Stage Stores Inc. said same-store sales fell 15% in March due to a later Easter and delays in other sales. The company noted that Easter Sunday falls about three weeks later in
2009 than it did in 2008, and said other promotions were shifted to
April from March.
The retailer's total sales fell 11.5% to $124.9 million from $141.1 million.
Stage Stores said sales of accessories, cosmetics, lingerie, misses sportswear and petites were better than average in the five weeks ended April 4. Its strongest sales were in the Northeast and Mid Atlantic regions, and the Southeast was the weakest. The company had 739 stores in 38 states at the end of March.
In the year-to-date period, comps declined 12.2%. Total sales slid to $225.8 million from $247.0 million.
Andy Hall, president and chief executive officer, commented, “We anticipated that our March comparable store sales would be down in the low double digits due to the Easter calendar shift and other sales promotion shifts from March into April. As a result of the shifting of these key events, it will be necessary to look at comparable store sales for March and April combined to get a truer sense of our trend of business over this nine-week period.”
Eight store openings are planned for April, including Stage Stores' first location in Oregon.
