Stein Mart, Inc. net sales declined 9.2% for fiscal December to $196.3 million from $216.3 million in the year-ago month. The company reported a corresponding decrease in comparable store sales of 5.7%.

                            Total Sales (in millions)    Percent Change
Total Comparable
2007 2006 Sales Store Sales
December (5 weeks) $196.3 $216.3 (9.2)% (5.7)%
Quarter-to-date (9 weeks) $336.4 $360.9 (6.8)% (7.1)%
Year-to-date (48 weeks) $1,376.6 $1,401.2 (1.8)% (4.1)%


During December, only special sizes (women's & petite apparel) improved its sales trend over last year, although ladies' career, Boutique, intimate apparel and accessories were better than the overall company trend for the month. Geographically, the company's stores located in the Mid-Atlantic and Mid-South outperformed the company average.


On January 5, 2008 there were 280 stores in operation as compared to 268 stores at the same time last year.


“Sales declined as expected until Christmas,” noted Linda M. Farthing, president and CEO of Stein Mart, Inc. “Post-Christmas sales, driven by heavier markdowns, were positive, helping to offset the earlier double digit declines and produced a 5.7 percent decrease in comparable store sales for the month of December.”


Updated guidance


Because of the Fall '07 sales shortfall and in anticipation of continued difficulty in the retailing environment, management has accelerated the company's markdown plans by taking a greater number of markdowns at deeper discounts to clear seasonal inventory. Under this scenario, comparable store sales are expected to decrease approximately eight percent for the fourth quarter of 2007. Based on the significantly steeper markdown plan, the company is revising its fourth quarter 2007 guidance to project a loss of 35 cents to 40 cents per diluted share.


“While it is disappointing to incur a loss for the quarter, we must clear this excess inventory to protect our opportunities in 2008,” continued Farthing. “We will continue to evaluate the markdown cadence during the coming weeks and may take additional markdowns to help ensure that we have reached a level of inventory freshness that will give us the best opportunity to succeed in a restrained consumer climate.”