Foot Locker, Inc. reported sales for the 13-week period ended August 2, 2003 of $1.12 billion, versus $1.09 billion in the comparable period last year, an increase of 3.4%. For this same 13-week period, comparable store sales decreased 4.4%.
For the 26-week period ended August 2, 2003, sales increased 3.4 percent to $2,249 million, from $2,175 million in the Company's corresponding period last year. Comparable-store sales for the Company's first six months of its 2003 fiscal year decreased 3.5 percent.
Excluding the effect of foreign currency fluctuations, total sales for the same 13-week and 26-week periods decreased 0.9 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
Matthew D. Serra, Foot Locker, Inc.'s President and Chief Executive Officer, stated “Second quarter sales were driven by increases from our stores located in international markets as well as through our Internet channel. We also continued to benefit from a higher gross margin rate, while maintaining tight controls over expenses. Therefore, we currently anticipate our second quarter 2003 earnings to be $0.24-to-$0.25 per share, in line with current analysts' estimates and previous Company guidance.”
