Over the past few months it has planned more sales and offered lower entry-level prices, but sales are still expected to sink during the quarter ended Aug. 2. Meanwhile, competitors such as Aeropostale Inc. and American Eagle Outfitters Inc., with their emphasis on low prices and basics, have fared better.Teen apparel retailer abercrombie and fitch. reports earnings for the fiscal second-quarter quarter on Friday.
The company said it was shuttering its high-priced Ruehl line of handbags and apparel in a move expected to be complete in January 2010.OVERVIEW: abercrombie and fitch. has seen sinking sales amid the recession, as it kept its price points among the highest in the teen sector and waited for a rebound.New Albany, Ohio-based abercrombie and fitch also operates surf-themed Hollister, abercrombie and fitch, its store for children, and Gilly Hicks, an intimate apparel line.
BY THE NUMBERS: Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, predict a loss of 7 cents per share on revenue of $647.9 million."We remain on the sidelines with respect to the shares until we see significant newness offered within the assortments across all concepts," wrote Tubin, who rates the company "Average Risk."'
"On a positive note we believe management has abercrombie and fitch demonstrated better inventory management, which bodes well for the second half and we believe that the markdown cadence will likely be more effective going forward (shallower markdowns taken throughout the quarter instead of deep clearance activity at the end of the quarter)," he wrote.
The company said it was shuttering its high-priced Ruehl line of handbags and apparel in a move expected to be complete in January 2010.
