The troubled Spiegel Group suffered a 17% sales decline in December, compared with the same period in 2001. This included a 41% decline for the Spiegel catalog group and a 25% falloff for Newport News.
Sales for the five-week period ending Dec. 29 totaled $371.8 million, compared with $447.8 million in 2001.
E-commerce sales were flat for the month. Total direct sales fell by 27%, compared with 8% for retail.
Also contributing to the overall December decline was a 6% decrease in comparable-store sales for Eddie Bauer.
The company attributed the Spiegel catalog decline to a major reduction in catalog pages circulated, and to the firm
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