Roots sales are down on lower demand for its sweatpants | Globalnews.ca

Roots Corp. reported a first-quarter loss of $8 million compared with a loss of $5.3 million a year earlier, as its sales edged down on lower demand for its popular sweatpants.

Roots chief executive Meghan Roach says the results aligned with the company’s internal projections and reflected a challenging economic environment.

The retailer says the loss amounted to 19 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended April 30 compared with a loss of 13 cents per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

4:40
Tips to combat inflation: investment advisor

Sales in the quarter totalled $41.5 million, down from $43.1 million a year ago.

Roots says the decline in sales came as its direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $35.4 million, down from $37.4 million in the same quarter last year.

Partner and other sales, which includes wholesale Roots branded products, licensing to select manufacturing partners and the sale of certain custom products, totalled $6.1 million, up from $5.7 million a year ago.