Red ink at Right Start

The Right Start

(Nasdaq: RTST), a cataloger/retailer of children’s products, posted a net loss of $9.9 million for the quarter ended Nov. 3, compared with a gain of $1.0 million for the fiscal third quarter of last year. But the net loss includes a $7.1 million loss from Zany Brainy, the toy retailer that Calabasas, CA-based The Right Start bought this summer.

Net sales, which include revenue from Zany Brainy, were $58.6 million, compared with $11.9 million last year. Catalog and Internet sales at The Right Start totaled $1.0 million.

The Right Start also reported that it expects to replace the red ink with black. “Due to good sales from all areas of the country and tight expense control, we expect to report a substantial profit for the fourth quarter, which will also allow our company to report an operating profit for the entire 2001 fiscal year,” CEO Jerry R. Welch said in a statement.