Strong growth in its e-commerce division could not prevent a 6 percent decline in direct sales at The Spiegel Group.
The company yesterday reported its financial results for the second quarter, which ended June 30. While e-commerce sales were up 61 percent, catalog sales fell 15 percent.
Spiegel reported earnings of $5 million for the quarter, compared with $25.8 million for the same period last year.
“While under last year's record performance, earnings were in line with our expectations,” said James R. Cannataro, executive vice president and chief financial officer at The Spiegel Group, Downers Grove, IL. “We anticipate substantial year-over-year earnings improvement in the fall season as we compare against last year's weaker sales period, particularly at Eddie Bauer.”
Net sales for its retail stores fell 4 percent. The decline resulted from a 9 percent drop in Eddie Bauer's comparable store sales.
