OMAHA, Neb.-Increases in expenses offset a fairly healthy sales gain to drive down net income by 15.9 percent for Gordmans in its fiscal third quarter, to $4 million.
The retailer’s selling, general and administrative expenses jumped 12.3 percent in dollars and 130 basis points as a percentage of sales, to 40.4 percent. In addition, an 8.8 percent pickup in cost of goods sold slimmed gross margin by eight basis points, to 44.9 percent.
Net sales in the quarter, which ended on Oct. 27, rose 8.7 percent to finish at $143.1 million. Much of this gain resulted from the opening of new Gordmans locations in the quarter, in new markets for the company such as Salt Lake City, Ogden, Utah, Boise, Idaho and Indianapolis, and in existing markets such as Denver and Minneapolis. Same-store sales in the quarter fell 1.4 percent.
Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, Gordmans has projected sales to total between $213 million and $215 million, with same-store sales roughly flat with last year’s fourth quarter. For the fiscal year, sales are expected to finish between $618 million and $620 million.