First-Quarter Sales, Profits Drop at Blair

Blair Corp., a national multichannel direct marketer of apparel and home products, saw a 4.5% decline in its net sales for the first quarter of 2006, the company announced. Sales for the period were $102.7 million, down from $107.6 million during the same quarter last year.

The Warren PA-based company reported a net loss of $4.6 million for the quarter, compared to earnings of $650,000 a year ago.

Blair officials said the falloff in sales for the quarter could be largely attributed to a