AnnTaylor Stores Corporation announced its sales results for the month of March 2007.
For the five-week period ended April 7, 2007, net sales increased 14.8% to $243.9 million, compared with net sales of $212.5 million for the five-week period ended April 1, 2006. By division, net sales for Ann Taylor were up 8.5% to $91.1 million in March 2007, compared with net sales of $84.0 million in March 2006. For Ann Taylor LOFT, net sales increased 11.1% to $116.9 million in March 2007, compared with net sales of $105.1 million in March 2006.
Comparable store sales for the March 2007 period increased 6.1%, versus a comparable store sales gain of 0.8% in the March 2006 period. By division, comparable store sales increased 8.9% for Ann Taylor in the 2007 period, compared with an increase of 5.7% the prior year. For Ann Taylor LOFT, comparable store sales increased 0.4% in March 2007, compared with a decrease of 2.6% the prior year.
Commenting on the March sales results, Ann Taylor President & Chief Executive Officer Kay Krill stated, "March was a good month for the Company. Our results were helped by the warm weather in the beginning of the month and benefited somewhat by the earlier timing of Easter this year."
"Our Ann Taylor division continued to offer compelling, brand-appropriate product that resonated with our clients, with dresses, suits, woven and knit tops and accessories especially strong. As a result, the division was again successful in driving higher full-price selling throughout the month.
"Our LOFT division posted somewhat stronger March results than we had expected, driven by dresses, knit tops, casual separates and shoes, with fashion silhouettes in sweaters and pants still challenging. We expect to see gradual improvement in LOFT's product offering over the course of the next several months."
The Company indicated that it expects its April performance to be somewhat negatively impacted by the timing shift of Easter, which benefited the month of April last year versus the month of March this year.
