On October 21, 2024, it was reported, Kirkland's Inc., a home dcor and furnishings retailer, has entered into a strategic business relationship with Midvale, Utah-based Beyond Inc., becoming the exclusive brick-and-mortar operator and licensee for smaller format Bed, Bath & Beyond locations nationwide. an initial five "neighborhood format" physical stores will be in the 7,000- to 15,000-square-foot range. There is also a non-exclusive license in the deal for shop-in-shops under the Bed, Bath & Beyond nameplate at yet-to-be-determined Kirkland's locations. Beyond Inc., which owns Bed, Bath & Beyond, Overstock and Zulily, will provide $17 million in debt financing to Kirkland's, which includes an $8.5 million promissory note and an $8.5 million convertible note. A portion of the latter will convert into Kirkland's common stock at a price of $1.85 per share upon approval by Kirkland's shareholders. The loan is being secured by Kirkland's assets and is secondary to an existing loan Kirkland's has with Bank of America. Sullivan added she expects the investment from Beyond to not only be a financial aid, but also a means to introduce Kirkland's to new customers and re-engage core customers across multiple formats. Under terms of the deal, the parties have entered into a subscription agreement in which Beyond will purchase an additional $8 million of Kirkland's common stock at the conversion price upon the approval of Kirkland's shareholders. If Kirkland's issues the full amount of shares under the agreement, Beyond will own up to 40% of Kirkland's common stock.
On October 10, 2024, it was reported, Bassett Furniture reported $75.6 million in consolidated third quarter sales, a 13.3% decline from last year and a 9% drop from last quarter. It also recorded an operating loss of $6.4 million, its fifth consecutive loss. The overall loss included a $1.2 million loss on a logistical services contract the company chose to abandon to help it save costs. Net wholesale sales fell 16% to $47.8 million, while retail sales fell 9.6% to $47.3 million. Gross margin was 53.0%, which included $600,000 in manufacturing wages paid during a one-week manufacturing shutdown in July due to a cyberattack. Besides the cyberattack, Spilman highlighted two other external events that impacted the quarter: Hurricane Helene and the East Coast port strike. Revenue in both segments was down, with greater pressure on retail, due to a higher level of fixed costs, Spilman said. The 9% drop in wholesale sales was attributable primarily due to a 22% decrease in shipments to the open market, a 13% drop in shipments to its own retail stores, and a 6% drop in lane venture shipments. Gross margin rose 50 basis points, primarily due to improvements in club leather. In retail, despite a 5% sales drop, gross margin improved due to "higher home delivery income and better margin on clearance inventory." Spilman said the average retail ticket was $3,900, up 5%. Inventories were down more than $10 million year-over-year, and slightly down sequentially, which Spilman says reinforces the company's belief that it can run with leaner inventory. Finally, the company highlighted its ongoing restructuring plan, which should help save costs of between $5.5 million and $6.5 million per year starting in fiscal 2025.
On August 21, 2024, it was reported, TJX Cos. performed above plan in the second quarter, with comparable store sales, driven by customer transactions, up 4%, and pre-tax profit margin rising to 10.9%. Net sales for the quarter ended Aug. 3 were up 6% to $13.5 billion, while net income rose to $1.1 billion for Q2 in fiscal 2025. Diluted earnings per share were $0.96, an increase of 13% vs. the same quarter a year ago. TJX's HomeGoods division, which includes its HomeGoods and Homesense stores, saw comp store sales up 2% for the quarter, while its Marmaxx group, which encompasses TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Sierra, was up 5% in comp store sales in Q2. Net sales for the HomeGoods division were $2.101 billion and $8.445 billion for Marmaxx. The Q2 pre-tax profit margin at 10.9% was up 0.5 percentage points vs 10.4% in the same quarter a year ago. This was above the high-end of its plan by 0.4 percentage points, which the company attributed to lower freight rates and stronger sales. Gross profit margin was 30.4% for the quarter, up 0.2 percentage points over Q2 in fiscal 2024. For the third quarter of fiscal 2025, TJX estimates comp store sales will increase between 2% and 3%, while pre-tax profit margin will range between 11.8% and 11.9%. Diluted earnings per share are expected in the $1.06 to $1.08 range. For the full year, comp sales are expected to be up about 3% and pre-tax profit margin around 11.2%. The diluted earnings per share outlook for the full year is in the $4.09 to $4.13 range. The company ended the quarter with 5,001 stores across its U.S. and international businesses. In the U.S., the TJ Maxx brand added four stores; Marshalls, three; HomeGoods, eight; Homesense, three; and Sierra, four.
On August 20, 2024, it was reported, Lowe's Tuesday lowered its full-year guidance after Q2 was hit by unfavorable weather and consumer sentiment. The company expects total sales to land between $82.7 billion and $83.2 billion, down from its previous expectation for $84 billion to $85 billion; comps are expected to fall 3.5% to 4%, worse than the earlier 2% to 3% estimate. The home improvement retailer reported that Q2 net sales fell 5.5% year over year to $23.6 billion, with comps down 5.1%. Gross margin was about flat to last year at 33.5%, and net earnings fell 10.8% to $2.4 billion. The home improvement segment has had some recovery from its late-pandemic downturn. During the disease outbreak many consumers, stuck at home, fixed up their houses and living spaces, but home improvement and furniture sales have stagnated since then. That has eased somewhat, with Placer.ai finding that, so far this year, traffic to both Lowe's and rival Home Depot stores has outpaced 2023 somewhat. Higher interest rates have slowed the housing market, and that has also dampened sales. While the Federal Reserve is widely expected to lower interest rates in coming weeks, the timing of any impact is unclear, Lowe's executives told analysts Tuesday. For now, the housing marketing is expected to remain soft and consumers are likely to remain cautious, particularly when it comes to pricey items like appliances or expensive home improvement projects, according to a Tuesday note from Telsey Advisory Group analysts led by Joseph Feldman. S
