The tough times are continuing for industry customer The Buckle, which reported a 10.1% drop in net sales and a 34% decline in net income for the quarter ended July 30.
Same-store sales declined 10.8% for the quarter.
Gross margin declined 240 basis points to 37.7%.
Men’s sales fell 5%, while women’s sales dropped 13%.
Accessories declined 5.5% and footwear fell 9.5%.
One factor that has hurt The Buckle is how fashion has moved away from denim in past several years. The Buckle is known as a denim specialist.
In 2010, denim accounted for 45.3% of total sales.
In the quarter reported today, denim accounted for 33.5% of sales.
The company is tweaking its merchandising mix by bringing in more cleaned up styles and some lower price points and some new denim brands to freshen up the mix. Fashion trends seem to be moving back to denim, which could help the The Buckle for back to school and holiday.
The retailer operates 470 stores.
