Stay at home shoppers make for flat sales in June for Wilson’s Leather
The continuing slowdown in US consumer spending meant comparable store sales were down 3.3% for Minneapolis-based Wilson’s the Leather Experts in the five-week period ended July. Compared with the same period last year, on a like-for-like basis, year to date sales were also down 0.3%. Sales for the same period last year were up 8.7%.
Joel Waller, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Our performance continues to be impacted by the overall softness in the retail sector, which is reflected in the decrease in our comparable store sales. We remain cautious about the current economic environment in which we are operating and the overall shift in consumer buying patterns closer to need."
In announcing the results, Mr Waller said the company would be adjusting its expectations for the remainder year downward and that it was expecting comparable store sales for the whole of the year to be flat to 3% above last year. He concluded: "While we are facing challenging economic conditions, we believe we have built a solid foundation and our business diversification strategy should enable us to capitalise on longer-term growth opportunities."
Wilson’s business was up overall because of sales from the company’s travel related businesses which were not included in the year-ago period – by 76% in the five week period and 41.4% year to date.
