Financial Reports: Brookstone, Jos. A. Bank, Saks

Stamford, CT—Nashua, NH-based multichannel gifts and gadgets marketer Brookstone (Nasdaq: BKST) which mails The Brookstone Gift Collection, Hard-to-Find Tools, and Gardeners Eden catalogs, took a net loss of $2.8 million for the quarter ended Aug. 4, compared to a net loss of $400,000 last year. Quarterly net sales were flat, rising 1%, to $69.6 million compared to $68.7 million for the second quarter of last year. Same store sales for the second quarter decreased 4% compared to last year.

Hampstead, MD-based men’s apparel cataloger/retailer Jos. A. Bank Clothiers (NASDAQ: JOSB) is feeling the belt tightening from the sluggish economy. Net income tumbled 52% for the quarter ended Aug. 4, to $291,000, from $611,000 last year. What’s more, catalog sales decreased 18%, but Internet sales increased 85%. Total company sales increased 3%, to $46.1 million, compared to $44.9 million last year. Comparable store sales decreased 1% for the quarter.

Birmingham, AL-based cataloger/retailer conglomerate Saks posted a quarterly loss after certain items, which totaled $58.4 million, compared to a loss of $5.8 million last year. As for sales, the company posted a 9% sales decrease to $1.27 billion for the period ended Aug. 4, from $1.38 billion last year. Saks attributes slow quarterly sales to weak consumer demand, particularly in the luxury sector. Total sales for Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises, which consists of Saks Fifth Avenue stores, Saks Off 5th, and Saks Direct, declined 8%, to $522.5 million. Saks Direct sales were $20.8 million, compared to $22.3 million last year due to a reduction in books produced and mailed coupled with a general softening in demand. During the quarter, Saks announced plans to eliminate the Folio catalog operation, including Bullock & Jones, as a stand-alone business and to fully integrate saks.com with the Saks Fifth Avenue stores organization by the end of 2001.