Apparel

Cost cuts helped Abercrombie & Fitch Co. put a sizable dent in its net loss during first quarter 2016, but the teen apparel retailer reported lower than expected sales and earnings as store traffic declined, particularly overseas.  
 
Abercrombie reported a net loss of $39.6 million, down from $63.2 million in the year-ago period, Expense reduction efforts and the realization of savings on lower sales drove the loss reduction.
 
Net sales dropped 3% to $685.5 million from about $707 million, missing Wall Street projections.

J.Crew Group Inc. managed to narrow its loss in the first quarter even as it continued to struggle with sluggish sales.

The retailer’s net loss for the quarter totaled $8.4 million, significantly less than the net loss of $462.41 million from the first quarter of fiscal 2015. Reductions in cost of goods sold, selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses and impairment losses helped trim net loss.

Total revenues fell to $567.5 million from $581.8 million. Same-store sales dropped 7%.

As Sears Holdings Corp. continues to struggle to turn its business around, the chain announced it is exploring ways to expand distribution of its key brands outside its own stores. The troubled retailer also announced its CFO is leaving.

Sears lost $471 million in its first quarter, ended April 30, compared with $303 million in the year-ago period. Loss per share came to $4.41, or $1.86 adjusted for certain items. Analysts estimated a loss of $3.20 per share.

Over the last 12 annual trips I’ve made to Las Vegas for ICSC’s RECon real estate convention (which officially makes me a rookie in this industry of 20-, 30- and 40+-year veterans), I have always been able to detect some distinct trends.  

That doesn’t as much make me a trend-watcher as it does a good listener.  The retailers and shopping center operators and brokers who attend RECon each year tend to talk avidly in the aisles about the current events shaping the retail real estate industry.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) has named Gary Cammack, owner of Cammack Ranch Supply in Union Center, South Dakota, as the 2016 America’s Retail Champion of the Year.

The award was presented Tuesday, May 24, at NRF’s annual Retail Advocates Summit as small retailers from across the country were honored for their advocacy on behalf of the industry while in Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress on a variety of public policy issues.

Specialty apparel retailer Express Inc. did not reach Wall Street expectations with declining profit and flat sales in a generally sluggish first quarter of fiscal 2016.
 
Net income slipped 1% to $12.9 million from $13.1 million in the same quarter the previous fiscal year. Outlet- and IT-related expense growth helped drive down profit.

Net sales stayed essentially flat at $502.9 million, compared to $502.4 million a year earlier. Same-store sales fell 3%, including a 1% dip in e-commerce sales.
 

Forget South Beach. Brickell City Centre is shaping up as the place to be and be seen in the Miami area with 11 more retail tenants added ahead of a planned November opening.
 
Eleven new tenants have joined the 500,000-sq.-ft. Brickell City Centre retail development scheduled to open this November in an area of Miami developers of the project describe as underserved.
 

Tiffany & Co. missed Wall Street expectations for profit and revenue in a lackluster start to fiscal 2016, but still plans to open 11 new stores worldwide.

The retailer reported net earnings of $87 million during the first quarter, down 17% from $105 million the same period a year earlier. Lower gross profit and higher selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses drove the reduction in profit.