Gottschalks eyes Federated/May locations

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 6/2/2005 12:25:00 PM

FRESNO , Calif. — Gottschalks Inc. is keeping a close eye on the Federated/May mega-merger and may be interested in acquiring locations vacated when the two eliminate redundancies where both currently maintain a presence.

Jim Famalette, president and CEO of Gottschalks, said during the company’s first quarter earnings conference call late yesterday that such sites may be right for the company — if the locations fall within “secondary markets” that the company targets.

Gottschalks reported a modestly narrowed first quarter loss of $2 million, improving on a prior-year deficit of $2.4 million. Sales at the regional department store chain were virtually flat, off 0.3 percent, to $144.4 million from $144.5 million last year. Same-store sales declined 0.6 percent.