Caleres posts Q1 loss; sales at reopened Famous Footwear stores ahead of last year
Caleres Inc., whose brands include Famous Footwear, Sam Edelman, Allen Edmonds and more, posted a wider than expected first-quarter loss. But the company is seeing a positive uptick in its reopened stores.
The footwear company reported an adjusted net loss of $50.4 million or a loss of $1.30 per share. Analysts had expected a loss of $0.34 per share.
Net sales fell 45.7% to $397.2 million, also below Street expectations. Famous Footwear had total sales of $191.3 million, down 45.7% with same-store-sales up 12.8% through mid-March, and up 12.6% for the entire quarter. Sales for the company’s brand portfolio — including Sam Edelman, Naturalizer, Dr. Scholl’s Shoes, Vionic and more — were down 36.3% to $217.2 million.
As of June 4, Famous Footwear had reopened 553 stores, or about 60% of its fleet. Nearly 90% of Famous Footwear stores are expected to be open by late-June
The company said that in recent weeks it has seen continued strength in its ecommerce-related businesses and sales at the reopened stores are running ahead of expectations with the Famous Footwear stores running ahead of last year.
“Our branded portfolio of stores that have reopened are experiencing sales trends above our internal expectations, and our wholesale partners have begun to reopen their locations and place some new orders for delivery,” CEO Diane Sullivan said on the company’s earnings call. “We are working closely with our key retail partners to ensure we are liquidating spring inventory very aggressively and that we are set up well for fall.”
At the end of the quarter, Caleres reported $187.7 million of cash and $438.5 million of revolving credit facility borrowings.
Caleres operates more than 1,100 stores and also sells its product in hundreds of major department and specialty stores, branded e-commerce sites, and on many additional third-party retail websites. Its brands include Famous Footwear, Sam Edelman, Naturalizer, Allen Edmonds, Dr. Scholl’s Shoes and more.