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ABILENE, Kan. — Duckwall-ALCO Stores Inc. posted decreased revenue and same-store sales for its fiscal 2011 first quarter.
Duckwall-ALCO Stores Inc. posted decreased revenue and same-store sales for its fiscal 2011 first quarter.
The regional discount store chain, which focuses on small markets, said Thursday that net sales from continuing operations for the 13-week quarter ended May 2 fell 1.9% to $113 million, and same-store sales decreased 2.7%.
Duckwall-ALCO also recorded a bigger loss. The company said the net loss for the first quarter was $1.9 million, or 51 cents per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $50,000, or 1 cent per diluted share, in the prior-year period.
"First-quarter results were negatively impacted by weak sales, which reduced gross margin contribution by approximately $950,000," Duckwall-ALCO president and chief executive officer Richard Wilson said in a statement. "We needed to take $1.4 million in clearance markdowns to address aged inventory, and sales mix also impacted results by approximately
$630,000.
"We continued to make progress on selling, general and administrative expense, with an overall reduction of $789,000 primarily as a result of additional savings on store labor and benefits," he stated.
Wilson added that for fiscal 2011, the retailer is focusing on five core initiatives: providing "everyday value" with a core assortment of high-quality, competitively priced merchandise; driving traffic with expanded food and consumable assortments; improving profitability and prices, with an emphasis on growing private-label products; rationalizing assortments to provide a better shopping experience and improve operating results; and building store productivity by refining space allocation and productivity metrics.
Duckwall-ALCO operates 256 stores in 23 states, primarily in the central United States.
