Shoe Carnival Has Solid Q3 on Non-Athletic Gains…

Shoe Carnival, Inc. saw comp store sales increase 2.9% in the third quarter on top of an 8.3% improvement in the same period last year. Last year’s comps were driven by gains in both athletic and non-athletic, but the gains this year came exclusively out of the non-athletic business. Comps were up 7% in non-athletic categories, while athletic remained flat to last year, thanks to the kid’s business. SCVL reports the fashion athletic category through the casual segment of their business. Units of footwear sold were up about one percent for the quarter and average selling prices were up about two percent. Traffic was less of a factor for the period.

The women’s non-athletic business was up 10% for the period on top of a 21% comp increase in the category last year, a gain driven by strong increases in sport casuals, juniors, and fashion urban dress shoes. Boot sales were said to be soft early in the quarter relative to last year, but “picked up nicely” through October and into November.

Men’s non-athletic was up the in low-singles, driven primarily by young men's casuals, low profile, and comfort dress product. Carnival also saw a big increase in men's sandals early in the quarter.

The children’s business, which includes children’s athletic, was up in the high-single-digits. While the girl's fashion dress category and the boy's and girl's low-profile product was said to be good for Q3, athletic product still outperformed the non-athletic product in kid's sizes.

Adult athletics posted a low-single-digit decline for the period with the biggest hit coming from a very tough comparison in October. Management said the bright spots in athletic came from Nike running styles in the Reax and Dual D ranges, skate product, and low-profile athletic casuals. Classics continue to drive the largest decreases.

Inventories were up 2.9% on a per store basis at quarter-end. All of this increase was said to be in women's non-athletic product and inventory in transit.