J. Crew Group, Inc. has boosted its financial outlook for its current third quarter, which will end Oct. 31, as well as the upcoming fourth quarter, which will finish on Jan. 30, 2010.
The company’s improved third quarter guidance reflects stronger than anticipated sales and margin trends in the third quarter. For its current quarter, the company has increased its earnings per share range from 30 to 33 cents per share to 54 to 59 cents per share.
Broken out by channel, J. Crew anticipates the sales boost will be the result of a high single digit increase in comparable store sales and a low single digit increase in direct sales. Previously, the company had anticipated a mid-single digit decline in comparable store sales and a low to mid-single-digit decline in direct sales.
For the upcoming fourth quarter, J. Crew expects comparable store sales to increase in the mid to high single digit range and direct sales to increase in the low single digit range, compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. This revised outlook compares to the company’s previous outlook for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 of a low single digit increase in both comparable store sales and direct sales.
J. Crew sells women’s, men’s and children’s apparel, shoes and accessories through a variety of retail and direct channels.
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