The Buckle Inc.
(
BKE
) reported net sales of $79.4 million in June 2012, down 0.3% from
$79.6 million in the comparable month last year. The company's
comparable store sales (comps) fell 2.5% in the reported month. The
Men's segment performed better than the Women's. The market is
currently facing fears of faltering consumer confidence as is
evident by lower consumer retail spending. Even planned promotional
offers failed to lift Buckle's comps.
Total sales for the Men's side of business nudged up 2.0% year over
year and represented 44.0% of total sales for the month. Sales from
the Women's side of business accounted for 56% of total sales but
slipped 1.5% year over year.
Pricing in the Women's segment was slightly lower than the Men's.
Overall pricing was up 3.5% in the Women's segment while the Men's
segment saw a 4.0% increment. Average accessory price points were
up about 16% and average footwear price points were up
approximately 10.5% in the month.
In June, the categories that performed well were denim, active
apparel, casual bottoms, woven tops, footwear and accessories.
Accessory sales for Men's and Women's categories together saw a
sudden surge of approximately 16% year over year while the footwear
business stepped up around 6.5%. These two categories generated
approximately 11.0% and 6.0% of net sales for June. The
contributions were higher than the year-ago levels of 9.5% and 5.5%
for accessory and footwear respectively.
The poor retail performance resulted in a decline in the Zacks
Consensus earnings estimate for Buckle's upcoming second quarter to
51 cents, down by a penny over the last 7 days. A pessimistic
outlook is prevailing around the stock. Of the eight analysts
covering the stock, two cut their estimates for the upcoming
quarter and one out of nine analysts lowered the same for the
fiscal year to reflect the ongoing challenges. No single analyst
went for an upward estimate revision over the last 7 days.
The company ended June with 435 retail stores in 43 states compared
with 424 stores in 41 states as of July 5, 2011. Buckle, which
mainly caters to older teens and young adults, currently retains a
Zacks #3 Rank that translates into a short-term Hold rating. We are
maintaining our long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock. One
of its competitors,
Cato Corp.
(
CATO
) reported a 7.0% downside in total sales as well as a 10.0% plunge
in same-store sales in June.
BUCKLE INC (BKE): Free Stock Analysis Report
CATO CORP A (CATO): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment
Research