Leather apparel and accessories retailer Wilsons The Leather Experts Inc. has reported a fall of 9.3% in its comparable store sales for the four weeks ended February 25. The company reported sales of $29.7 million compared with $33.2 million for the four weeks ended February 26, 2005.

Michael Searles, chairman and CEO, commented, "In the first quarter of last year we were selling a significant amount of carry-over fashion clearance that we did not repeat this year. In addition, our aggressive promotional posture in the first six months of last year generated challenging comparisons for us as we entered 2006."