Men's outperforms women's in 2014 at The Buckle

The weak denim cycle, especially in women’s, continues to dampen sales at denim specialist The Buckle.

The Buckle is a big industry customer on both the men’s and women’s side of the business in categories like boardshorts, shorts, T-shirts, dresses, tops, swim, accessories and footwear. The retailer does not carry a lot of industry denim, which is not a strong suit for many brands.

The men’s side of the store outperformed women’s in 2014.

Men’s sales increased 7% in 2014, while women’s sales fell 1%.

Strong categories in men’s for the year were denim, casual bottoms, knit shirts, sweaters, shorts, outerwear and accessories.

Strong categories in women’s included casual bottoms, wovens, knit tops, sweaters, active apparel, outerwear and footwear.

In 2014, denim account for 43.5% of total sales, down from 45.3% in 2013.

Just three years ago, denim accounted for 46.6% of Buckle’s annual sales.

Executives said the softness in denim and the challenging environment overall led to flat earnings in 2014.

2014 annual sales rose 2.2% to $1.2 billion. Comparable sales were flat. Online sales (not included in comparable store sales) increased 6% to $94.3 million.

2014 net income was flat at $162.6 million.

The Buckle will open nine new stores in 2015 and is expanding the boys side of its kids business to catch up with the previous expansion in girls.

Industry brands that sell to The Buckle include Hurley, Billabong, Obey, Fox, RVCA, Roxy, Amuse Society, Reef, Oakley and Nixon.