Stamford, CT–Finally, some good news at Federated Department Stores (NYSE: FD), which mails the Bloomingdale’s by Mail, Macy’s by Mail, and Fingerhut titles. The Cincinnati-based cataloger/retailer reported a 72% increase in second-quarter net income, to $110 million for the three months ended Aug. 4, compared to $63 million a year ago. Total sales declined 8%, to $3.7 billion from $4.0 billion. Federated attributes the shortfall to Fingerhut’s strategic circulation cuts and the closing of its Stern’s department stores. Sales from the Fingerhut subsidiary, which also includes the Arizona Mail Order, Bedford Fair, and Lew Magram books, slid 37%, to $244 million from $386 million.
More good news, this time from South St. Paul, MN-based The Sportsman’s Guide (Nasdaq: SGDE). For the quarter ended June 30, the outdoor merchandise cataloger posted net sales of $31.8 million, up 5% from $30.3 million for the second quarter of last year. Increased Web sales accounted for the growth, as catalog sales remained flat. But the flat catalog sales came despite a reduction in circulation, indicating improved response per book. That in turn enabled the company to cut its net loss 76%, to $207,000 from $876,000 last year.
And higher merchandise margins and lower expenses led preteen apparel cataloger/retailer Too (NYSE: TOO) to grow its second-quarter net income 50%. Net sales for the Columbus, OH-based Limited subsidiary increased 16% during the same timeframe. For the three months ended Aug. 4, Too posted net income of $2.9 million on sales of $126.0 million. For the second quarter of last year, net income was $1.9 million on sales of $108.3 million.