Two years after he resumed his role as permanent chief executive officer at Stein Mart Inc.’s 2013 annual meeting, Jay Stein told shareholders at this year’s meeting he is happy with the results to date.
“I’m obviously very pleased with what this team has accomplished in the last few years,” Stein said during Tuesday’s meeting at the Museum of Science and History on the Southbank.
However, Stein, who actually came back as interim CEO in late 2011, said there is more work to be done.
Stein Mart has grown sales in each of the last three years, but the Jacksonville-based fashion retailer’s sales have still not returned to its 2005 peak of about $1.5 billion. Sales were about $1.3 billion in fiscal 2014.
Since Stein Mart’s sales peaked a decade ago, the company has weathered a recession and three changes in the CEO spot, as well as changes in other top management.
“Everything is different,” Stein said after the meeting.
“It’s a different company than it was four years ago,” he said.
“We dramatically changed how we operate the business,” President and Chief Operating Officer D. Hunt Hawkins said.
Those changes include new technology and reduced headcount in the stores, and a more efficient distribution system, he said.
The changes have increased profit margins, making Stein Mart as profitable now as it was 10 years ago when sales were higher, Stein said. So earnings should be increasing as sales get back to the 2005 level, which he expects will happen in about a year and a half.
Stein Mart is growing sales at existing stores and also by opening new stores.
The company’s store network is targeted to grow from 270 at the end of fiscal 2014 to 279 at the end of this year, and to continue expanding.
“We’re excited about our growth opportunities as we continue to open more stores,” Hawkins said.
Stein Mart is also hoping to grow sales with initiatives such as its branded store credit card. Hawkins said shoppers with a Stein Mart card spend 35 percent more than other customers.
The company also is seeking growth from its e-commerce store, which launched in September 2013 but only generated about 1.5 percent of Stein Mart’s total sales in the first quarter this year.
“It will take a couple of more years before we see profitability” on the e-commerce business, Hawkins said.
Stein, who initially retired as CEO of the company in 2001 but remained chairman, has been running the company since previous CEO David Stovall resigned in September 2011.
While Stein feels good about what the company has accomplished, he said after the meeting he expects to see even better results going forward.
“Three years of great momentum and we expect much more,” he said.