Stage Stores sales, comps decline for Oct., 3Q

HOUSTON, Texas Stage Stores reported a 5.1% decrease in total sales for the four-week October period ended Nov. 1, to $98.5 million from $103.8 million in the prior year. Comparable-store sales decreased 8.4%, versus a decrease of 2.9% last year.

Categories that did well in October included cosmetics and dresses, while accessories, footwear, intimates and misses' sportswear all performed better than the company average.

For the third quarter, sales decreased 6% to $333.8 million from $355.1 million last year. Comparable-store sales decreased 10.3%, or 7.6% excluding the estimated impact of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, versus a decrease of 1% for the prior-year period.

"Our October comparable-store sales results were consistent with our August and September hurricane adjusted performance. We believe that this trend will continue into the fourth quarter and are currently projecting that our fourth-quarter comparable-store sales will be down in the mid- to high-single digit range as consumers continue to reign in their discretionary spending," stated president and ceo Andy Hall. "We continue to proactively manage our expenses and inventory levels as we navigate through this economic downturn ... Although we are still in the process of finalizing our financial results for the third quarter, we currently expect to report a loss from operations for the period of 19 cents to 20 cents per diluted share."