California Apparel News

For many retailers, there was no June gloom. They did better business than what many Wall Street analysts predicted.

The Father’s Day holiday on June 19, a calendar shift reporting the sales of Memorial Day weekend in June and good weather all contributed to boosting the month’s business.

San Francisco retail giant Gap Inc. reported positive same-store sales of 2 percent in June. It was the first positive comps Gap reported this year. Gap Inc.’s Old Navy Global division lifted the fortunes of the company when it posted a positive 5 percent comp. Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic Global division reported a decline of 4 percent in June. Gap Inc.’s division, which handles its namesake Gap brand, reported a decline of 1 percent in June.

L Brands Inc.—the parent company of Victoria’s Secret, Pink, Bath & Body Works, La Senza andHenri Bendel—posted an increase of 6 percent of its same-store sales in a year-over-year comparison.

However, in a statement, Amie Preston of L Brands said that the month’s business was not entirely easy. “The June merchandise margin rate was down significantly to the previous year,” she said. “ It was below expectations and driven by clearance at Victoria’s Secret.”

Zumiez Inc. gained praise from Wall Street analysts for beating forecasts. The Washington State–headquartered retailer posted a comp-store decline of 4.5 percent. Ken Perkins, president of market analysis company Retail Metrics, wrote in a July 7 note that the 4.5 percent decline was the retailer’s best performance in a year.

The Buckle Inc., a Nebraska-headquartered retailer that runs a fleet of 467 stores, posted a comp-store decline of 10.6 percent. The slump was going to present the long-suffering retailer with a choice, according to Adrienne Yih Tennant of Wolfe Research. “[The Buckle] faces the dilemma of preserving margin or maintaining market share,” she wrote in a July 7 research note.