Christopher & Banks Corp, a US-based specialty women’s apparel retailer, has reported 22.6 per cent sales decline to $72.8 million in its third quarter (Q3) for fiscal 2020 ended on October 31, compared to the sales of $94.0 million in the same period previous year. Company incurred a net loss during Q3 of $0.3 million (Q3 FY19: income $0.01 million).
“While we saw sequential improvement in our sales trends in the third quarter, results did not meet our expectations. We have not seen the level of sales recovery that we had anticipated,” Keri Jones, president and chief executive officer at Christopher & Banks, said in a press release.
“Quarter-to-date, trends have remained consistent with our third quarter performance. As a result of our expectation that Covid will continue to negatively impact sales over the next several months, we made the decision to engage external advisors, including an investment banker, as we work to refinance our debt and explore other strategic alternatives,” Jones said.
E-commerce sales jumped 32.4 per cent during the quarter. However, gross profit dropped to $17.9 million ($31.9 million). Selling, general and administrative expenses for Q3 FY20 were $26.3 million ($29.2 million). Company’s operating loss was $10.5 million ($0.6 million).
“While Covid has had an outsized impact on the customer demographic we serve, we believe that once we enter the post-pandemic world, she will return to her trusted resource for fashion, quality and value,” Jones said in the release.
