The Bombay Company Inc. reported that consolidated revenue increased 7 percent to $96.9 million for the fiscal quarter that ended Nov. 3 compared with $90.9 million for the quarter ended Oct. 28, 2000.
Same-store sales fell 3 percent for the quarter compared with the corresponding period last year. The net loss for the period totaled $2.2 million compared with last year's net loss of $1.6 million.
Gross margin for the fiscal quarter amounted to $25.2 million, or 25.9 percent of sales, compared with $25.8 million, or 28.4 percent of sales, in the prior-year period. Selling, general and administrative expenses totaled $28.3 million, or 29.2 percent of sales, compared with $28.3 million, or 31.1 percent of sales, last year.
“While sales in August and early September were off to a good start, we quickly felt the results from the [Sept. 11] terrorist attacks on both our sales and margin performance for the quarter,” said Carmie Mehrlander, CEO of the Fort Worth, TX, company. “Customers remain very selective in their purchases, with promotionally priced product becoming the driver for their selections. Big-ticket purchases declined in favor of smaller accessories purchases. Double-digit growth in the accessories area drove the overall increase in sales for the quarter. Furniture sales, which were 50 percent of the business last year, were only 46 percent of the business this year and declined in real dollars compared to last year. Wall decor sales declined slightly and were 15 percent of the mix this year compared to 16 percent last year.
“We launched our Bombay KIDS business on Aug. 27 over the Internet at http://www.bombaykids.com, and the first mail-order catalog arrived in homes on Sept. 17. The second catalog, which features more holiday-related accessories, arrived in homes in late October. We achieved our sales and margin expectations on the first book in spite of the poor timing.”
