Speaking on a conference call to discuss the New Jersey-based firm’s second quarter earnings, Tony Truesdale, CEO of Vitamin Shoppe, said: “The DMAA issue is, from my perspective, behind us. Most manufacturers are transitioning to non-DMAA s.k.u.s.
“We’ve got one manufacturer left that still has product with DMAA in it.”
Commenting on the pre- and post-workout category in general, Truesdale said that the DMAA issue had not weakened the category and that there is still consistent growth quarter-to-quarter. “But you are seeing a smaller percentage of sales coming from DMAA products and a larger percentage from other products.”
Q2 results breakdown
Meanwhile, Vitamin Shoppe’s results were impressive during the second quarter, driven by higher traffic and strong sales in sports nutrition, weight management, and specialty supplements. Truesdale added that he was happier with the performance of multi-vitamins in the second quarter compared with Q1, “but we still have a ways to go to be where I’d like to be [with multi-vitamins]”.
Net sales rose 13.4% to $245.1m in the three months to June 30 driven by an 8.3% rise in like-for-like sales in its store estate, new store growth, and a 20.3% rise in e-commerce sales.
Net income surged 39% to $16.6 m for the three months ended June 30, 2012, mostly linked to stronger sales and margin improvement, said the company.
“Looking ahead, we have many opportunities to continue to fuel our long-term growth,” said Truesdale. “These include; expanding our store base, introducing new products, international expansion and continuing to grow e-commerce. We also have the operational and financial discipline to continue to manage our business to ensure we deliver profitable growth.”
Based in North Bergen, New Jersey, Vitamin Shoppe sells vitamins, minerals, nutritional supplements, herbs, sports nutrition formulas, homeopathic remedies, and health and beauty aids.
The company carries national brand products as well as exclusive products under the Vitamin Shoppe and BodyTech proprietary brands.