Same-store sales up at Famous Footwear, down at Naturalizer
American footwear company Brown Shoe has reported December same-store sales for its Famous Footwear and Naturalizer outlets. Retail sales at the 926 outlet Famous Footwear chain, that sells branded footwear, increased by 7.1% to reach $119,800,000 in the five-week period ended January 1, 2005, compared with $111,800,000 for the same period last year (ended January 3, 2004). Same-store sales were up 2%.
"December sales at Famous Footwear continued positive and our financial performance was on-plan. Category highlights included athletics, where fashion and classic styles again drove momentum. We also saw strength in the kids' category, as consumers responded well to our assortment of branded kids' shoes from top makers," said Brown Shoe’s chairman and CEO, Ron Fromm.
The news was not so positive at the Naturalizer division – a 381-store chain that sells the women’s Naturalizer brand. Although retail sales climbed from $19,600,000 last year to reach $20,000,000 in December 2004; same-store sales actually slipped by 2.3%.
"Naturalizer sales were hurt by the very promotional environment and softness in our seasonal boot business versus last year," said Fromm.
