It turned out to be a rough end to the year for Oxford Industries in 2025.
Late Thursday, the Atlanta-based owner of Tommy Bahama and Lilly Pulitzer reported a loss of $9.7 million, or 48 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, down from a profit of $20.3 million, or $1.14 a share, in the prior year. Sales dipped 4 percent to $374.5 million from $390.5 million.
Sales at Tommy Bahama were down 4 percent to $229.2 million, Lilly Pulitzer posted a 1 percent dip in sales to $73.5 million and Johnny Was, the newest addition to the Oxford stable, fell 20 percent to $37.9 million. Only the company’s emerging brands division, which includes Southern Tide, Duck Head and the Beaufort Bonnet Co., posted positive sales in the period, rising 7 percent to $34 million.
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Sales at the company’s physical stores and e-commerce sites were down 3 percent for the year while sales at the wholesale channel dropped 5 percent.
Among the headwinds the company experienced were the Saks Global bankruptcy, consumer reticence to spend during the holiday season and a highly promotional environment.
In a call with analysts, Tom Chubb, chief executive officer, said sales have begun to show improvement in 2026. He pointed to “late January momentum of our largest brand, Tommy Bahama,” which helped the company hit the midpoint of its guidance.
“Comparable sales, led by midsingle-digit positive comps at Tommy Bahama, improved and turned positive for the total company in late January,” Chubb said. “In the first quarter of fiscal 2026 to date, comps at Tommy Bahama have remained midsingle-digit positive, while comps for the total company have remained modestly positive.”
Lilly Pulitzer’s first-quarter comps, however, are running below plan, which he attributed to colder weather along the Eastern seaboard, “including Florida and the Southeast, the brand’s most important markets.” And Johnny Was is also experiencing negative comps so far this year while the emerging brands continue to outperform with sales up in the double digits.
“We are especially encouraged that performance improved as we moved into resort in early spring when our product offerings were better aligned with customer demand compared with our holiday assortments,” Chubb said. “We view that improvement as particularly meaningful because these are seasons when our brands are especially well-positioned given their connection to warm-weather lifestyles and the occasions that matter most to our customers. While the environment remains uncertain, these trends reinforce our confidence that actions we have taken are gaining traction.”
That includes the completion of a new state-of-the-art distribution center in Lyons, Ga., as well as investments in technology, data and analytics and artificial intelligence, he said.
The company’s sourcing strategy was also updated. “Early in fiscal 2025, approximately 40 percent of our apparel and related products were expected to be sourced from producers located in China,” Chubb said. “Through the actions we took during the year, that figure declined to slightly less than 30 percent of our product purchases in fiscal 2025, and our annualized run rate entering fiscal 2026 has been reduced to approximately 15 percent. Together, these actions have increased our flexibility and better positioned us to navigate continued uncertainty in the marketplace.”
Looking ahead, the company projected net sales of between $385 million and $395 million in the first quarter and earnings per share of $1.13 to $1.23. For the year, Oxford expects sales in the range of $1.48 billion to $1.53 billion, compared with $1.48 billion in fiscal 2025. Earnings per share are expected to be between $1.83 and $2.43 compared to the loss of $1.86 posted in fiscal 2024.