Zale Disappointed by Q1 Sales

Zale Corporation reported today that first quarter comparable store sales decreased 1.2 percent. Total revenues for the period were $427 million compared to last year's first quarter revenues of $423 million, an increase of 0.9%.

“We are disappointed with these sales results,” commented President and CEO Mary L. Forte, blaming delays in receipts of new merchandise “related to the Zales repositioning.

Forte said this caused “lower than planned in-stock positions during the quarter”.

“The considerable changes to our product offerings, along with the establishment of new vendor relationships, has temporarily extended the lead time of supplying merchandise to our stores. These inventory issues negatively impacted the performance at the Zales brand, which had a significant effect on our consolidated results,” she added.

Zale, North America's largest specialty retailer of fine jewelry, was also hurt by the hurricanes that hit the southeast part of the country. Lost sales affected earnings by approximately $0.03 per share.

The company expects a net loss for the first quarter of between $0.46 and $0.49 per share. Full results will be announced later this month.