South Deerfield, MA
413.665.8306
www.yankeecandle.com

Sales: $844.2 million

Yankee Holding Corp. and The Yankee Candle Company, Inc. posted favorable financial results for the full year ended Dec. 29, 2012. Total company net sales increased 7.4% to $844.2 million. Retail sales rose 9.1% to $490.2 million and wholesale sales increased 1.3% to $238.3 million. Sales in the company’s international segment jumped 14.2% to $115.7 million.

Early in 2013, the firm named Frank P. Bifulco Jr. to the company’s board of directors. He most recently served as senior vice president and chief marketing officer of The Home Depot from 2008-2011. Yankee Candle also welcomed Brad Wolansky to the newly-created role of president of direct and chief marketing officer.

Wolansky’s appointment was part of a strategic initiative focused on building the company’s brands, expanding the digital platform and accelerating growth of its direct-to-consumer business, according to the firm.

Wolansky joined Yankee Candle with more than 25 years of experience with marquis brands in digital and direct marketing channels. In his new role, he is responsible for building the company’s branding efforts across all channels and lead the company’s digital branding and e-commerce efforts.

In Spring 2013, Yankee Candle kicked off its Facebook “March to a Million Golden Ticket Contest” and rolled out limited edition candle in anticipation of reaching one million Facebook fans. Those that purchase the exclusive candle were also automatically entered into the drawing for the contest.” The contest winner will receive an exclusive three-day trip the company’s flagship store in South Deerfield, MA, including a meet and greet with CEO Harlan Kent.

“We are continually excited and proud of the passion for our brand we see in fans and customers from around the world,” said Kent. “We’ve seen an 80% growth in our Facebook fans in the past year, and we wanted to acknowledge their loyalty with this exclusive contest and limited edition candle.”

Also in May, Yankee Candle launched two new fragrances and announced the return of three favorites in its popular limited edition Man Candles collection. Two new fragrances, MMM, Bacon! and Movie Night, join Man Town, First Down and Riding Mower. The collection, launched last year to tremendous response, was created uniquely for men to be enjoyed in their “man town,” whether that is the den, the basement or even the garage, said the company.

To celebrate the arrival of the collection, Yankee Candle simultaneously launched a series of social media contests, offering consumers the chance to win samples of the Man Candles II collection. The brand also encouraged fans to “share their excitement” on Facebook and Twitter by using the hashtag #MMMBacon.

According to the company, MMM, Bacon! and Movie Night are now part of one of the most successful launches in the brand’s history. More than 10% of retail sales were contributed to Man Candles during the period of time they were in store after the launch and the line was covered in more than 400 media outlets in just two weeks. The brand also experienced a 167% increase in unique visitors to its website over the same.

Last month, Yankee Candle rolled out the “Boston Strong” candle, which is designed to honor the victims and the first responders of the bomb attacks during the Boston Marathon. All net proceeds of the commemorative candle go to the One Fund Boston, the official nonprofit organized by Boston Mayor Tom Menino and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.

Next up from Yankee Candle are Fan Candles. Touted as a unique way to show support for your favorite college team, this collection will kick off with large jar candles and a car air freshener with authentic logos of 27 colleges and universities across the country.

Deerfield, MA
413.665.8306
www.yankeecandle.com
Sales: $785 million.
Net income: $54 million.

Sales rose about 7% last year, while net income jumped 30%. By segment, retail sales increased 5.4% more than $449 million, wholesale sales increased 1.2% to more than $235 million and international sales jumped more than 35% to more than $101 million.

Retail sales were driven primarily by sales in new stores, as well as increased sales in Yankee’s Consumer Direct division and an increase in sales in the Fundraising division. However, comparable store sales in the 512 Yankee Candle retail stores that have been open for more than one year remained flat, while comparable sales in the Consumer Direct business increased 20.8%. Wholesale sales increased 1.2% due to gains in premium mass and department store channels, partially offset by decreased sales in the domestic gift store channel.

International sales rose on strength in the UK wholesale business and Yankee’s “store within a store” concession channel.

For 2012, Q1 sales rose 7.6% to about $155 million. Retail sales increased 8.3% to $81 million, wholesale sales increased 5.7% to just over $50 million and international sales increased 9.3% to nearly $24 million. During the quarter, Yankee Candle reported a net loss of $3.5 million, but that was down substantially from the $5.3 million in losses reported in Q1 2011.

New Store Openings Provide a Lift in First Quarter
“We saw solid revenue growth in the first quarter in all of our businesses,” said Kent.“Sales in our consumer direct and fundraising businesses were particularly strong year over year, and our wholesale and international businesses had solid growth as well. Our adjusted EBITDA was down slightly to the prior year quarter, but consistent with our internal plans. The year-over-year variance was driven primarily by shifts in the mix of business within our business segments.”

Retail sales gains in the quarter were driven primarily by sales from Yankee Candle retail stores opened after the first quarter of 2011, increased sales in the consumer direct business, and increased sales from the Yankee Candle fundraising division. Total retail comparable sales, including the consumer direct business, increased by 1.8% compared to the prior year first quarter.Comparable store sales in the 509 Yankee Candle retail stores fell 1.2% due to a 6.1% decline in store traffic.

Gains in wholesale were driven by increased sales to the specialty and department store channel coupled with increased sales to various accounts outside the gift and premium mass channels.
International sales were driven primarily by increased sales in Yankee’s retail concession business, increased sales in its European wholesale business outside of the United Kingdom, and increased sales to international distributors primarily in Asia and Latin America, the company said.

A Men’s Market
In an effort to reach guys—many of whom can go their entire lives without making a scented candle purchase—Yankee recently rolled out scents with names like Riding Mower (the scent of freshly cut grass), 2 X 4 (freshly planed wood and sawdust), First Down (a combination of orange, patchouli, vetiver and leather notes) and Man Town (a masculine blend of spices, woods and musk). The collection, available for a limited time, debuted just before Father’s Day and was an instant hit. In fact, Man Town quickly became the No. 1 SKU among Yankee Candle’s 4000 items.

According to Yankee, men make up 35% of the users in the scented candle market.

“We were excited to bring this line of candles specifically positioned for men to market and the level of response has been astounding,” said Kent.“In the first few days we have seen a 167% increase in unique visitors to our website over the comparable year ago time period and new visitors increased 222%. Our Facebook engagement is up 118% and daily total reach up 115% vs. the comparable time period the previous week.”

Deerfield, MA

800.839.6038

www.yankeecandle.com

Sales: $734 million

Sales:

$734 million. Net income: $41 million for the year ended, Jan. 1, 2011.

Pink Sands is a new bestseller for Yankee Candle.

Personnel changes and an international retail expansion topped the list of buzzworthy bites from Yankee Candle this year. The company hired John Fontana as new president, international division and promoted Hope Margala Klein to senior vice president, brand, marketing and innovation and Deborah Norris to general merchandise manager. It is also opening its first retail store in Canada this month.

In September 2010, The Yankee Candle Company, Inc. named Trudy Sullivan to its board of directors. She is the president and chief executive officer of The Talbots, Inc., a leading specialty retail and direct marketer of women’s apparel, shoes and accessories in the United States and Canada.

“We are extremely pleased that Trudy is joining our board,” said Kent. “As the CEO of a highly regarded retailer like Talbots, Trudy brings to our board a proven track record of successful hands-on leadership in the highly competitive retail industry. In addition to her executive and leadership skills, Trudy’s extensive merchandising and consumer direct experience, as well as her demonstrated record of success in both the retail and wholesale fields, should prove helpful as we work together to continue to grow our business and extend the Yankee Candle brand.”

The company posted favorable financial results for the third quarter ended Oct. 2, 2010. Sales jumped 4.1% to $175.8 million. Sales in the company’s wholesale business increased 3.7% to $96.2 million, while retail sales rose 4.7% to $79.6 million.

For the nine months ended Oct. 2, 2010, retail sales increased 7.8% to $225 million, driven primarily by an increase in new stores opened after the third quarter of 2009 and an increase in comparable store sales, said the company. Wholesale sales increased 9.6% to $217.1 million.

To kick off the new year, Yankee Candle revealed that John Fontana joined the company as president of the international division and Hope Margala Klein was promoted to senior vice president, brand design and innovation.

Fontana brings significant experience in the candle industry, as well as success in developing consumer growth strategies, and setting up effective international business platforms. Most recently, he served as the chief executive officer of Smith Mountain Industries, a mid-sized candle company. Prior to that, Fontana served as the chief executive officer for Hot Stuff Foods and was managing director for Allied Capital’s International & Portfolio Development. He has also held senior positions at Electrolux, LLC, Frito Lay and Deloitte and Touche.

Margala Klein has played several important leadership roles at Yankee Candle, most recently serving as wholesale vice president of marketing and merchandising, with a prior role as retail general merchandise manager. Most of her earlier career was spent at Limited Brands where she held positions as vice president, category leader for the Bath and Body Works division, and vice president, group product director for the Victoria’s Secret’s beauty division.

Norris brings significant experience to her new position having held several key retail leadership positions at Yankee Candle since she joined the company in 2001. In her new role, Norris is now responsible for the company’s retail planning and allocation, category management, visual merchandising, store marketing and promotions, as well as the company’s consumer direct business. Previously, she was vice president of consumer direct, fundraising and outlet businesses.

“Deb and Hope have provided tremendous leadership to our organization and I have every confidence that these new roles and responsibilities will further optimize our performance and align our offerings in a manner that continues our industry leadership in product assortment, variety, quality and innovation,” commented Kent.

Yankee Candle also announced two additional appointments to key senior management positions. Ben Menezes was named vice president, wholesale finance and operations, after previously holding a similar position in the company’s retail division. Steve Richardson was named as vice president, retail finance and fundraising, after holding a similar position in the wholesale division.

In March, the company posted its fourth quarter and full year results ended Jan. 1, 2011.

Sales for the fourth quarter of 2010 jumped 6% to $291.6 million.Wholesale business sales climbed 10.6% to $90.3 million, while retail sales rose 4.6% to $201.3 million.

For the year ended Jan. 1, 2011, total company sales increased by 7.7% to $733.7 million.Retail sales jumped 6.2% to $426.3 million and wholesale volume rose 9.9% to $307.4 million.The company generated net income of $41.9 million for fiscal 2010 compared to net income of $16.4 million for the prior year.

“We finished 2010 with a solid fourth quarter performance, delivering revenue growth in both of our business units and adjusted EBITDA growth versus the prior year,” said Kent. “Despite a consumer environment that remained very challenging throughout the year, we were able to generate strong revenue and bottom line growth.The results delivered by our business units, together with supply chain productivity, disciplined cost control and strong working capital management, enabled us to generate strong cash flows and pay down our debt well ahead of schedule.”

Kent continued, “While we do not necessarily believe that the consumer economy is completely out of the woods, and while the current turmoil in the Middle East and its impacts make near term visibility difficult, we are nonetheless generally optimistic about 2011 overall and believe that we are well positioned for growth in both revenue and earnings versus 2010.”

Q1 sales rose 2.2% to $144.1 million for both wholesale and retail. Wholesale business jumped 3.1% to $69.3 million, while retail sales increased 1.5% to $74.8 million.

According to Kent, the company expected a difficult beginning to the year, due in large part to factors such as wax and freight inflation and investments that the company is making in various growth initiatives that will begin to benefit Yankee Candle in the second half of the year.

“Our results in the first quarter were consistent with these expectations,” he added.

Deerfield, MA
800.839.6038
www.yankeecandle.com
Sales: $681 million

Sales:
$681 million. Net income: $16.4 million for the year ended Jan. 2, 2010

Yankee Candle is the largest specialty branded premium scented candle company in the U.S. In 2009, Yankee Candle’s bestselling new fragrance introductions included Garden Sweet Pea, Lavender Vanilla and MacIntosh Spice. Rick Ruffolo, senior vice president of brand, marketing and innovation (who has since moved on to Crabtree & Evelyn), once attributed Yankee’s success in the category to “seasonal relevance.”

It was a mixed bag for Yankee during the past year. Retail sales increased 2.7% to $401.3 million; however, wholesale sales fell 6.3% to $279.8 million, due primarily by the loss of Linens ‘N Things which filed for bankruptcy in 2008, and of course, the weak economic environment. However, the decrease was partially offset by an increase in sales in European operations and the full rollout of the company’s new Home Classics brand at Target stores nationwide.

Net income was $16.4 million for the year—a huge improvement over the $409.3 million net loss reported last year.

This spring, the company tapped Gregory W. Hunt as executive vice president, finance and chief financial officer. Most recently, Hunt served as executive vice president of strategic and commercial development for Norwegian Cruise Lines. He also worked at Culligan Water Technologies, Inc. and Samsonite Corporation.

In March, Yankee Candle opened its 500th retail store located at the Square One Mall in Saugus, MA. This milestone was celebrated in the company’s backyard with an official grand opening and ribbon cutting.

“Yankee Candle has been based in Massachusetts since we got our start more than four decades ago, and we feel it is very fitting that this exciting event is taking place here in our home state,” said Harlan Kent, Yankee Candle’s chief executive officer.

Yankee Candle employs more than 5,000 people nationwide with more than 1,500 employees in Massachusetts alone. The 500th store location in Saugus is the 34th Yankee Candle store in Massachusetts.

This year, Yankee Candle also moved into the toy marketplace. It teamed up with Hasbro to create Yankee Candle Scented Puzzles, which have the “subtle pleasant scents” of classic Yankee Candle fragrances such as Macintosh Apple, Clean Cotton and Midsummer’s Night, according to the company. The puzzles include unique pieces in the well-known shape of the classic Yankee Candle jar.

Deerfield, MA
800.839.6038
www.yankeecandle.com
Sales: $713 million

Sales: $713 million. Net loss: $409.3 million, for the year ended Jan. 3, 2009.

Sales fell 3.1% last year. Retail sales rose 0.6% to $410 million due to a 53-week, rather than a 52-week reporting period. Comparing similar 52 week periods, total retail sales decreased by 1.7%.Wholesale sales fell 7.8% to $303.5 million, but wholesale revenues would have been off 9% if not for the extra week. The company incurred a net loss of $409 million last year.

Later in January, the company announced a restructuring plan that will close 28 Illuminations retail stores and shutter the Illuminations consumer direct business. The company acquired the Illuminations business in July 2006. The Illuminations retail stores are located primarily on the West Coast.

“Decisions like these which affect our employees are very difficult ones,” said Craig Rydin, chairman and chief executive officer of Yankee Candle. “But given this unprecedented macro-economic environment, particularly in the retail sector, we believe that this restructuring plan is necessary and appropriate as part of our ongoing efforts to reduce our cost structure, focus our resources primarily on our core Yankee Candle business, optimize our return on invested capital and increase our overall operating efficiency.”

For the first quarter ended April 4, 2009, sales fell 10.8% to $125.7 million. Net losses rose 45% to $11.5 million.

On Oct. 1, Harlan M. Kent, currently the president and chief operating officer of Yankee, will become president and chief executive officer. He will succeed Craig W. Rydin, who will serve as executive chairman through Oct. 1, 2010 and as a non-executive chairman thereafter.

South Deerfield, MA
413.665.8306
www.yankeecandle.com
Sales: $737 million

Sales:

$737 million. Net income: $3 million.

Retail sales rose 4.9% to nearly $408 million and wholesale sales rose 10.2% to $329.3 million. Net income tumbled from $84 million due to costs associated with the acquisition by Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC.

“Given the challenging macroeconomic environment that we competed in during the fourth quarter, we were pleased with our 2007 performance,” said Craig W. Rydin, chairman and chief executive.

To maintain growth, the company is focused on its brand, the competitive advantage of its multi-channel business model and its vertically integrated supply chain.

“Additionally, we are highly focused on cost containment and controllable expenses as we navigate a difficult sales environment. We continue to believe that we are well-positioned to compete successfully for the consumer’s share of wallet during the course of 2008.”

For the first quarter of 2008, sales declined 1.5% to $140.9 million. The decline was blamed on existing domestic wholesale customers who remain skittish when it comes to inventory.