Stage Stores' total sales for the five-week period ended October 1, 2005 increased 0.7% to $98.5 million from $97.8 million in the prior year five-week period ended October 2, 2004. Comparable store sales decreased 2.6% versus an increase of 2.5% last year.
With regard to its major categories of business, the Company reported that its accessories, cosmetics, junior sportswear, special sizes and young men's departments all had comparable store sales increases during September.
SALES SUMMARY
Comparable Store Sales Trend Total Sales
% Increase (Decrease) ($ in Millions)
--------------------- ---------------
Fiscal Period 2005 2004 2005 2004
------------- ---- ---- ---- ----
1st Quarter 4.9% 4.5% $310.1 $289.7
2nd Quarter 7.0 (3.2) 309.4 279.9
August 1.5 8.1 111.2 105.7
September (2.6) 2.5 98.5 97.8
3rd Qtr-To-Date (0.5) 5.3 209.7 203.5
Year-To-Date 4.2 1.8 829.2 773.1
Jim Scarborough, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “September was an extremely challenging month as we experienced two major Gulf Coast hurricanes, as well as unseasonably hot weather, which was prevalent in our southern and eastern markets throughout the month.”
Mr. Scarborough continued, “The two hurricanes caused us to close as many as 130 of our stores for various periods of time, and these store closures combined with mandatory evacuation activities clearly disrupted our normal store operations and customer traffic patterns. Additionally, the hotter than normal weather that we experienced in August continued throughout September and dampened enthusiasm for our fall products. This resulted in a sales mix during September that was comprised of a much higher percentage of clearance goods as compared to last year.”
Mr. Scarborough concluded, “As we move into Autumn, demand for our fall and winter goods should grow with the onset of cooler weather, and we feel confident in our ability to achieve a low, single-digit comparable store sales increase in the fourth quarter.”
