Ascena Retail Q3 2017 gross margin falls to $948 million

13 Jun '17

2 min read

Ascena Retail Group's gross margin on a GAAP basis for the third quarter of fiscal year 2017 has decreased to $948 million, or 60.6 per cent of sales, compared to $1,017 million or 60.9 per cent of sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2016. Gross margin, in terms of dollars, decreased primarily as a result of the decline in comparable sales.

Net sales on a GAAP basis for the third quarter of 2017 were $1.565 billion compared to $1.669 billion in the year-ago period. The decrease in sales reflected the impact of the 8 per cent comparable sales decline. The company's overall comparable sales decline was caused by store traffic, which was down high single digits to low double digits across the Premium Fashion, Value Fashion and Plus Fashion segments.

"We continue to move aggressively to navigate our current environment. As a result of a $300 million, multi-year technology and infrastructure investment cycle, we have developed a highly efficient supply chain and foundational omni-channel platform that will enable us to respond to the fundamental changes in consumer behavior that are disrupting our industry. We have amplified our development of cost efficiencies, and recently increased the cost takeout target of our Change for Growth transformation programme to a range of $250 to $300 million by fiscal 2019. This new target is as much as double our previously announced $150 million target, and we remain determined to further increase the intensity and the scope of our programme activity," said David Jaffe, president and chief executive officer.

"In addition to a highly efficient cost structure, today’s hyper-competitive environment requires meaningful differentiation and deep customer connectivity, and we must improve execution across our portfolio. We are focused on delivering unique, compelling fashion, maintaining highly relevant brands, and providing an outstanding experience for our customers. At the brand level, our teams are driving initiatives to increase customer engagement, including clienteling programmes and unique in-store events. At the enterprise level, we are working aggressively to accelerate our product development cycle and to elevate our digital capabilities through implementation of new customer experience management tools," added Jaffe. (RR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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