilities, and no funds were drawn from its bank credit facilities at the end of the first quarter.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (SG)