Direct Sales Rise for Talbots

Apparel cataloger/retailer The Talbots (NYSE: TLB) announced total company sales for its second quarter of $572 million, which is flat compared to last year’s reported second-quarter sales of $571 million.

For the quarter ended Aug. 4, direct sales for the company, which produces the Talbots and J. Jill catalogs, rose to $100 million from $95 million for the same period in 2006.

For the first half of the year, Talbots’ sales are up 11.7% to $1.14 billion, from $1.02 billion last year. Year-to-date direct sales have risen 26.5% to $206 million, up from the $163 million reported for the period last year.