The Buckle Inc.’s sales momentum continued into January with the retailer reporting growth for the month and full year on Thursday.
Kearney, Neb.-based Buckle ended its fiscal year ended Jan. 28 with net sales of $1.3 billion, up 3.9% from the prior year. Same-store sales for the fiscal year rose 3.3% compared to the year-ago period.
The growth continued a mostly upward trajectory for Buckle, which has reported same-store and net sales increases in most of its monthly updates to the market for over a year now. Only three of the last 14 fiscal months have seen either declines on both measures and, in the case of last November, a decline in comparable store sales.
Shares of the retailer, which had a recent market cap of $2.2 billion, edged up nearly 1% in trading Thursday to close at $44.43.
The full-year results also came with a fiscal month update in which Buckle saw net sales for the four weeks ended Jan. 28 of $69.4 million, up 6.9 percent from a year earlier.
The retailer said same-store net sales for the same four-week period rose 6.1 percent from a year ago.
Men’s sales during this same fiscal month increased 4.5%, with price points up 1%.
Women’s sales rose 3.5%, with price points down “slightly,” according to a pre-recorded statement released Thursday by Vice President of Finance Adam Akerson.
Meanwhile, accessories jumped 26% for the four weeks ended Jan. 28 as footwear fell about 5.5%.
Akerson told analysts in November during the company’s third quarter earnings report that youth was Buckle’s fastest-growing segment for the second quarter in a row. Youth is still relatively small and accounted for about 4% of total company sales during that timeframe.
The company noted denim, wovens, outerwear, and accessories as being top categories in the October quarter.
Buckle operates 440 stores in 42 states.
