Gottschalks Sept. comps drop 11.8%

FRESNO, Calif. Gottschalks announced an 11.8% drop in same-store sales for the month of September. Net sales for the five-week period decreased 13.2% to $45.8 million, compared to $52.8 million in 2007.

"Our sales results for September reflect the persistent challenges in the macroeconomic environment, which intensified due to unprecedented and mounting events in the financial markets," stated chairman and ceo Jim Famalette. "In light of these events, we are seeing the consumer continue to be cautious and, like most retailers, this has further impacted our customers' spending levels. However, we continue to prudently manage the areas of our business within our control as we remain focused on effectively managing our capital spending, inventory, gross margin and expenses appropriately to correspond with current sales trends ... Our best performing categories for the month were cosmetics, young men's and intimate apparel, while textiles and housewares were the most challenging."