Brookstone holiday-ready
Gadget purveyor's 3Q results meet expectations; gears up for key 4Q
November 19, 1998: 11:54 a.m. ET
Same store sales up slightly - Nov. 5, 1998
Retailers get a jump start on the holiday season - Oct. 12, 1998
Brookstone
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Brookstone is down but not out.
At least that's what CEO Michael Anthony told investors on CNNfn's "Business Day" Thursday morning. For the third quarter of fiscal 1998, Brookstone reported a net loss of $4.5 million or 56 cents a diluted share, compared to a net loss of $3.7 million or 48 cents a diluted share for the year-ago period. Earnings were in line with First Call estimates.
Anthony, whose company sells gifts and gadgets for home and garden, said he's looking forward to the holiday season and insisted that his company has the requisite fundamentals to weather an economic downturn.
"We're a gift store, and it's our opinion that people are still going to give gifts, even if the economy does slow down," he said.
One aspect of Brookstone's marketing approach is just as quirky and unusual as the products it peddles: temporary stores. During the holiday season, the company sets up kiosks and holiday-season-only operations in vacant stores to enhance 4Q revenue. The fourth quarter alone accounts for more than half of Brookstone's revenue and all of its profits.
"In the course of several weeks, we'll go in, hire a thousand people, we'll ship the stores, we'll open them, and we'll be ready for business as we sit here today," Anthony commented. "We have 95 seasonal stores ready to do business right now."
Shares of Brookstone [BKST] have yielded unimpressive returns in recent months, trading at 12-3/4 a share early Thursday, down from its 52-week high of 15-13/16. Investors are concerned about the company's capacity for growth as 1999 approaches.
Third-quarter net sales increased 11.7% to $43.5 million from $38.9 million for the thrid quarter of last year. Same-store sales for the 1998 third quarter increased 2.6%.
For the first nine months of fiscal 1998, the company reported a net loss of $9.4 million or $1.17 a diluted share, compared to a net loss of $8.0 million or $1.02 per diluted share for the comparable period last year.
Year-to-date net sales increased 15.6% to $135.1 million compared to $116.9 million for the first nine months of last year. Year-to-date same store sales for 1998 increased 5.2%
Anthony commented, "We are pleased with our third-quarter and nine-month results. Our new store expansion program remains on track for a net of 19 new stores opened during fiscal 1998. Late in the third quarter, we completed our 1998 retrofit program, and in addition have remodeled nine stores for (the) holiday with a tenth soon to be completed."
"By year-end, we will have introduced approximately 230 new products, with roughly 100 of these rolled out during the third quarter," he added. "As customers walk into stores this holiday season, they will find that the majority of our products are Brookstone branded and reflect the implementation of our new packaging program that mirrors our segments."
Michael Anthony
CEO, Brookstone Inc.
"It's our opinion that people are still going to give gifts, even if the economy does slow down."
(153K WAV)
(153K AIF)
|
