Right Start Reports $2.43-Million Loss

Right Start Inc., a Westlake Village retailer and mail-order company specializing in baby products, reported wider losses in its fiscal fourth quarter and year that ended June 1.

In the final three months of the fiscal year, Right Start lost $2.43 million, compared to a loss of $92,000 a year earlier. It registered the larger loss despite a 10% gain in revenue, to $11.3 million from $10.3 million.

For the year, the company reported a $3.9-million loss, while its revenue fell 9% to $41.8 million. In fiscal 1995 it lost $2.11 million on revenue of $45.7 million.

The latest full-year results included expenses and write-offs totaling $2.7 million related to the restructuring of the company’s catalog division and the outsourcing of its telemarketing, warehousing and distribution functions. Employee severance and hiring and relocation costs for new management were also included.

Right Start, which began as a mail-order company, is increasingly emphasizing its retail business as a means for growth. In a little more than a year it has more than doubled the number of Right Start stores to 24 and plans to open 13 more before Thanksgiving.