The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
NEW YORK, United States — Department store operator Kohl's Corp followed larger rival Macy's Inc in reporting a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by higher margins despite a drop in sales during the crucial holiday selling season.
Shares of Kohl's were up about 2 percent at $42.55 in premarket trading.
Both Macy's and Kohl's reported weak sales for November and December as they struggle to overcome stiff competition from Amazon.com Inc and weak demand for clothes and accessories.
However, Kohl's likely had to discount less in the fourth quarter than rivals as it entered the holiday season with low inventories, analysts had said.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We saw improvement in merchandise margin, and our team continued to manage inventory and expenses extremely well," Kohl's chief executive Kevin Mansell said in a statement.
Gross margin rose to 33.4 percent from 33.1 percent in the quarter, and inventories were down 6 percent.
Macy's reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, helped by the sale of some of its stores and lower costs and taxes but said it would post another year of sales declines.
Kohl's said on Thursday that its full-year sales could fall 1.3 percent or grow 0.7 percent, which translates to sales of $18.44 billion-$18.82 billion. This came in largely below the average analyst estimate of $18.70 billion.
Sales at Kohl's stores open at least a year fell 2.2 percent, in line with analysts' average estimate from research firm Consensus Metrix.
Net income fell about 15 percent to $252 million, or $1.44 per share, in the quarter ended Jan. 28, from a year earlier.
Analysts on average had expected earnings of $1.33 per share, according to Thomson Reuters.
Net sales dropped 2.8 percent to $6.21 billion, falling for the fourth straight quarter. Analysts had expected revenue of $6.22 billion.
ADVERTISEMENT
The company forecast earnings of $3.50-$3.80 per share for the year ending January, the midpoint of which topped analysts' estimate of $3.64 by a cent.
By Sruthi Ramakrishnan; editors: Shounak Dasgupta, Martina D'Couto and Maju Samuel.
Brands say they’re barreling ahead with marketing and commerce on the app, even as the clock starts ticking for owner ByteDance to sell it or shut it down.
The Spanish beauty and fashion conglomerate’s smart acquisitions and diverse portfolio could be a big draw for investors. Plus, Adidas is set to confirm its stellar first quarter.
How not to look tired? Make money.
In a rare video this week, the mega-singer responded to sceptics and gave the public a look at what her beauty founder personality might be.