From: ASAP
The Spiegel Group reported sales of $255.2 million for the four weeks ended November 24, 2001, a 17 percent decrease from sales of $306.7 million for the four weeks ended November 25, 2000.
For the 47 weeks ended November 24, 2001, total sales declined 8 percent to $2.334 billion from $2.524 billion in the same period last year.
The company also reported that comparable-store sales for its Eddie Bauer division decreased 21 percent for the four-week period and 13 percent for the 47-week period ended November 24, 2001.
The Group's sales results by division for the month of November include a 15 percent sales decline for Eddie Bauer, a 17 percent drop for Newport News and a 21 percent decrease for Spiegel.
The Group's e-commerce channel continued to grow during the month, posting a sales increase of 15 percent, somewhat offsetting a 27 percent decrease in catalog sales. In total, direct sales declined 21 percent while the Group's retail store sales decreased 12 percent.
Commenting on earnings for the fourth quarter ending December 29, 2001, the company stated that given the continued sales weakness experienced across its merchant companies, fourth quarter results are expected to be below its previous earnings guidance of $0.25 to $0.30 per share. December represents a significant month to the Group's fourth quarter earnings and given the uncertainty surrounding its outcome, the company is not providing further guidance at this time.
This press release contains statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of applicable federal securities laws and are based upon Spiegel, Inc.'s current expectations and assumptions. Words such as "expect," "plan," "believe," "anticipate," and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are subject to a
number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, factors such as: adverse changes in general economic conditions; world events, including terrorist activity, hostilities or other similar or related events; the financial strength and performance of the specialty retail and direct-marketing industries; changes in consumer spending patterns; dependence on the securitization of accounts receivable to fund operations; state and federal laws and regulations related to offering and extending credit; risks associated with collections on the company's credit card portfolio; interest rate fluctuations; postal rate increases; paper and printing costs; the success of planned merchandising, advertising, marketing and promotional campaigns; and other factors that may be described in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Spiegel Group is a leading international specialty retailer marketing fashionable apparel and home furnishings to customers through catalogs, more than 600 specialty retail and outlet stores and eight e-commerce sites, including eddiebauer.com, newport-news.com and spiegel.com. The Spiegel Group's businesses include Eddie Bauer, Newport News, Spiegel and First Consumers National Bank. The company's Class A Non-Voting Common Stock trades on the NASDAQ National Market System under the ticker symbol: SPGLA. Investor relations information is available on The Spiegel Group Web site (thespiegelgroup.com).
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