Arden Q1 sales fall

For its first quarter results, US beauty brand Elizabeth Arden posted net sales of $343.6m – down from $344.5m in the prior year period. Net income also fell to $1.7m from $2.2m in last years quarter.

Despite this, net sales sales for the companys international segment increased by 5.3%, driven by growth in its Greater China and European markets. Net sales in its North American business, however, fell 3%.

Commenting on the results, E. Scott Beattie, Chairman, President and CEO of Elizabeth Arden, Inc., said: "Overall results for the quarter were essentially in line with our expectations. We are pleased with the progress of the Elizabeth Arden brand repositioning as well as our other key initiatives. Recall, we had strong sales growth in the first half of last year due to the contribution of acquisitions and an unprecedented level of fragrance launch volume. This clearly has an impact on revenue growth and gross margin improvement comparisons for this fiscal year. As we head into the holiday season, we expect to continue to execute against our plans, but our outlook remains cautious given the continued challenging economic environment globally."