Yeti sounds warning despite increase in sales

Yeti, the manufacturer of coolers for fishing and other outdoor pursuits, has slashed its earnings and sales guidance for the year despite growing sales by 17% in its second quarter.

Both sales and earnings were below Wall Street estimates and the company is taking a more cautious view because of weakening consumer trends.

“We believe this performance continues to demonstrate the incredible resiliency and vitality of the brand, as well as the durability of demand for Yeti,” said President and CEO Matt Reintjes.

“Nonetheless, sales were slightly below our expectations, primarily due to softer digital traffic and new customer acquisition trends after several years of strong growth.”

Reintjes explained that a marginal shift towards wholesale was one of the factors that negatively impacted gross margin and that he expected this dynamic to continue through the rest of the year.

He also noted that the company was beginning to see meaningful container cost decreases which will have a positive effect as Yeti enters the 2023 fiscal year.

Yeti’s priorities include a focus on brand expansion across multi-channel distribution points, investment in marketing, people and innovation and maintaining high customer value. “These are the areas that differentiate Yeti in the market and will remain integral to our leadership position,” he added.

For the three months ended July 2nd, Yeti increased sales by 17% to $420m, compared to $358m in the same period last year. Within that, direct to consumer sales increased 14% to $225m. Gross profit grew 5% to $219m.