Bakers Narrows Loss in 2Q

St. Louis Bakers Footwear Group reported Wednesday that it narrowed its loss as sales increased in the second quarter.

The company reported that its sales were $43.6 million in the quarter, an increase of nearly 3.8% from about $42 million a year ago.

Bakers said its net loss in the recent quarter was almost $2.3 million compared to more than $8.7 million in last fiscal year’s quarter.

The company didn’t issue a catalog in its second quarter this year but it did in last year’s quarter. Bakers reported in its quarterly filing that its Internet and catalog sales decreased 1.5% to $1.9 million in the recent quarter.

“We attribute our improvement during a difficult operating environment to our ability to deliver great fashion while maintaining stringent control of expenses and inventory,” said Peter Edison, Bakers chairman and CEO, in a statement. “Early fall trends remain solid, with August same-store sales up 3.2%, despite eliminating a major catalog in the month.”

Bakers previously reported that its same-store sales for the second fiscal quarter rose 6.4% compared to a decrease of 18.3% in the prior-year’s quarter.