Bakers Footwear Group Inc, a leading specialty retailer of moderately priced fashion footwear for young women, announced results for the thirteen weeks ended May 3, 2008.
For the first quarter, the thirteen weeks ended May 3, 2008: • Net sales were $43.5 million, compared to $49.3 million for the thirteen-week period ended May 5, 2007. Comparable store sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2008 decreased 11.1%, compared to a decrease of 9.3% in the prior-year period;
• Gross profit in the first quarter was $11.3 million, or 25.8% of net sales, compared to $15.3 million, or 31.0% of net sales in the first quarter last year;
• Operating loss was $4.1 million, compared to $1.2 million in the first quarter last year; and
• Net loss was $4.9 million or $0.70 per share, compared to $1.0 million, or $0.15 per share in the first quarter last year.
• The decrease in gross profit percentage in the first quarter resulted primarily from the sales shortfall which caused the Company to take additional promotional activity and reduced our operating leverage. During the first quarter of fiscal 2008, the Company opened one new store and closed one store, ending the quarter with 249 total stores.
Peter Edison, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bakers Footwear Group commented, “Our first quarter results reflected a difficult start to the spring selling season driven by unseasonably cool weather and an early Easter holiday as compared to last year.