Casual and specialty apparel retailers Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (AEO), Children's Place Retail Stores, Inc. (PLCE) and Cato Corp. (CATO), Thursday, reported comparable store sales for the month of December. Among them, American Eagle, Children's Place and Cato witnessed positive sales, driven by holiday sales and wise merchandise assortment. Meanwhile, Abercrombie & Fitch's comparable store sales fell year-over-year. American Eagle and Cato updated its fourth-quarter earnings per share outlook.
Abercrombie & Fitch
The casual apparel retailer's December comparable store sales decreased 19%. Net sales for the five-week period ended January 2 were $482.5 million, an 11% decrease from $539.2 million in the prior-year period. Total company direct-to-consumer net merchandise sales for the month slid 4% to $44 million.
The company's Abercrombie & Fitch segment posted comparable store sales decrease of 13%, while abercrombie comparable store sales dropped 15%. Hollister Co. and Ruehl comparable store sales were down 25% and 1%, respectively.
For the month of November, Abercrombie & Fitch's comparable store sales were down 17%. November net sales totaled $245.7 million, down 8% from $267.3 million in the prior-year period. Total company direct-to-consumer net merchandise sales increased 3% to $24.5 million.
For the year-to-date period, Abercrombie & Fitch's comparable store sales were down 25%. Net sales fell 18% to $2.754 billion from $3.349 billion last year. For the period, total company direct-to-consumer net merchandise sales reached $230.1 million, down 6% from the same period of the previous year.
By the end of the December period, the company operated 347 Abercrombie & Fitch stores, 208 abercrombie stores, 508 Hollister Co. stores, 22 Ruehl stores and 16 Gilly Hicks stores in the U.S. Internationally, the company operated six Abercrombie & Fitch stores, four abercrombie stores and 18 Hollister Co. stores.
Abercrombie & Fitch said during November and December, it conducted special events in most of its North American stores and direct-to-consumer channels. Complimentary gift cards, redeemable on or before January 30, were issued to customers who made purchases above defined amounts. The cumulative face value of gift cards issued in connection with the special events, but not yet redeemed as of the end of December, was approximately $22 million. This has been deducted from reported sales for the applicable month, the company noted.
Going forward, Abercrombie & Fitch expects that based on an initial analysis, its fiscal year-end review of long-lived, store related assets will result in a non-cash impairment charge in the fourth quarter.
On average, 34 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect a profit of $0.99 per share for the quarter. Analysts' forecast typically excludes one-time items.
ANF is trading at $33.60 on the NYSE, down $2.61, on a volume of 6.59 million shares.
American Eagle Outfitters
The company, which offers clothing, accessories and personal care products, said its December consolidated comparable store sales increased 7%, compared with a 17% decrease for the same period last year. Total sales were $538.9 million, up 9% from $493.5 million in the prior-year month.
Commenting on the December sales, Jim O'Donnell, chief executive officer of American Eagle, stated, "A compelling merchandise assortment infused with fashion and value drove American Eagle Outfitters' strong December performance."
"The positive trend spanned multiple merchandise categories and all geographic regions. Additionally, we held to our pre-determined promotional plan, resulting in a higher merchandise margin," he noted.
For the month of November, the company's comparable store sales were down 2% compared to an 11% decline last year. Total sales dropped 1% to $270.6 million from $272.8 million in the year-ago period.
For the year-to-date period, American Eagle reported comparable store sales decrease of 5% on top of a 10% decline for the same period last year. Total sales edged down 1% to $2.83 billion from $2.85 billion last year.
Moving forward, American Eagle said it now expects fourth-quarter earnings in the range of $0.30 - $0.32 per share, compared with its prior estimate range of $0.29 - $0.32 per share. The new guidance excludes any potential investment security or store impairment charges.
Wall Street analysts look for quarterly earnings of $0.31 per share.
For the year-ago fourth quarter, American Eagle's non-GAAP earnings per share were $0.19, which excluded impairment charges of $0.03 per share related to stores and investment securities.
AEO dropped $0.28 and is trading at $17.28, on a volume of 5.3 million shares.
Children's Place Retail Stores
The company announced that its December comparable retail sales, which include online sales, rose 4% on top of a 5% increase in December 2008. Comparable store sales increased 3% in the U.S. and dropped 6% in Canada. However, online sales were up 54%.
The specialty retailer of children's merchandise also reported net sales of $224.4 million for the five-week period ended on January 2, a 10% increase from $204.6 million in the prior-year period.
Children's Place did not open or close any stores during December 2009.
In November, Children's Place's comparable retail sales, including online sales, were lower by 13%, with U.S. comparable store sales declining 13% and Canadian comparable store sales falling 18%. November net sales totaled $143.3 million, down 9% from $156.6 million a year ago.
PLCE is trading at $34.50, up $0.79, on a volume of 914,923 shares.
Cato Corp.
The specialty retailer of value-priced women's fashion apparel and accessories Thursday said its December same-store sales increased 7%. For the five-week period ended on January 3, the company's sales came in at $104.1 million, an 8% increase over sales of $96.1 million in the prior-year month.
Cato said the December sales were favorably impacted by colder weather, compared to the prior year.
For the eleven-month period, Cato's same-store sales increased 2% year-over-year, and net sales rose 3% to $820 million from $793.3 million a year ago.
The company said it closed 23 stores during December. As of January 2, Cato operated 1,270 stores in 31 states, compared to 1,281 stores in 31 states a year earlier.
In light of the better-than-expected sales, Cato now sees fourth-quarter earnings in the range of $0.20 - $0.22 per share, up from its original guidance range of $0.08 -$0.13 per share and $0.13 per share earned in the last-year quarter.
For the full-year, Cato sees earnings per share of $1.51 to $1.53. This outlook represents an increase of 50% to 51% over $1.01 reported last year.
CTO is trading at $21.075 on the AMEX, down $0.045, on a volume of 100,388 shares.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.