California Apparel News

A month before shopping officially starts for the winter holidays, some retailers reported that their sales jumped in October.

Zumiez Inc., the mall-based retailer of action-sports and lifestyle looks, reported a same-store-sales increase of 10 percent in October. It beat the Wall Street consensus, which expected sales to show a modest 2.6 percent increase. It was Zumiez’s biggest monthly same-store-sales increase since January 2015, wrote Ken Perkins, president of market-research firm Retail Metrics. Following the report of the sales increase, Zumiez raised its guidance for its fiscal 2016 third quarter. It is $0.35 to $0.36 of net income per diluted share compared to the previous guidance of $0.29 to $0.30 of net income per diluted share.

L Brands Inc.—the parent company of Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, and Henri Bendel—also reported a solid October. Its same-store sales increased 1 percent during the month. Gap Inc. the largest specialty retailer in the world, is scheduled to report its October sales on Nov. 7.

The Buckle Inc., the mall-based retailer of denim and lifestyle fashions, reported a 15 percent decline for its same-store sales in October. Cato Corp., a specialty retailer of value-priced fashions headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., posted a decline of 6 percent in its same-store sales in October.

Bebe Stores Inc. announced results for the first quarter of its fiscal 2017 year on Nov. 3. Net sales were $87.2 million, which was a decrease of 9.4 percent in a year-over-year comparison. Same-store sales for the quarter declined 3.2 percent. Manny Mashouf, Bebe’s chief executive officer, said that his company saw strong sales in denim and leggings. However, the promotional angle of retail has been cutting into margins.

“While it is important to consistently get the fashion right we are also finding it a challenge to offset the extremely high levels of markdowns and promotions realized in the prior year. We are committed to protecting the brand image, reducing markdowns and improving inventory turns, and believe both our short-term and long-term success depend on our ability to execute our strategic plan,” Mashouf said in a statement.