Another retailer with growing online sales and declining profits

Women’s apparel specialist Christopher & Banks saw its online sales surge in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to keep the company from posting an even bigger operating loss than it did the prior year.



Minneapolis-based Christopher Banks, operator of 514 stores, said its sales declined to $94.6 million in the quarter ended Jan. 30 from $98 million the prior year, as it operated fewer stores. Same-store sales declined 3.4% but online sales surged nearly 50%. The company reported an operating loss of roughly $7.4 million compared to a prior year operating loss of nearly $6 million.



Christopher Banks CEO LuAnn Via said the company met or exceeded its financial objectives in the fourth quarter and continued to achieve improvement key areas despite the persistence of external headwinds.



“Our merchandise assortments resonated well with customers driving improved performance in brick-and-mortar stores, and our e-commerce business remained strong, with sales up 45% in the quarter,” Via said. “Overall, we have made important strides to strengthen our foundation and systems infrastructure to position ourselves for improved financial performance. For 2016, we will remain diligent in the execution of our strategic initiatives to drive increased productivity across our retail store base and to expand our Customer First omnichannel capabilities.”