Christopher & Banks halts steep sales decline in Q2

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Aug 29, 2017

Sales woes continue for Christopher & Banks. On Tuesday, the Minnesota-based women’s retailer announced its second quarter results that included a 3.7% decrease in net sales and a 0.6% decrease in comparable sales.

 
The net sales of the quarter decreased to $86.6 million while operating on average 474 stores, compared to the net sales of the previous second quarter, which were $89.9 million while operating on average 509 stores. The comparable sales decrease was also not as sharp as the 5.8% decrease in the prior year.
 
E-commerce performed well for the retailer, with sales increasing 22.1% compared to an increase of 10.8% in the prior year. In addition, net loss increased to $7.9 million, or ($0.21) per share, from a loss of $3.9 million, or ($0.11) per share in the prior year.

The retailer reported double-digit decreases in its first quarter of fiscal 2017 and the decreases spilled into the second quarter, but Joel Waller, Interim President and CEO, said that the company’s new initiatives are gaining traction.
 
“We drove meaningful sequential improvement in our comparable sales with more product newness and a better balance between fashion and core in our assortment, which garnered favorable customer response,” Waller said.
 
“E-commerce sales grew in the double digit range driven by increased traffic and conversion. We have also taken swift action to improve our assortment in outlet stores, which led to positive sales comps and significant sequential improvement in margin in this channel for the quarter. Finally, we moved through the majority of inventory that does not reflect our go-forward strategy during the quarter and are pleased with the current content.”
 
Moving the inventory impacted the retailer’s gross margin, which decreased 510 basis points, but Waller believes the move will improve sales and the gross margin of the second half of the year.
 
Waller closed saying, “Overall, we are pleased with the progress we are making and remain focused on executing our strategic initiatives to drive long term profitability and value for our shareholders.”