Gottschalks gets lift from hard home goods
By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 8/29/2008 10:30:00 AM
Fresno, Calif. – Housewares took center stage in Gottschalks’ newly refocused home business, but textiles took a back seat in sales during the western regional department store chain’s second quarter.
“Our assortments in the housewares area have re-energized that portion of the home store’s business, even during this difficult environment,” said Jim Famalette, chairman and ceo. “With that said, textiles, tabletop, luggage and other hard-good areas remained challenging.”
The 61-store retailer said during the period, it continued to “make progress” on its merchandising strategy, which includes honing in on soft lines and refining Gottschalks’ home store assortment.
Gottschalks reported a quarterly net loss of $4.4 million or 33 cents per diluted share, narrower than the net loss of $4.8 million or 35 cents per diluted share one year ago. Sales of $133.7 million were down 7.8%, while comps fell 7.3%.
