This is a business in the middle of a turnaround. It's no surprise they had pretty miserable comps for the fourth quarter.
Quotes about comps (8 Quotes)
April comps will reap the benefits of Easter holiday sales. But as usually is the case with March and April, it's best to view the two months on a combined basis. Retailers find themselves against a stiff 7.1 percent gain a year ago.
While every quarter is important, we view AZO as a company in transition and would discount flat comps or sluggish gross margins as more a reflection of near term weather trends than a concern.
The Street was hoping for positive comps in Japan, and also some investors were expecting same-store sales growth in the U.S. to be 10 percent or higher.
On the surface, the numbers look bad, but when you dig into them you see health, ... Moreover, the 5 billion share buyback just announced is exactly what we would recommend. Lastly, while the quarter looked soft due to comps, it should be temporary, as compared to long-term health in the growing cable business, which is why we believe the company can keep to its guidance.
We're cutting back on comps and wristband sales to the public to try and end up with the same body count as last year in the clubs.
Selling, general, and administrative expenses as a percent of net sales and operating revenues increased slightly to 11.4 in this year's third quarter from 11.3 in last year's quarter. As expected, the moderate rate of increase in unit comps was not sufficient to provide SGA leverage. Having a larger percentage of our store base comprised of stores not yet at basic maturity and last year's lower-than-normal corporate bonuses were also contributing factors. At the end of this year's third quarter, 49 of our stores were less than four years old, compared with 40 at the end of last year's third quarter.
The good news continue to be the fact that with growth in its Hollister division, a fast-growing Internet business, a new concept coming in the third quarter and flattish comps (sales compared to last year) in the core adult business, healthy top-line growth should be sustainable. Also, Abercrombie's men's business is finally beginning to show some life after three years of negative comparable sales.