Net income surged 54% to $18,086,000 from $11,735,000 helped by improving margins and expense management in the second quarter on sales that were down 3% to $313,221,000 from $323,828,000. CROX’ shift toward higher-margin molded shoes and improvements in inventory management pushed gross margin up 180 basis points to 54.2%. Operating expenses declined 120 b.p. for $8.7 million in savings from store closings and organizational efficiencies, which included $1.8 million in costs for the SG&A reduction initiative. A $1 million bad debt recovery from China was a bonus. Inventory was down 8% at $155.7 million.

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