The Spiegel Group took a major sales hit in December.
Sales totaled $447.8 million, a 17% decline from the $537.1 million posted by the firm during the same five-week period in 2000. Direct sales fell by 16%, and retail sales by 17%.
Overall sales fell by 18% for Eddie Bauer, 30% for Newport News and 8% for Spiegel, according to the Downers Grove,IL-based cataloger/retailer.
In the case of Newport News, strong response to non-holiday catalogs was offset by weak sales for books with a holiday theme, the company said.
Comparable store sales for Eddie Bauer unit fell by 21%.
However, e-commerce sales grew by 20% during the month. And the firm reduced inventory by 17% by pursuing a conservative buying strategy.
Lower-than-expected fourth-quarter sales will cause earnings to be “materially below current published analysts’ estimates,” the company continued.
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