Second Quarter Retail Results
Total sales at Famous Footwear, the Company's 933-store family footwear chain, were up 6.1% to $286,245,000 for the quarter, versus $269,812,000 for the same 13-week period last year. Same-store sales for the period were up 2.2 percent. Operating earnings for the chain declined to $9,296,000 due to lower margins, from $12,391,000 for the year-ago period. While the return of warm weather helped spur a much stronger sandal business than previously anticipated, it also served to dampen demand for closed-toe footwear and athletics. As a result, the chain took markdowns to ensure its inventory would be well positioned for the back-to-school season.
During the quarter, Famous Footwear opened 15 stores and closed nine stores; Naturalizer opened four new stores and closed nine (six in the U.S. and three in Canada).
Second Quarter Wholesale Results
Wholesale sales were $207,379,000, compared to $136,886,000 for the year-ago quarter; this is up $70,493,000, or 51.5 percent, which includes $44,105,000 from the newly acquired Bennett business. Operating earnings for the Wholesale businesses were up 81.4 percent to $16,260,000, compared to $8,963,000 for the prior-year quarter, as the Wholesale business improved following last year's difficulties. Wholesale operating earnings include a $2,024,000 pre-tax dilution, or $0.07 per share, from lower margin rates on the acquired Bennett inventory, which was adjusted to fair market value as of the acquisition date, resulting in lower-than-normal margins as the inventory sold through in the second quarter.
marketing@alchempro.com
