NEW ALBANY, OHIO — Abercrombie & Fitch Co. said Thursday that sales in stores open at least a year sank 18 percent in September, but analysts predicted a worse decline.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting a drop of 21 percent. The metric is considered a key retail performance indicator because it measures growth from existing stores rather than newly opened ones.
At its eponymous abercrombie & fitch stores, sales in locations open at least a year fell 14 percent last month, beating analysts’ expectation for a decline of 20.4 percent.
At the children’s chain abercrombie, sales in locations open a year declined 18 percent. Analysts forecast a drop of 19.6 percent.
Meanwhile, at the company’s Hollister Co. stores, sales in locations open at least a year fell 21 percent. At Ruehl stores, the metric fell 25 percent.
Analysts forecast declines of 19.9 percent at Hollister and 31.8 percent at Ruehl.
Overall in September, the New Albany, Ohio-based retailer said sales fell 10 percent to $248.2 million.
For the year to date, sales in locations open at least a year have fallen 28 percent, while net sales skidded 22 percent to $1.82 billion.
Abercrombie & Fitch owns more than 1,100 apparel stores across the country. Its shares added $1.49, or 4.5 percent, to $32.66 in premarket activity.
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