Hibbett Sporting Goods, Inc. announced that net sales for the nine-week period ended January 1, 2005, increased 17.2% to $80.9 million compared with $69.0 million for the comparable nine-week period ended January 3, 2004.
Comparable store sales increased 5.0% for the period on top a 6.7% comp sales increase for Holiday last year.
Comparable store net sales data reflects sales for the Hibbett Sports and Sports Additions stores open through the nine-week periods ended January 1, 2005, and January 3, 2004.
The Company expects to report sales for the fourth quarter on February 3, 2005, and earnings for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ending January 29, 2005, on March 9, 2005.
Commenting on the announcement, Mickey Newsome, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “The holiday season was once again very successful for us. Our footwear category sales were better than expected while the equipment and apparel categories were in line with our expectations. We were also pleased to see that our gift card sales from Thanksgiving to Christmas were up over 30% when compared with a year ago. We believe we have an exciting merchandise plan for the balance of the quarter and expect to continue to execute that plan for a strong finish to fiscal 2005.”
