J. Jill Group Inc. was disappointed with its third quarter financial performance despite the fact that it increased its sales and reduced its net loss.
The Quincy, MA-based retail/catalog firm reported revenue of $94.9 million, a 15.3% improvement over the same period last year. The firm’s net loss totaled $2.6 million, compared with $2.9 million last year.
Direct marketing sales hit $42.1 million, compared with $40 million the prior year. Catalog sales fell to $23.0 million from $26 million in 2003, but Internet sales rose by almost $4 million to $18.1 million.
Retail sales rose by almost $10 million to $51.3 million. But CEO Gordon R. Cooke acknowledged that the quarter was a challenging one.
Cooke said in a statement that J. Jill experienced “unusually low levels of clearance inventory in our retail segment, lower than expected sales of fall season full-price merchandise in our direct segment and increased spending in support of retail advertising and in-store visual presentation.”
He also cited the firm’s “Sarbanes-Oxley compliance efforts” as contributing to the quarterly performance.
Cooke predicted fourth-quarter net sales of between $123 million and $127 million.
