Stay-at-home US consumers make for flat footwear/leather retail sales
The continuing reluctance of US consumers to reach into their pockets is reflected in the August sales figures from several of the country’s leading footwear and leather goods retailers.
Wilsons The Leather Experts Inc. today reported that comparable store sales for the four weeks ended August 31 2002 were down 2.5% to $31.6 million. Year-to-date sales for the current fiscal year were similarly depressed showing a decline of 1.4%, to $240.3 million. And although comparable store sales at the company’s Wilsons Leather stores were up 4.3%, the increase was more than offset by the 18.3% decline seen by its travel stores. (For July results see leatherbiz.com story: Wilsons July travel store sales down 23.6% - 08.08.02). Wilsons Leather stores comparable store sales were down 3.5% year-to-date.
Shoe Carnival, Inc. meanwhile has reported a comparable store sales drop of 0.9 percent compared with August 2001, to $60 million. Comparable store sales in August 2001 increased 4.7 percent. The company blames a ‘lacklustre’ back to school selling season. Comparable store sales during the first seven months were equally flat, showing only a 0.1% increase on the year-before period, to $314 million.
August sales were equally depressed at North America's largest discount footwear retailer, Payless ShoeSource. Same store sales across the company’s 5,000 stores were up by just 0.2% during to $240.1 million - a 1.8 percent increase on the year before. Total sales for the first seven months of the year were $1.75 billion, a 5.1% decrease on the year before.
The company says it now anticipates low single-digit negative same-store sales for both the third quarter and full year, with diluted earnings per share in the range of $1.20 -$1.30 and $4.70 - $4.90 respectively. This is consistent with previous guidance.
