The price of cotton has fallen since late last year, but shoppers shouldn't expect the price of children's clothes to go down, executives at Atlanta-based Carter's said Wednesday.
"I don't think anybody is looking in a meaningful way to be lowering the prices," Carter's chairman and CEO Michael Casey said in a company conference call.
The children's clothing company was able to pass on some of the cost increases to shoppers, but the difficult economy kept them from raising prices more, Casey said. Still, the price of clothes won't fluctuate down, as Carter's expects fuel prices and the cost to employ workers to continue to rise. It also hopes to improve the amount of money it makes on each article of clothing sold.
Carter's sales grew 21 percent in 2011 and baby clothing and playwear orders for next fall are strong. Girls' playwear, which had struggled, is improving, but sleepwear continues to be down.
Carter's online sales grew to more than $70 million, far greater than the company expected. It plans to continue focusing on e-commerce and to add 300 stores in the next five years.
Carter's made $114 million in 2011, a 22 percent decrease from the $146.5 million it made in 2010. In its fourth quarter, Carter's made $34.8 million, a slight decrease from the $34.9 million it made for the same period in 2010. High cotton prices were responsible for some of the lower earnings, the company said.
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