Casual Male Retail reports lower income than expected

Casual Male Retail Group Inc. stated fourth-quarter profit that was lower than the market view, due to the slowing down of the customer flow and accelerated promotional discounts.

Photo: Casual Male Retail reports lower income than expected

"During the most recent quarter, the environment for men's apparel was extremely challenging and Casual Male was affected by a reduction in store traffic of 7.5 percent," Chief Executive David Levin said in a statement.

The company, which sells apparel for big and tall men, posted a net income from continuing operations of $1.3 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with $8.4 million, or 19 cents a share, a year ago.

Total sales fell 7.5 percent to $133.9 million. Same-store sales were down 0.3 percent for the period.

For fiscal 2008, the Canton, Massachusetts-based company sees earnings of 25 cents to 30 cents a share, on total sales of $470 million to $480 million.

Casual Male Retail Group Inc. is a chain of specialty clothing retailer that operates under the trade names Casual Male XL, Rochester Big & Tall Clothing, and Sears Canada-Casual Male. Its claims on its website to be the leading retailer of such clothing, with over 520 locations in the United States, England and Canada.

National brands carried by the chain include Caribbean Joe, Nautica Jeans, Geoffrey Beene, Izod, and Reebok. Its in-house brands include Harbor Bay, Comfort Zone, Synrgy, and Platinum Series. In addition, the Rochester stores carry such brands as Burberry, Ermenegildio Zegna, Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Bahama, and their in-house brands Rochester 1906 and Castagne.