J.Jill sales Q2 sales down 49% as it remains in talks to avoid bankruptcy

J.Jill

The clock is ticking for J.Jill, whose sales continue to tumble in the second quarter.

The women’s apparel retailer on Tuesday announced a deal holding 70% of its debt that could help it avoid bankruptcy. The company plans to file for bankruptcy, however, if it fails to get lenders holding 95% of its term loans to support the plan by Sept. 11.

J. Jill reported that net sales fell to $92.6 million in the quarter ended Aug. 1, from $180.7 million in the year-ago period. Direct-to-consumer net sales represented 71.6% of total sales, compared to 42.6% last year.

The net loss totaled $18.5 million, or $0.41 per share, for the quarter, compared to a loss of $96.7 million in the year-ago period, which included $97.5 million in impairment charges.

The company ended the quarter with $31.8 million in cash. It closed five stores during the quarter, giving it a total of 281 locations. It expects to end the year with approximately 275 stores.

“During the second quarter we continued to navigate through the challenges presented from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said interim CEO James S. Scully. “With the majority of our stores temporarily closed through the first half of the quarter, our teams focused on driving sales through our direct to consumer channel. We also continued to tightly manage expenses as well as our working capital needs. I am pleased with our disciplined approach to inventory management and believe we are taking the right actions to further strengthen our financial position.”

X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds