Kirkland’s Q4 sales fall amid company streamlining

Kirkland’s reported declining sales for its fourth quarter and full year, but was buoyed by a surge in e-commerce growth.  

The home décor retailer, which recently announced it was closing some stores as part of a larger streamlining effort to transform its business to a more profitable model, reported net sales of $209.4 million for the quarter ended Feb. 1, compared to $216.1 million in the year-ago period. 

Comparable store sales, including e-commerce sales, decreased 2.7% compared to a decrease of 3.3% in the prior year. Kirkland's did not open or close any stores during the period.

Net sales for the 52 weeks ended February 1, 2020 were $603.9 million compared with $647.1 million for the previous year. Comparable store sales, including e-commerce sales, decreased 7.1%. 

"The enhancements we are making to the merchandise assortment are gaining traction with customers, and we are seeing the benefit in the sequential comparable sales improvement through the second half of the year," said Woody Woodward, CEO, Kirkland’s. "Weaker sales in November were followed by a stronger December and January, led by an increase in e-commerce revenues of 38%. With $30 million in cash at year-end, no debt, a more streamlined infrastructure and store closures in February and March, we believe we are well-positioned to continue to execute on improving the relevancy and quality of our assortment."

Kirkland's will issue its earnings release for the fourth quarter before the market opens on Friday, March 13, 2020. The company had 432 stores at year-end.