really davestating news Its ugly out there
FINL says now that its cautious for the rest of the year and not only cause of genetor sales thats a big surprise this sector is death
Finish Line Inc.Q2 sales up, cautious on Q3 and Q4
INDIANAPOLIS, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Footwear retailer Finish Line Inc. (FINL - news) said Thursday its second quarter sales rose 22 percent from a year ago, but it is cautious about the outlook for the balance of the year due to a shift in fashion trends and promotional activities.
Finish Line reported sales for its 13-week second quarter ended August 29 rose to $144.7 million from $118.7 million in the same period last year. Comparable-store sales were flat, the retailer said.
Finish Line also said directors had authorized the repurchase of up to 2.6 million shares, or about 10 percent of the company's common stock, through December 31, 1999.
Shares of Finish Line were up 8/16 to 9-1/16.
The company said that for the second quarter, comparable-store sales of footwear rose about 4 percent, while comparable-store sales for activewear and accessories fell 11 percent.
Merchandise inventories at the end of the quarter exceeded plan but were lower on a per-square-foot basis than last year, it said.
Finish Line said its business in the second quarter started reasonably well through June and most of July. During the last week of July, however, footwear sales softened and sales of apparel and accessories continued to slide, resulting in the company's first monthly same-store sales decline during the August sales period in the last five years.
''Because of our second quarter performance, these adverse fashion trends and the continuing promotional environment in our industry, we remain cautious for the third and fourth quarters of this fiscal year,'' said Alan Cohen, president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
Net sales for the 26 weeks ended August 29 rose 27 percent from the same period a year ago, to $261.3 million. Comparable-store sales increased 4 percent.
During the second quarter, Finish Line opened 16 new stores, remodeled/expanded six existing stores, and closed two stores. As of August 29, it operated 330 stores in 36 states.
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