FILENE’S, LOEHMANN’S SALES DROP IN QUARTER
Byline: Vicki M. Young
NEW YORK — Filene’s Basement Corp. and Loehmann’s Inc., two bankrupt off-price retailers, each reported third-quarter comparable-store sales declines Tuesday in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Filene’s Basement, which filed for Chapter 11 in August, widened its losses to a whopping $51.8 million for the quarter ended Oct. 30. Last year’s loss in the comparable period was $300,000.
This year’s quarter loss included a one-time charge of $32.3 million for restructuring costs connected to the announced closing of 16 Basement stores. The off-pricer expects to record another $21.7 million charge in the fourth quarter in connection to additional closings.
Sales for the period were down 17 percent to $128.9 million from last year’s $154.8 million, while comparable-store sales dropped 23 percent.
In the nine-month period, the net loss was $73.2 million, compared with a net loss of just $17,000 in the year-ago period. Sales were down 1 percent to $409.7 million from last year’s $413.8 million, while comps were down 11 percent.
Loehmann’s, which filed for Chapter 11 in May, reported net income of $6 million for the quarter ended Oct. 30, compared with last year’s net income of $830,000, or 9 cents a share. This quarter’s results include a $2.4 million gain from the sale of closed-store leases.
Sales for the period decreased 16.1 percent to $93.9 million from last year’s $112 million, while comps dropped 6.3 percent. The company attributed the drop in comps to a reduction in promotional activity.
For the nine-month period, Loehmann’s reported a $29.7 million net loss compared to net income of $953,000, excluding a $560,000 charge for the extinguishment of debt in the year-ago period.
Sales decreased 8.5 percent to $292.1 million from last year’s $319.3 million, while comps declined by 5.1 percent.