A snafu at a new warehouse in Denver hurt Smith Optics in Q3, a key season for the winter business, according to parent company Safilo.
Safilo has consolidated all its brands in the U.S. and Canada into the warehouse, which now handles shipping and fulfillment for all channels. Smith’s shipping previously operated out of Utah.
The warehouse pains hurt Safilo’s business in North America, with Q3 sales down 7.7% in the quarter, and Smith was hurt the most, according to Safilo.
The logistics problems came at a bad time for Smith, which has been a star performer for Safilo. If Smith had been able to ship as normal, the brand’s Q3 sales would have risen in the high-single digits, Safilo executives said.
SES reached out to Smith Global Brand Director Eric Carlson who provided a bit more color about what happened with the warehouse and how the brand has responded.
“Our business was impacted by the move in July and is still catching up through Q4. We prioritize daily the preseason and at-once orders with total support by the reps and customers.
“Our sell-through is incredibly strong which is positive – the challenge is fulfilling growing demand.
“Through all of this we have 100% prioritized customer orders. So much so, we pulled our e-commerce down for three weeks in August to focus on dealer orders and minimize consumer frustration on record-level wait times for shipment and consumer service via phone, online and email.
“Our No. 1 goal right now is to regain trust – with our customers, our reps, and our consumers,” Eric said.
