Shoe Carnival Reports Loss

Evansville, Ind., Shoe Carnival Inc. announced Tuesday that its net sales for the 13-week period ended Nov. 3 decreased 8% to $173.9 million from $189.1 million for the same timeframe a year ago.

Same-store sales declined 5% for the quarter, and the company’s gross margin decreased 29.1% compared to 30% for the quarter last year. Net income was $4.2 million compared with $8.4 million last year.

While all retailers are feeling the fallout from “an extraordinarily warm fall selling season that has suppressed the sales of traditional fall and winter product, we continue to aggressively manage both the composition and level of our inventories,” said Mark Lemond, the chain’s CEO and president. “Consequently, at the end of the third quarter, inventories on a per-store basis were down approximately 1.5% from the third quarter of last year."