Quarterly loss reported by Kmart

Kmart Corp. (Troy, Mich.) reported a net loss of $67 million for the quarter ended Oct. 25, 2000, compared with a net income of $27 million for the same quarter a year ago.

“Our overall performance fell short in the third quarter primarily due to soft sales, as our liquidation of inventory cannibalized our regular sales,” explained Chuck Conaway, the retail giant's new chairman and ceo. However, he insisted, “it is clear that we are building momentum, as our total units increased 2.7 percent, even though the average retail selling price declined 1.2 percent.” And, in fact, there were increases reported in net sales (up 3 percent for the quarter) and same-store sales (up 1.4 percent).