November Sales Roundup

Most of the publicly traded marketers tracked by CATALOG AGE have reason for good cheer: They reported solid gains in November sales.

For instance, a 14% rise in combined catalog and Internet sales pushed Hampstead, MD-based men's apparel cataloger/retailer Jos. A. Bank Clothiers (NasdaqNM: JOSB) to new heights. Total company sales increased 19%, to a record $29.6 million for the month ended Nov. 29, compared with $24.8 million for the previous November. Comparable-store sales increased 3%. In a release, the company noted that mid-November sales were sluggish, because of warmer-than-usual weather, but strengthened as the weather turned colder during the last week of November.

Total company sales at Plano, TX-based cataloger/retailer J.C. PenneyCo. (NYSE: JCP) inched up 0.3%, to $2.82 billion for the month ended Nov. 22, compared with $2.81 billion for November 2002. But catalog/Internet sales increased 12%, to $296 million, well above expectations. Internet sales increased 45% for the month. Comparable-store sales decreased 0.8%.

November sales at Sharper Image Corp. (Nasdaq: SHRP) increased 22%, to $69.2 million for the month ended Nov. 30, compared with last November's $56.8 million. Catalog sales for the San Francisco-based gadgets marketer increased 18%, to $19.0 million from $16.1 million. Internet sales increased 24%, to $11.1 million from ,$8.9 million. Total store sales increased 23%, to $39.2 million; comparable-store sales increased 8%.

Dallas-based Neiman Marcus Group (NYSE: NMG.A), which mails the Horchow, Neiman Marcus, and Chef’s Catalog titles, reported a 6% increase in total November revenue, to $295 million for the month ended Nov. 29, compared with $278 million last year. Catalog and Internet sales increased 7%.

New York-based Bluefly (Nasdaq SmallCap: BFLY), an online-only marketer of discounted designer apparel and home accessories, enjoyed a 16% hike in November sales, to $3.6 million from $3.1 million last year.

Finally, there’s Downers Grove, IL-based Spiegel Group, the parent of the Eddie Bauer, Newport News, and Spiegel catalogs. The bankrupt marketer saw November sales fall 25%, to $195.4 million for the five weeks ended Nov. 29. Catalog and e-commerce sales plunged 35%, due to lower customer demand and decreased circulation. Sales from the company's retail and outlet stores decreased 14% for the month, primarily as a result of store closings and the decline in Eddie Bauer's comparable-store sales.

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