A Business section article in some editions of The Sun yesterday incorrectly identified the employer of financial analyst Kenneth M. Gassman. Mr. Gassman works for Davenport & Co. in Richmond, Va.
The Sun regrets the error.
Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. knitted up its raveled revenue last quarter, boosting same-store sales by a robust 8.2 percent when other menswear retailers struggled.
The strong results for the three months ended Jan. 28 contrasted sharply with those of Bank's previous quarter, when same-store sales fell by 7.6 percent, causing the company's stock price to slip from $5.75 per share to the $4 range.
Timothy F. Finley, chairman and chief executive of the Hampstead-based company, credited well-stocked stores and more successful promotions. The company switched from "event" advertising, such as a suit trade-in pitch, to more product-specific promotions, he said.
Retail analyst Kenneth Gassman said he was "truly surprised" at the positive showing.
"I'm real impressed with Joe Bank's numbers, considering what the rest of men's apparel did," said Mr. Gassman, who works for investment house Wheat, First Securities in Richmond, Va. "Clearly they hit the right promotional mix."
Other menswear stores have struggled. Same-store sales at Today's Man Inc., based in Moorestown, N.J., fell by 4 percent for the quarter. Today's Man said yesterday that profits for the quarter would be "significantly" below analysts' expectations and below year-ago levels.
Same-store sales, or sales in stores open for at least a year, are considered an important measure of retail health because they discount growth generated by new locations.
Yesterday's announcement was the first public view of Bank's sales for the quarter. Unlike many other retailers, the company doesn't announce sales each month. Bank's stock rose by 25 cents per share yesterday to $4.
The company won't report profits for the latest quarter, its fourth, for several more weeks. Previously it announced that store-opening costs and other expenses would drag the earnings below those of a year earlier. Bank did earn money for the quarter, Mr. Finley said yesterday.
Total sales for the quarter rose by 25 percent, to $51.3 million, Bank said. Sales for the fiscal year increased by 18 percent, to $175.9 million. Bank's same-store sales for the year were flat.
Catalog sales rose by 13 percent in the fourth quarter and 14 percent for the year.
Bank, which has apparel factories in Baltimore and Hampstead, is adding more-casual clothing, switching growth efforts from stores to catalogs and readjusting its mix of men's and women's wear.
"They're going to be twisting the dials a fair amount," said Mr. Gassman. Bank's stock, he added, "is OK to buy, with the caveat that its results are tied to the apparel cycle, which is currently very weak."
Also yesterday, Hechinger Co. said same-store sales for January rose 11 percent, compared with a weak showing last year when bad weather kept shoppers away.
Like most retailers, Hechinger's fiscal year ended Jan. 28. Total yearly sales for the Landover-based company rose by 17 percent, to $2.45 billion. Same-store sales for the year increased by 2 percent.
Same-store sales for Joppa-based Merry-Go-Round Enterprises Inc. fell by 17 percent in January compared with January 1994.
Merry-Go-Round, which has been in bankruptcy proceedings for year, said this week that it expects flat or negative same-store sales until April, when new merchandise strategies should boost results.