Kirkland’s reported a comp decline in the fourth quarter after weak traffic in December.
For the fourth quarter ended January 28, Kirkland’s posted a comparable sales decrease of 4.6%. Net sales advanced 2.1% to $203.2 million in the quarter. For the full year, comparable sales slipped 2.9% while net sales gained 5.8% to $594.3 million versus the year earlier, Kirkland’s maintained.
“We were not immune from the broader trends impacting much of the retail industry during the fourth quarter,” said Mike Madden, Kirkland’s president and CEO. “Trends proved to be more difficult than we anticipated as strong sales on Black Friday were offset by weak pre-holiday traffic in December, and improved post-holiday sales were not enough to overcome December’s softness. Additionally, heightened promotional activity had an impact on merchandise margin for the quarter. On a more positive note, we experienced another quarter of double-digit growth in our e-commerce business, and we managed operating expenses and inventories well throughout the season.”
The company opened four stores and closed one during the fourth quarter, giving it a total of 404 retail locations at the period’s end.
