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Pacific Sunwear Q2 comparable sales up 5 percent

Thursday, August 23rd, 2012

Pacific Sunwear, a specialty retailer rooted in the sports, fashion and music influences of the California lifestyle, reported net sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 were 210.3 million dollars versus net sales of 200.9 million dollars for the same period last year.

On a GAAP basis, the company reported a loss from continuing operations of 17.5 million dollars, or 0.26 dollars per share, for the second quarter of fiscal 2012, compared to a loss from continuingoperations of 17.5 million dollars, or 0.26 dollarsper share, for the second quarter of fiscal 2011. The loss from continuing operations for the company’ssecond quarter of fiscal 2012 included a non-cashloss of 8.2 million dollars, or 0.12 dollars per share,related to a derivative liability that resulted from the issue of the Convertible Series B Preferred Stock in connection with the term loan financing the company completed in December 2011.

On a non-GAAP basis, excluding the non-cash loss on derivative liability and using a normalized annual income tax rate of approximately 37 percent, the company’s loss from continuing operations for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 would have been 5.8 million dollars, or 0.08 dollars per share, as compared to a loss from continuing operations of 11.1 million dollars, or 0.17 dollars per share, for the same period a year ago.

“Our 5 percent comparable store sales, 260 basispoint increase in merchandise margins, and positiveoperating cash flow for the second quarter furtherdemonstrate our belief that customers are beginning to rediscover our improvedmerchandising and brand mix, ” said Gary H. Schoenfeld, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Newer brands helped drive a 7 percent comp in our men’s business, which represents our biggestincrease in men’s since 2004. Women’s continued to improve as well with a 2 percent comp and higher margins, and we also achieved a 15 percent increase in online sales.”

As of August 22, 2012, the company operates 727 stores in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

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Body Central names Stoltz COO and interim CEO

Monday, August 20th, 2012

US retailer Body Central has promoted executive vice president and CFO Tom Stoltz to COO and interim CEO. He will replace Allen Weinstein, who is retiring. As interim CEO, Stoltz will manage the company’s daily operations and continue to serve as CFO.

John Haley, chairman of the board, said: “The board has initiated a search for a CEO who will bring a strategic approach to achieving the long-term vision for the business. The company remains focused on growth that will be driven by comparable store sales, opening new stores and expanding our direct business.”

Body Central has also appointed Robert Glass to the board. Glass, who has 38 years retail experience, has previously held a variety of management roles at apparel chain Loehmann’s as well as Gold Circle Stores, a division of Federated Department Stores.

As part of the Body Central’s expansion of its management team, the company is also looking to appoint a general merchandise manager.

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Macy’s Q2 sales up by 3 percent

Wednesday, August 8th, 2012

Department store chain Macy’s, Inc. said today (August 8th) reported a higher second-quarter profit, as net sales grew 3 percent, with an increase in comparable store sales and a surge in online sales. Earnings per share and topline beat analysts’ expectations.

Net income for the second quarter of 2012, ended July 28, 2012 rose 22 percent to $279 million or $0.67 per share from $241 million or $0.55 per share in the year-ago quarter. On average, 16 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.65 per share for the quarter.

Net sales for the quarter grew 3 percent to $6.12 billion, from $5.94 billion in the year-ago-quarter and exceeded analysts’ estimate of $6.10 billion. Gross margin was 41.9 percent of net sales, compared to 41.8 percent a year earlier. On a same-store basis, Macy’s’ second quarter sales were up 3 percent in 2012 as compared to the second quarter of 2011.

Online sales for macys.com and bloomingdales.com combined, increased 36.1 percent.

The Cincinnati, Ohio-based retailer’s result usually heralds the segments performance every year and gives an insight into the show of its peers such as JC Penney (JCP), Kohl’s (KSS) and Saks (SKS).

For the first half, Macy’s posted earnings per share of $1.09, an increase of 27 percent from last year. For the year to date, the company’s sales were $12.26 billion, up 3.7 percent from total sales of 11.828 billion dollars in the first 26 weeks of 2011. On a same-store basis, Macy’s first half sales were up 3.7 percent in 2012 as compared to the first half of 2011.

Terry Lundgren, chairman, president and chief executive officer of the company said, “We were pleased with our spring season results, and they came on top of exceptionally strong spring season performances in each of the past two years. This indicates that our business continues to have forward momentum, even with challenges that include a soft economy, lower spending by international tourists, and temporary disruptions associated with the major remodeling of our Herald Square flagship store in New York City which was initiated in March,” said Terry J. Lundgren, Macy’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “In response to these challenges, we have stayed very firmly focused on driving profitable sales growth while running the business with discipline to maintain margins and manage expenses.”

Looking forward, the company lifted its earnings guidance for full-year 2012 to a range of $3.30 to $3.35 per share, compared with previous guidance for earnings per share of $3.25 to $3.30. Guidance for same-store sales in fiscal 2012 remains unchanged at an increase of approximately 3.7 percent. Analysts expect the company to earn $3.36 per share for the year.

Lundgren also said the company is entering the fall season with optimism and that there will be a scheduled break in the multi-year Herald Square remodeling project so customer shopping patterns are uninterrupted during the holiday season. “We expect all of our first-and second-floor selling space at Herald Square to be fully reopened over the next 90 days, including the world’s largest women’s shoe department, which opens partially this month and will continue in stages in the months ahead,” Lundgren said.

The company operates about 840 department stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico under the names of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, as well as online websites. The company also operates nine Bloomingdale’s Outlet stores. During the quarter, the company opened two new Bloomingdale’s Outlet stores. Macy’s closed Tuesday’s regular trading at $37 on the NYSE. In the pre-market activity, the shares are up 2.7 percent.

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Wet Seal Terminates Employment Of CEO Susan McGalla

Monday, July 23rd, 2012

Teen apparel retailer The Wet Seal is looking for a new chief executive officer after the company terminated Susan McGalla’s employment agreement today (23 July).

The company noted that in the interim, it has formed an Office of the Chairman, led by Hal Kahn, the Company’s non-executive chairman of the Board, while a replacement is found.

In addition, Ken Seipel, the Company’s President and Chief Operating Officer, and Steve Benrubi, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, will be co-principal executive officers and members of the Office of the Chairman while the search is conducted.

Through the third week of the fiscal month ending July 28, 2012, or fiscal July, the Company’s comparable store sales for fiscal July have declined between 13% and 14%. As a result, the company forecasts second quarter comparable store sales to fall 10-11%, which is at the low end of its initial guidance range. Earlier, the company had expected comparable store sales to decline between 7% and 11%.

The company has also updated its earnings guidance for the second quarter. Wet Seal currently estimates second quarter loss before non-cash asset impairment and CEO severance costs will be between $0.06 and $0.07 per share, compared to its initial guidance of a loss between $0.03 and $0.06 per share.

The Company said it is evaluating certain Wet Seal and Arden B stores for potential non-cash asset impairments and will also be incurring CEO severance costs during the quarter. The company noted that asset impairment and CEO severance costs were not included in prior guidance and will widen the loss per share for the quarter.

McGalla joined Wet Seal last January, after resigning from her role as president and chief merchandising officer of American EagleOutfitters.

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Sports Direct International Full Year Pre-tax Profit Climbs

Thursday, July 19th, 2012

UK retailer Sports Direct International Plc. today (19 July) reported higher profit for the full year, helped by increased revenues.

For the 53 weeks ended April 29 the company booked a 17.3% jump in full-year pre-tax profit to £151.5m from £118.79m. The prior year had only 52 weeks. The company said underlying profit before tax rose to £162.1m in the year ended 29 April.

Sales rose 13% to £1.836bn from 1.6 billion pounds in the prior year. The company noted that 52 week group revenue climbed 13 percent to 1.807 billion pounds with growth across all divisions against tough comparatives.

The UK sports retail division, which includes the Sports Direct, Sports World and Lillywhites brands, saw sales climb 7.9% to £1.3bn, with like-for-like sales increasing 0.7%.

Second-half sales grew 11.2% to £667.7m. Online sales grew 82% to represent 11.6% of total retail sports sales, the company said.

The premium lifestyle division, which includes the Cruise, Van Mildert, USC and Tucci fascias, and was formed during the year after the company acquired USC and Van Mildert, as well as an 80% stake in Cruise clothing, reported £73.5m in sales.

Profit attributable to equityholders of the group climbed to 106.2 million from £84.17m reported last year. Earnings per share grew to 16.70 from 13.93.

Dave Forsey, Chief Executive, said: “Our position as the consumers’ champion, offering an unrivalled depth and breadth of product choice at the best available prices, delivered a record sports retail performance… Trading since the period end has remained in line with management’s expectations where increased investment in margin has been funded by stronger retail sales. We achieved record revenues and growth across all divisions.”

The Board decided not to pay a dividend at this time.

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Burberry takes back fragrance license

Wednesday, July 18th, 2012

Burberry has taken back its fragrance and beauty product license from Inter Parfums.

The British luxury house terminated its agreement with the licensee with an acquisition price of €181 million.

Inter Parfums acquired the Burberry license in1993, which today generates around half of its turnover. In 2011, the French-American

company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, had a $615.2 million turnover, up by 34% compared to 2010 and net profits at $32.3 million, up by 21%.

The company commented that although an agreement has been reached on certain main terms and conditions, important points still have to be finalized.

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Stage Stores June Comps. Rise 3.3%

Thursday, July 5th, 2012

Stage Stores Inc. reported a 3.3% growth in June comparable-store sales, with total monthly sales growing 5.8% to $141 million from $134 million a year ago.

The company said the comparable store sales improvement for June was broad based, with cosmetics, footwear, home & gifts and men’s categories higher than the company average. Geographically, the Northeast, South Central, comprising Texas, and Southwest regions outperformed.

Stage Stores’ Chief Executive commented, “Desirable merchandise selections and successful sales events contributed to our solid performance for the month.”

Posted in Activewear, Apparel, Beauty, Brand, Children, Finance, Men, News, Retail, home, ladies | No Responses »

Tesco Q1 Sales Rise, Backs Full Year Outlook

Monday, June 11th, 2012

Supermarket chain Tesco Plc on Monday reported a modest growth in first-quarter sales and said its performance in the UK has been steady during a challenging quarter for the industry as a whole. The company left its full-year outlook unchanged, noting it is performing in line with market expectations.

Philip Clarke, Chief Executive, said, “Tesco has performed robustly in the first quarter despite subdued consumer confidence in all our markets…Against the backdrop of continuing uncertainty in the Eurozone, it is pleasing to see that our businesses have largely sustained their performance.”

Tesco has been going through hard times as high rate of unemployment and muted wage growth is forcing consumers to tighten spending. The firm reported dismal Christmas and New Year sales and issued a weak outlook in January.

In March, Richard Brasher, the chief executive officer of its UK operations, decided to leave the company after barely a year into the job, following a profit warning in January – the company’s first in 20 years.

Tesco said today that group sales for the thirteen weeks ended May 26 increased by 2.2 percent both including and excluding petrol. At constant exchange rates, the growth was 3.8 percent including petrol and 3.9 percent excluding petrol.

Performance in the UK was as expected and total sales including Value Added tax, or VAT, and petrol grew 2.1 percent. The growth was 2 percent excluding petrol. Like-for-like sales in the UK, excluding VAT and petrol, reduced by 1.5 percent in the quarter.

In Asia, total sales grew 9.1 percent at constant rates and 9 percent at actual exchange rates, with positive like-for-like sales growth and contribution from new stores. All markets in Asia saw improvement in like-for-like sales compared to the fourth quarter of last year, except China which continues to experience slowing economic growth.

In Europe, total sales excluding petrol grew by 6 percent at constant exchange rates, but dropped 4 percent in actual rates. Like-for-like sales edged up 0.4 percent helped by improved performances in Poland, Slovakia and the Republic of Ireland, which reported its first full quarter of positive like-for-like sales growth since 2010.

Tesco said the week in the run up to the Diamond Jubilee turned out to be the biggest ever week outside of a Christmas period for the retailer, with over 1 billion pounds in sales.

Additionally, the firm confirmed that the final phase of migration for Tesco Bank has been completed with 2.8 million accounts migrated in May. The extended migration slowed down the progress of Tesco Bank and has contributed to slightly lower revenues compared to last year, apart from the impact of a more competitive car insurance market.

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Government announces Portas pilots

Monday, May 28th, 2012

The UK government has revealed the 12 centres to pilot Mary Portas’ recommendations to revitalise their high streets.

Bedford, Croydon, Dartford, Bedminster, Liskeard, Margate, Market Rasen, Nelson, Newbiggin by the Sea, Stockport, Stockton on Tees and Wolverhampton will all receive a portion of the £1.2m package.

Applications flooded in to government via Youtube from towns desperate to turnaround the fortunes of their ailing high streets. The government said that over 370 applications were made from across the country. Local government minister Grant Shapps said that he would launch a second round of the competition with 12 additional pilots to be announced by the end of July.

“I’ve been deeply touched by both the quality and creativity of the bids and the momentum Britain’s first town teams have generated in just a few short weeks,” said Mary Portas. ”It is now clearer to me than ever that Britain wants its town centres revitalised and the energy and accountability for that needs to rest with the people who live and do business there. My sincere congratulations to everyone who entered.”

The towns will be awarded £100,000 to implement the plans which will include elements of the proposals put forward in the self-styled Queen of Shops’ High Street Review, and a dedicated contact point in government to provide advice and support in identifying and overcoming challenges to local business growth, free support fro industry leaders, and opportunities to meet and discuss with fellow pilots.

It said that towns with unsuccessful bids would still benefit from the pilots, with the best ideas to be shared to help struggling high streets across the UK.

However, KPMG has questioned the outlook for communities that did not win the bid.

“But what now for the other high streets across Britain, who face the same challenges, but without funding and without help? While unsuccessful bidders will automatically be considered for the next 15 places released on the Portas Pilots scheme, communities must not pin their long term hopes for their high street on securing funding second time around,” said KPMG Helen Dickinson.

“Instead the town teams who have worked so diligently on their bids must continue to work together. Effective cooperation between town stakeholders is at the heart of a town’s success.

Dickinson also questioned whether the tide of consumer sentiment can be turned as for many, the high street is no longer viewed as the prime shopping destination.

“We must not be blind to the elephant in the room. The retail sector itself is undergoing fundamental structural change, as evidenced by the ongoing retrenchment of chain retailers to higher volume locations. The demise of many troubled UK high streets is due to the proliferation of obsolete tertiary or poor secondary sites and the closure of stores by service (as opposed to retail) operators whose services are electronically transferrable and hence have moved their operations online,” argues Dickinson.

She says retail landlords must consider what to do with empty cites in some town centres. “This may mean converting them back into residential use, or making them more attractive to those sectors still pursuing expansion plans such as leisure, coffee shops, convenience food chains and charities. Local Authorities will need to be flexible when considering change of use applications, viewing them in the context of what the modern High Street looks like now, and not basing their decision on the stereotypical mix of shops that we were used to seeing in the past.”

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Genesco Q1 Profit Climbs; Lifts 2013 Earnings Forecast

Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012

Shoe and clothing retailer Genesco Inc. posted first quarter net earnings of $20.61 million or $0.85 per share versus $14.8 million or $0.63 per share a year ago.

Results for the recent quarter reflect pretax items of $3.1 million, or $0.12 per share after tax, primarily including compensation expense related to deferred purchase price payments in connection with the acquisition of Schuh Group Ltd. in June 2011, decreased by a tax rate adjustment reflecting the tax treatment of the deferred purchase price.

Adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations were $0.98, up from $0.67 in the same quarter last year. On average, nine analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.74 per share. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales grew 25% to $600.14 million from $481.5 million last year, reflecting the addition of sales from Schuh and a comparable store sales increase of 9%. Analysts expected revenues of $577.14 million.

The Lids Sports Group’s comparable store sales were up 4%, the Journeys Group rose 12%, and Johnston & Murphy Retail increased 4%.

Robert Dennis, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Genesco, said, “Our first quarter results reflect the continuation of the positive sales trends that have characterized our business for the past several quarters. The combination of favorable fashion trends, excellent execution, and the strong strategic positions of our businesses has helped us maintain momentum even in the face of tougher comparisons. The strength in sales once again drove improved expense leverage and profitability above expectations.”

The company now expects adjusted fiscal 2013 earnings per share to be in the range of $4.70 to $4.82, an increase from its previous guidance range of $4.58 to $4.70. The new outlook represents an increase of 15% to 18% over last year’s adjusted earnings per share of $4.09. Analysts expect earnings per share of $4.69.

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