Things are looking up for some retailers in the U.S. and UK.
Ross
Ross Stores opened 21 Ross Dress for Less and eight DD’s Discounts locations in 12 states in June and July. The new stores build on off-price chain’s presence in California, Florida and Texas, its largest markets.
The openings align with the retailer’s plan to open 100 stores—75 Ross Stores and 25 DD’s—during fiscal 2022. The second-quarter openings add to the 22 new Ross stores and eight DD’s that opened in Q1. The current store network for both brands includes 1,669 Ross stores in 40 states, the District of Columbia and Guam, as well as 311 DD’s in 21 states.
“These recent openings reflect our ongoing commitment to expanding our two chains,” Gregg McGillis, group executive vice president, property development, said. “Looking ahead, we remain confident in our ability to grow to at least 2,900 Ross Dress for Less and 700 DD’s Discounts locations over time.”
Joules
British fashion and home lifestyle brand Joules said selling trends for the first six weeks of the Fiscal Year 2023 are on track for retail sales growth of 8.5 percent year-on-year. However, gross margins remained under “significant pressure” as consumers gravitated towards markdowns.
Joules recently hired KPMG’s debt advisory to help it fortify its cash position. As of June 26, Joules said it had 15.0 million pounds ($18 million) of available cash resources, up from 11.3 million pounds ($13.4 million) last week. It also received credit approval from Barclays Bank for an additional 5 million pounds ($6 million) on its borrowing facilities until November to support working capital requirements over the upcoming holiday period.
Joules said it will continue discussions with Barclays on its medium-term financing, which it expects to conclude by September.
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JD Sports Fashion Plc
JD on Friday said that comparable sales for the first five months of the fiscal year starting Jan. 30, 2022 were 5 percent ahead of a year ago.
JD expects profits before tax and exceptional items for the year ending Jan. 28, 2023 will be in line with the year ended Jan. 29, 2022. Profits for the current year will reflect a “more normalized trading pattern” with about 35 percent to 40 percent generated in the first half, it added.
For the year ended Jan. 29, JD doubled year-ago profits before tax to 654.7 million pounds ($786.3 million) from 324.0 million pounds ($389.1 million). Revenue rose 39 percent to 8.56 billion pounds ($10.28 billion) from 6.17 billion pounds ($7.41 billion). JD will report first half interim results to July 30, 2022 in September. The company is still in the process of divesting its Footasylum acquisition.