When direct marketing did well for retailers, it did very well. But when sales were off, DM led the charge downward, according to select March results from a number of companies.
At JCPenney, the month’s gains were driven by its direct sales. Overall, the company’s sales rose from $1.54 billion to $1.55 billion. But department store sales actually slipped from $1.28 billion to $1.27 billion, while direct sales, which include both print and online efforts, rose from $261 million to $274 million. The Plano, TX-based firm reported that its online channel, http://www.jcp.com, showed 25% gains in year-over-year comparisons.
Catalog and Internet sales for Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. rose 20.6% in March over March 2005’s level, while comparable store sales were up only 4.4%. The Hampstead, MD-based men’s clothing chain generated $41.5 million during the month, compared with $35.4 million a year ago. The company did not break out direct marketing vs. retail sales in its March results.
Likewise, within Neiman Marcus Group direct sales rose 19.2%, compared with 5.6% across its retail lines, which include the Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman stores. The Dallas-based firm’s total revenue rose 11.2%, from $350 million a year ago to $389 million, while comparable revenue – that which discounted new retail outlets – increased 7.4%, from $348 million to $374 million.
In contrast, the results for Sharper Image Corp. were uniformly bad, regardless of the channel. The San Francisco cataloger and retailer’s total sales fell from $53.1 million to $39.1 million, with total store sales falling from $28.6 million to $21.4 million, and comparable store sales dropping by 29%. Catalog/direct sales plummeted by 30%, from $15.8 million to $11.1 million, while Internet results dropped from $8.7 million a year ago to $6.6 million. But the news isn’t all bad: Infomercials have performed well, and the firm has tentatively begun to increase its spending within the channel.
While The Talbots Inc., Hingham, MA, did not break down direct vs. retail sales, it did note that its spring catalogs performed much more weakly than expected. As the catalogs are a primary store-traffic generator, this contributed to reduced retail sales. Overall, the company’s March sales dropped from $201.7 million to $195.4 million.
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