Increasing the company’s footprint has a “halo effect,” Wong said.
“When we open a new store and a new market … all of the buzz around the flagship openings and the marketing around that does drive traffic to the e-commerce site,” she said.
Sales sluggish in Canada—with one exception
What Aritzia saw in the U.S., however, stood in contrast to Canada, where net revenue declined 0.6% year-over-year to $325 million.
Aritzia attributed the decline in revenue growth in Canada to its annual warehouse sale, which this year was held in the second quarter instead of the third quarter. The most recent sale brought in $10 million in retail net revenue in Canada.
It also pointed out that the market was affected by the lack of a digital archive sale, which wasn’t held this year but has driven sales in past years.
Canadian consumers have been grappling with the aftermath of a spike in inflation and interest rate hikes to tamp it down, which caused many to cut back on discretionary spending.
Inflation continued to ease in 2024, setting up the company for a Black Friday that chief financial officer Todd Ingledew said “broke all records.”
In the third quarter, which ended Dec. 1 and spanned the start of the holiday shopping period, Aritzia’s profit amounted to 63 cents per diluted share, compared to 38 cents per diluted share in the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal year.
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