The Neiman Marcus Group Inc., Dallas, reported yesterday that revenue totaled $693 million for the 13 weeks ended April 27 compared with $699 million in the prior year, while comparable revenue declined 1.9 percent for the quarter.
Net earnings totaled $47 million in the quarter. Excluding non-recurring items, net earnings were $42 million, up from $38 million the prior year.
Revenue for the Specialty Retail Stores segment, which consists of Neiman Marcus Stores and Bergdorf Goodman, was $573 million, a decrease of 1.2 percent and on a comparable-store basis a decline of 2.6 percent.
Revenue for Bergdorf Goodman declined 4.7 percent while revenue for Neiman Marcus Stores fell 0.8 percent. Comparable revenue for Neiman Marcus Stores decreased 2.3 percent in the quarter. Operating earnings for the Specialty Retail Stores segment were $67 million, up from $64 million in the year-ago quarter.
Neiman Marcus Direct, the company's direct marketing operation, reported quarterly revenue of $93 million, compared with $97 million in the previous year. Operating earnings for Neiman Marcus Direct rose to $12 million from $7 million in the year-ago quarter.
· Also, Delia's Corp., New York, announced results for the first quarter of fiscal 2002 that included net sales for the core business totaling $28.8 million, down 6.4 percent from $30.7 million in the prior year, reflecting planned reductions in catalog circulation that were partially offset by an increase in retail sales driven by new store openings. The net loss before the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle was $4.3 million, compared with a loss of $8.3 million in the same period last year. After the positive effect of a change in accounting principle, net income for the first fiscal quarter was $11.1 million. Andrea Weiss, president, said in a statement, “During the quarter, our performance benefited from a return to profitability in the Direct business as well as continued strong new store openings.”
· Chico's FAS Inc., Fort Myers, FL, said that net sales increased 39.9 percent to $130.5 million in the quarter ended May 4 from $93.2 million in the quarter ended May 5, 2001. Net income rose 59.8 percent to $19.8 million from $12.4 million (as adjusted for the 3 for 2 stock split in January) in the year-ago quarter. Comparable-store sales for company-owned stores increased 13.2 percent for the 13-week period ended May 4. Marvin Gralnick, CEO, said in a statement, “Our gross margin, at 62.4 percent of net sales, represents our best gross margin performance since the third quarter of 1994. This quarter's operating margin, at 24.3 percent of net sales, represents our best quarterly operating margin in our history.” Net sales by catalog and Internet for the 13 weeks ended May 4 were $3,581,926, or 2.8 percent of sales, compared with $2,296,415, or 2.5 percent of sales, in the 13 weeks ended May 5, 2001.
