West Marine, Inc. reported sales reached $226.7 million for the fiscal second quarter, down 8.2 % from net sales of $247.1 million for the same period in 2007. Comparable store sales also declined 7.8% compared with the same period a year ago.
As a percentage of net sales, gross profit was 34.6%, a decrease of 20 basis points, compared to a 34.8% gross margin in 2007.
West Marine said that the decrease in gross profit as a percentage of sales was primarily the result of occupancy costs that have a disproportionate impact on gross profit as sales decline.
