Catalog sales plummeted by over 10% in March for J.C. Penney Co., Inc.
The Plano, TX-based retailer reported total mail order sales of $355 million compared with $396 million during the same five-week period last year. E-commerce sales, which are included in this total, rose to $33 million, compared with $20 million last year.
The firm blamed the mail-order decline on the elimination of under-performing specialty catalogs, the closing of outlet stores, and weak demand from the Spring/Summer big book.
The numbers were similar for the Catalog sales fell by 10.8% to $628 million during the first nine weeks.
In general, Penney experienced a .02% decrease in total company sales—to $2.8 billion.
The firm also reported 2.7% increase in comparable department store sales—to $1.2 billion. Total department store sales rose by 1.3% $1.2 billion. Total drugstore sales hit $1.3 billion, a 1.6% increase.
Penney expects first-quarter earnings per share to range between .02 cents to 11 cents per share.
