Wilsons July travel store sales down 23.6%
The continuing fall-out from September 11 on the US travel store trade was underlined by figures released today by one of the country’s largest retailers of leather goods and outerwear, Minneapolis-based Wilsons the Leather Experts.
Compared with July 2001, sales at the retail chain’s travel-specific outlets were down 23.6%. The slump more than wiped out the 4.8% sales increase seen at the chain’s mainstream stores, resulting in an overall sales decline of 5.2%, to $27.2 million.
Though the latter figure was by no means as dramatic as the 12.4% drop seen in July 2001, year-to-date comparable store sales were nevertheless down by 8.6%, as compared to a 1.8% decrease seen last year.
Commenting on these results, Joel Waller, Chief Executive Officer said, "We are pleased with the performance of our Wilsons Leather stores during the month, especially given the tough retail environment. Clearance merchandise drove strong sales volumes during the first half of the month making room for our new fall fashions. Our new fall merchandise hit stores during the last half of the month and has been selling well. While it will take some time for sales in our travel stores to recover due to merchandise mix issues, we have begun to re-align our test travel stores."
