U.S. Clothing Retail Recovery Slows Down, Bankruptcy Continues

Recently, the U.S. Bureau of statistics released the latest retail statistics. The U.S. clothing market continued to warm up for four consecutive months, but the recovery momentum in August slowed down significantly. U.S. retail sales rose 0.6% month on month in August, up 2.6% year-on-year, indicating that a major part of the economy has returned to near pre epidemic levels. Among them, the clothing and apparel industry only slightly increased by 2.9% in August, but still decreased by 20.4% year-on-year.

According to the latest survey, about two-thirds of Americans reported a decrease in consumption during the latest outbreak. Since February, deposits in Americans' checking accounts have increased by $1.3 trillion, or 56%. Affected by the epidemic blockade and other factors, many Americans have reduced their consumption of dining out, clothing and travel.

As of August, 45 large companies with debt of more than $1 billion have applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this year, exceeding the level of 38 in the same period of 2009. Among them, there are many major fashion retailers such as J. crew, JCPenney, Neiman Marcus and Lord & Taylor, exceeding the same period level in any year since 2010.

◆ Clothing and accessories stores: 9% month on month, down 20.4% year on year;

◆  Furniture store: 1% month on month and 3.8% year on year;

◆  department store: 3% month on month and 16.9% year on year;

◆  Shopping Mall: 2% month on month and 0.6% year on year;

◆  E-store: 8% month on month, down 2.4% year on year;

◆  Hobbies, music stores and other sports: 5%, a year-on-year decrease of 11.5%;

◆  Restaurants and bars: 7% month on month, down 15.4% year on year;

◆  gas station: 4%, a year-on-year decrease of 15%;

◆  grocery store: 6% month on month, up 9% year on year;

◆  Online retailers: Month on month was flat, with a year-on-year increase of 22.4%.

Abercrombie & Fitch

In the second quarter ending August 1, sales of Abercrombie & Fitch, an American Apparel Group, fell 17% year-on-year to $698.3 million, while e-commerce sales soared by 56% to $5.46 million.

American Eagle Outfitters

American Eagle Outfitters, an American Apparel Group, saw a 15% year-on-year drop in sales in the second quarter to $835 million, with a net loss of $13.8 million. Aerie, its underwear and casual wear brand, saw revenue growth of 32%.

Chico’s

Chico's, a US women's clothing retailer, recently released its quarterly performance report as of August 1. Its sales fell 39.8% year-on-year to $306 million, and its net loss expanded to $46.8 million from $2.3 million in the same period last year.

Express

In the three months to August 1, sales of express, a U.S. teen clothing brand, fell 48% year-on-year to $245.7 million, and its net loss expanded to $107.8 million from $9.7 million in the same period last year. However, e-commerce business showed strong growth.

Gap

In the second quarter ending August 1, gap group sales fell 18.23% year-on-year to $3275 million, with a net loss of $62 million. By the end of the reporting period, about 90% of global stores had returned to normal. Of this, 130 million dollars came from the mask business.

G-III

The second quarter revenue of G-III group, the parent company of DKNY, decreased 53.8% to 297.2 million US dollars, with a net loss of 15 million US dollars. The Group expects sales to fall 28-33% in the second half of the fiscal year.

Guess

Guess, an American Apparel Group, lost $20.4 million in the second quarter, down 41.7% from a year earlier to $398 million. The Group expects low double-digit declines in the third and fourth quarters.

J.Jill

In the three months to August 1, sales of J. Jill, a U.S. apparel retailer, fell 49% year-on-year to $92.6 million, while its net loss narrowed to $18.5 million.

Kohl’s

In the second quarter ending August 1, Kohl's sales fell 23.1% year-on-year to $3.4 billion and net profit to $47 million. At present, the overall business is close to the level of a year ago.

L Brands

In the three months to August 1, sales of L brands, the parent company, fell 20.6% year-on-year to $2.3 billion, and its net loss expanded to $49.6 million. L brands said it would close about 250 stores and lay off about 850 jobs this year.

Levi's

Levi's, the U.S. jeans group, lost 62% in its second quarter ending May 24 from a year earlier to $498 million, with a net loss of $364 million.

Lululemon

Lululemon, a Canadian yoga clothing brand, saw its second quarter revenue rise 2% year-on-year to $929 million, while its net profit fell 30.56% to $86.8 million. Among them, the revenue of self operated stores fell by 51%, but the income directly facing consumers such as e-commerce increased by 157% to 554.3 million US dollars, accounting for 61.4% of the total revenue, more than double that of last year.

Macy’s

In the three months to August 1, Macy's sales fell 35.7% year-on-year to $3.6 billion, with a net loss of $431 million. In February this year, Macy's announced that it would close 125 stores in the next three years. Nearly 6000 people have been laid off since the outbreak of the epidemic.

Nordstrom

In the second quarter ending August 1, Nordstrom's sales fell 53% year-on-year to about $1.86 billion, compared with a net profit of $141 million in the same period last year.

PVH

In the second quarter ending August 2, PVH group, the parent company of Calvin Klein, lost 33% year-on-year to $1.58 billion, with a net loss of $51.4 million. PVH expects China and Europe to accelerate their recovery in the next few months, and the decline will narrow to 25% in the second half of the year.  

Stein Mart

American discount retailer Stein Mart filed for bankruptcy protection in August and plans to close most of its stores by the end of the year. The 112 year old company operates 281 stores in 30 states and employs 9000 people.

Target

In the second quarter, target's revenue increased by 24.7% year-on-year to $23 billion, the highest since the company was founded, with a net profit ratio of 80.3% to $1.69 billion. During the reporting period, the sales of comparable stores of the group increased by 10.9%, and that of e-commerce increased by 195%.

TJX

Tjx, a discount retailer in the U.S., saw a 32% year-on-year drop in sales in the second quarter to $6.67 billion, with a net loss of $210 million.

Urban Outfitters

U.S. apparel retailer Urban Outfitters' second quarter sales fell 16.5% year-on-year to $803 million, while net profit fell to $34 million. The group said the decline in physical retail business over the period was offset by strong growth in online sales, with all its brands profitable.

Walmart

In the three months to the end of July, Wal Mart's sales rose 5.6% year-on-year to $137.7 billion and net profit increased 75% to $6.439 billion.