Contact Information: For Further Information: Big Dog Holdings, Inc. 121 Gray Avenue Santa Barbara, California 93101 www.walkingco.com www.bigdogs.com CONTACT: Alexis Dilg Investor Information (805) 963-8727, ext. 1302 alexisd@bigdogs.com
Big Dog Holdings, Inc. Announces Strong Start for Holiday Sales for The Walking Company
| Source: Big Dog Holdings, Inc.
SANTA BARBARA, CA--(Marketwire - December 3, 2007) - Big Dog Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ : BDOG )
(www.bigdogs.com) (www.thewalkingcompany.com), a developer and retailer of
branded, lifestyle consumer products, today reported that the holiday sales
for The Walking Company were successfully launched with strong results over
the Thanksgiving weekend.
Commented CEO Andrew Feshbach, "We are very pleased with our performance at
The Walking Company. For the three-day holiday weekend our comparative
retail store sales increased approximately 20% over the prior year and our
gross margins appear to be above last year's results for the holiday
weekend. In addition to our strong Thanksgiving weekend, comparative store
sales have increased in the low double digits for October and November and
we expect them to continue for the remainder of the year. With margins
holding above last year, we appear to be in a good position to achieve
improved financial performance for The Walking Company for 2007. Further,
we have now expanded The Walking Company to 178 stores, with nine more
stores opening in December and three underperforming stores closing by
around year end. Looking into 2008, we appear poised to grow rapidly as we
continue our store expansion and integrate our new acquisition (Natural
Comfort Footwear) which is scheduled to close in early January."
In regards to the Company's Big Dog Sportswear subsidiary, Mr. Feshbach
added, "The recent results for Big Dogs have continued per this year's
trend, which has been challenging. However, holiday sales traditionally
contribute a substantial portion of Big Dogs' yearly sales, and we are
focused on successfully executing our holiday sales plan for Big Dogs this
season. With this goal in mind, we were able to achieve a better
Thanksgiving weekend (approximately -2% comp store results) by promoting
more aggressively and plan to continue that tactic for the remainder of the
year."
Big Dog Holdings, Inc. consists of Big Dog Sportswear and The Walking
Company. The Walking Company is the leading independent specialty retailer
of high-quality, technically designed comfort shoes and accessories that
features premium brands such as ECCO, Mephisto, Dansko, and Merrell, among
many others. The Walking Company operates stores in premium malls across
the nation. Big Dogs develops, markets and retails a branded, lifestyle
collection of unique, high-quality, popular-priced consumer products,
including activewear, casual sportswear, accessories and gifts. The BIG
DOGS® brand image is one of quality, value and fun. The BIG DOGS®
brand is designed to appeal to people of all ages and demographics,
particularly baby boomers and their kids, big and tall customers, and pet
owners. In addition to its retail stores, Big Dogs markets its products
through its catalog, internet and corporate sales accounts.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995 -- With the exception of historical information, the matters discussed
in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve a number
of risks and uncertainties. The actual future sales and other results of
the Company could differ significantly from those statements. Further
information on the Company's risk factors is contained in the Company's
quarterly and annual reports as filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.