Gottschalks Inc. reported same store sales for the month of May decreased 8.6% from the prior year. Total sales for the four-week period decreased 8.5% to $42.4 million compared to $46.4 million in the same period of fiscal 2007.
Jim Famalette, chairman and chief executive officer of Gottschalks said, “We are continuing to prudently manage our business in light of the current difficult retail sales environment. We remain focused on our cost containment initiatives and disciplined inventory management, and ended the month with comparable store inventory down 8% to last year. Our best performing categories for the month were accessories, cosmetics and housewares, while textiles and women's apparel were the most challenging. Last weekend we successfully re-opened our Bakersfield East Hills store and are pleased with the initial results.”
On a year-to-date basis, which consisted of 17 weeks, same store sales were down 9.9%. Total sales fell 11% to $167.6 million compared to $188.2 million for the same period of fiscal 2007. The company operated the same number of stores for the month and one less store for the year-to-date period compared to the same periods in fiscal 2007.
Gottschalks operates 59 department stores and three specialty apparel stores in six western states, including California (39)
