As part of its plans to expand in underserved markets, Hibbett Sports (NASDAQ:HIBB), Inc. HIBB opened a new store at 2734 Decker Blvd in the Fashion Place Shopping Center at Columbia for sneakerheads, families and sports enthusiasts. Being Hibbett’s second store in Columbia, the launch of this new store was marked by a grand opening party on Feb 13 with lots of prizes and special promotions. Notably, the company has more than 1,000 stores across the United States.
This store, which comes with a 5,000 square foot space, is an open-concept store with the availability of an easy checkout process and convenient delivery options such as Buy Online Pick Up In Store, Reserve Online Pick Up In Store and Curbside Pick Up. Also, it offers newly launched, exclusive and hard-to-find footwear, athletic apparel and equipment from brands including Nike (NYSE:NKE), Jordan and adidas, to name a few.
Further, there are multiple mannequins featuring outfits curated by stylists for an improved shopping experience. Moreover, there are phone charging stations and other amenities for the benefit of customers. That said, we believe that this latest move is in sync with plans to strengthen presence across the country, particularly in markets that offer increased potential for future growth. The company has a target of growing to more than 1,500 stores in underserved markets.
What Else Should You Know?
Hibbett has been gaining from improved traffic in stores and website stemming from pent-up customer demand. This drove the third-quarter fiscal 2021 results, wherein the bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Further, the company’s top and bottom lines improved year over year. Also, solid performance in apparel, accessories and footwear aided top-line growth.
Moreover, the company witnessed strong momentum in online sales and new customer acquisitions. Speaking of online sales, its omnichannel capabilities such as home delivery, buy online and pick-up in store, reserve online and pick-up in store, buy online ship to store facility, same-day delivery and mobile app services bode well. Driven by these, Hibbett witnessed a strong online show amid the coronavirus pandemic, which contributed to top-line growth in third-quarter fiscal 2021. Notably, online sales advanced 50.7% year over year in the fiscal third quarter. Apart from these, Hibbett is progressing well with its loyalty program in order to enhance its omnichannel initiatives.
Encouragingly, management issued GAAP guidance for fourth-quarter fiscal 2021. It doesn’t foresee any material difference between GAAP and non-GAAP figures. The bottom line is expected to be $1-$1.1 per share, whose midpoint of $1.05 reflects a sharp improvement from 51 cents reported in the last-year quarter. Moreover, the company expects comps growth of high-single to low-double digits. Also, gross margin is anticipated to expand nearly 380-400 basis points.
Hence, this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock has surged 53.1% in the past three months, outperforming the industry’s growth of 13.9%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
3 More Retail Stocks to Watch
DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. DKS has a long-term earnings growth rate of 5.6% and currently, a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Tapestry (NYSE:TPR) TPR, with a Zacks Rank #2, has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 10%.
Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) FIVE has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 21% and presently, a Zacks Rank #2.
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