Another department store retailer misses

Slowing mall traffic continued to slow Dillard’s sales in the fourth quarter.



Net income for the quarter ended January 28, 2017, was $56.9 million compared to net income of $84.0 million in the year-ago period. Included in the amount is an after-tax asset impairment of $4.2 million on a cost method investment.



Net sales for the period were $1.94 billion, down from $2.07 billion last year. This missed analyst estimates of $1.999 billion.



Same-store sales also decreased 6% for the period. Although all sales categories declined during the quarter, better performing categories relative to the total trend were ladies' apparel and men's apparel and accessories. Weakest performing categories were home and furniture and shoes. Sales were strongest in the Eastern region followed by the Western and Central regions, respectively.



For fiscal 2016, the department store chain reported net income of $169.2 million down from $269.4 million for the prior year 52-week period.



Net sales for the 52 weeks were $6.257 billion compared to $6.596 billion last year. Same-store sales also decreased 5



“Our operating results reflect another quarter of mall traffic declines from continued retail industry challenges,” said Dillard’s CEO, William T. Dillard, II. “In response, we are ramping up our efforts to bring more distinctive brand and service experiences to Dillard’s, both in-store and online. Our strong balance sheet provides us support in these challenging times, and during the year we returned $256 million to shareholders.”



As of Jan. 28, the chain operated 268 Dillard’s locations, 25 clearance centers spanning 29 states and an e-commerce operation. Total square footage at Jan. 28, 2017 was 49.2 million.