Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Inc., the struggling fashion retailer based in Joppa, said sales at its stores open for at least a year declined by 7 percent last month compared with November 1993. It was the company's best monthly "same-store" result this year.
But the benchmark month from last year was extremely poor, as the chain was getting closer to declaring bankruptcy. Same-store sales in November 1993 fell by 23 percent compared with the same month in 1992, so the 7 percent drop announced yesterday still represents sharply lower revenue than what the company was garnering several years ago.
Merry-Go-Round sought protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of federal bankruptcy law in January.
Because it has closed more than 200 poorly performing stores this year, Merry-Go-Round said its average sales per store were even last month, compared with the same period in 1993, for the first time this year. Average sales per store had been down 5 percent in October and 10 percent in December.
The company now operates 1,230 stores.
Merry-Go-Round managers hope that stronger sales during the holiday season will generate their first quarterly profit of the year, the company tries to cope with a sluggish apparel market, strong competition from other chains and mixed customer acceptance of changes in its fashion selections.
The company is undergoing a switch in top management, seeking court approval to hire Thomas Shull as chief executive and James Kenney as chief operating officer. Mr. Shull and Mr. Kenney are partners in Meridian Ventures, a corporate crisis management firm.
Last month, Leonard "Boogie" Weinglass stepped down as Merry-Go-Round's chief executive but is staying on as chairman. Michael Sullivan, the company's longtime president, resigned.