A few more details emerged yesterday about the departure of PacSun division President Tom Kennedy during a Pacific Sunwear presentation at a Wedbush Morgan Securities investor conference.
The PacSun division president job was designed for the company when it had multiple chains, Vice President of Investor Relations Gar Jackson said. Now that the company has only PacSun, that extra layer was not needed. Going forward, the head merchants for guys and juniors will report directly to CEO Sally Frame Kasasks.
A few other interesting notes from his talk:
– PacSun is having a good response to the new colored denim currently in stores. Color denim will also be a key item for spring.
– The company was very pleased with its Black Friday performance. Jackson said promotions drove traffic, and the company remains promotional as it tries to work through its inventory. PacSun started the quarter with inventory up 12 percent and it expects to end the fourth quarter with inventory down 9 percent.
– Gift card sales are weaker this year.
– Texas and the Midwest are the only strong regions for the company.
– The company reviews its leases during the normal course of business and will close about 30 to 40 stores over the next three years. Currently, PacSun has 816 regular stores and 126 outlet stores.
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