Buckle November Comps Dip
The Buckle, Inc. (BKE) reported sales data for the month of November (4 weeks ended Nov 30, 2013). The retailer of casual apparel, footwear and accessories for men and women witnessed a 0.6% fall in comps as compared with the year-over-year figure (for the 4-week period ended Dec 1, 2012). Net sales increased 4.6% to $101.2 million from $96.7 million in the prior-year period (ended Nov 24, 2012).
For the 43-week period, Buckle witnessed a 1.1% rise in comps, while net sales increased 3.5% to $890.2 million from $860.1 million in the year-ago period.
Despite retailers’ increased investment in promotions and lucrative discounts, traffic did not increase considerably. As a result, companies like L Brands, Inc. (LB) and Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) reported results that were below analysts’ expectations. Limited Brands posted negative comps of 5% while Costco reported positive comps of merely 2%.
However, it appears that J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP), which was in troubled waters, is making a turnaround. This was evident from its comparable-store sales results for November that surged 10.1% amid the reduced consumer spending.
Buckle witnessed an increase of 8.5% year over year in total sales in the men's category, contributing roughly 43.0% to Nov 2013 sales. The rise reflected strong sales of denim, casual bottoms, sweater and outerwear.
Women's category, which accounts for 57.0% of total sales for Nov 2013, marked an increase of 1.5% when compared with Nov 2012. The rise was driven by strong sales of casual bottoms, sweaters, outerwear footwear and accessories.
On a combined basis, accessory sales rose 16% while footwear sales rose about 22.5% in the reported month. Notably, these two categories are estimated to be nearly 8.5% and 6.0%, respectively, of November's net sales.
Kearney, Nebraska-based Buckle, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), operates 452 retail stores across 43 states.
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