Following on a pre-announcement that warned of lower-than-expected results for the second fiscal quarter ended July 4, Big 5 Sporting Goods reported that Q2 sales inched up 1.8% to $219.8 million while same-store sales were down 0.5% for the period.
Management attributed the comp sales dip to unfavorable weather conditions in Big 5’s flagship markets on the west coast. “While last year during that time period, we enjoyed a nice, early heat wave in the West, this year temperatures were below normal,” said Steve Miller, Big 5 president and CEO. “For the quarter, our customer traffic was slightly positive, and the average sale was slightly negative versus the prior year.”
Sales comped up in April and June and were down in May. Sales during May were meaningfully impacted by softness in summer categories, as BGFV said they experienced unfavorable weather comparisons in most of their major markets, particularly leading up to Memorial Day.
From a product category standpoint, footwear, hardgoods, and apparel all performed “within a relatively tight range of one another”, said Miller; although apparel was up slightly heigher than the other two. Strength in apparel was boosted by team sports apparel. Sales of summer products were, for the most part, soft for the quarter due to the aforementioned unfavorable weather conditions in the West. Merchandise margins were slightly up for the quarter, increasing approximately 10 basis points versus Q2 last year.
Miller said the positive sales experienced in June have continued into the third quarter-to-date and the retailer has seen an improvement in sales of summer-related product, despite less than favorable weather. He said they are “cautiously optimistic about the back half of the quarter.”
