Garden Ridge showing best comps in years

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 8/2/2004 12:00:00 AM

HOUSTON —

Comp sales at Garden Ridge Corporation increased 15 percent versus July 2003; the highest comp-store increase in over four years. The second quarter finished with a 3 percent comp, the first quarter with a positive increase since 2000, stated the company.

"Our customers responded extremely well to promotions of summer merchandise, our expansion into furniture and housewares, and our early receipts of fall and Halloween merchandise," said Jack Lewis, CEO of Garden Ridge.

The company also secured a seasonal increase in its DIP (debtor-in-possession) financing from its lenders. This additional financing will be used to build up inventory for the fall and holiday 2004 seasons, according to Garden Ridge.

Garden Ridge also stated it has reached verbal agreements on 11 leases to be formally amended and announced in the next couple of weeks.

"The lease renegotiations accelerated considerably during July, as more landlords are coming to us to negotiate in good faith," said Lewis. "We have been inundated with offers from our current landlords as well as landlords of attractive vacant stores and are in the process of evaluating these offers. We are committed to staying in all of the markets in which we operate today and paying fair market rent so that Garden Ridge can compete successfully."