Christopher & Banks’ strategies make net sales rise

Specialty women’s apparel retailer Christopher & Banks reported rise of 9.2 per cent in net sales to $100.03 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2016, ended April 30, as compared to $91.62 million in the corresponding quarter last fiscal, owing to right strategies implemented by the company.

“We started fiscal 2016 on a strong note, with better-than-expected financial results across key measures, reflecting the progress we have made on our key initiatives,” LuAnn Via, president and CEO of Christopher & Banks said commenting on the results.

“We were well positioned in our merchandise assortment as we optimised our mix of fashion basics and trend-right styles, and saw strong growth in our special sizes offering across all channels. Our e-commerce business also posted strong gains, primarily the result of effective digital marketing efforts,” she informed.

“In addition, our focus on cash management resulted in more than $4.0 million reduction in our use of operating cash compared to last year’s first quarter, and our overall inventory levels were very fresh at the end of the quarter,” she added.

Gross margin increased to 37.7 per cent of net sales, an improvement of 250 basis points, compared to last year’s first quarter. Net loss totaled $0.2 million or $0.00 loss per share, compared to a net loss for the prior year period of $1.4 million or $0.04 loss per share.

“We intend to continue to build upon our momentum while strategically managing our inventory and controlling expenses in order to drive long-term profitable, sustainable growth,” Via further commented.

In outlook for second quarter of fiscal 2016, the company expects net sales in the range of $92-96 million as compared to $94 million in Q2 of last fiscal.

Gross margin is expected to be in the range of 33.9-35.1 per cent as compared to 32.9 per cent in last year’s second quarter.