Christopher & Banks Q4 comps up 5.7% thanks to strong e-commerce performance

By

Robin Driver

Published
Mar 9, 2018

Minneapolis-based specialty women’s retailer Christopher & Banks Corporation published its fourth quarter and full year 2017 results on Thursday, with improvements in sales and comps alleviating losses in the last quarter of the year.
 

Fourth quarter net sales hit $92.3 million, an 8.6% increase over the $85.0 million achieved in Q4 2016, while operating an average of 6% fewer stores. This total benefitted from $5.0 million attributable to the extra 14th week in the fourth quarter of 2017.
 
Comparable sales rose 5.7% on a 14-week basis, compared to a 7.8% decrease in the same period last year. E-commerce performed particularly well, achieving sales growth of 11.6% following a 7.5% increase in the same period last year.

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Christopher & Banks’ net loss for Q4 2017 totaled $8.8 million, an improvement from the loss of $17.2 million reported for the prior year period.
 
Joel Walker, interim president and CEO, stated in a release, “We ended the year on a strong note, illustrating the significant progress that we have made across a number of strategic initiatives. We took steps centered around merchandising, marketing, eCommerce, and store operations to stabilize the business and position us to drive more consistent financial performance.”
 
“We look forward to working with Keri Jones, our recently appointed Chief Executive Officer, as we continue to leverage the strong foundation we have established to drive sustainable long-term growth,” he added.
 
Full year net sales totaled $365.9 million, a 4.1% decrease from the previous year’s $381.6 million, despite the aforementioned benefit of $5.0 million attributable to fiscal 2017’s 53rd week.
 
Comparable sales decreased 2.5% compared to the same period 53-week period in the previous year.
 
The company’s net loss for fiscal 2017 came to a total of $22.0 million, continuing the downward trajectory of the prior year’s loss of $17.8 million.
 
As of March 8, Christopher & Banks operates 462 stores in 45 states, as well as its e-commerce website.