Big 5

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. (El Segundo, Calif.) reported a 13.4 percent increase in net sales for its fourth quarter ending Jan. 2, 2005. Same-store sales increased 2.6 percent, the 36th consecutive quarter that the sporting goods retailer has posted an increase.

For fiscal 2004, net sales increased 9.8 percent and same-store sales increased 3.5 percent.

“We are pleased to report the continuation of our consistently strong performance for the fourth quarter and full year of 2004,” said chairman, president and ceo Steven Miller. “We are particularly pleased to have achieved our fourth quarter results despite unseasonably warm and dry weather in the majority of our markets during the weeks preceding Christmas, which negatively impacted our winter categories. Our apparel category was down in the low single digits for the quarter, but that softness was more than offset by our performance in the hardgoods category, which was up in the low single digits, and our performance in the footwear category, which was up in the mid-to-high single digit range.”

During the quarter, Big 5 opened 11 new stores, including three each in Arizona, California and Colorado, and one each in New Mexico and Utah. These openings brought the company’s year-end store count to 309 (in 10 western states) versus 293 at the end of fiscal 2003. The Company anticipates opening between 16 and 20 stores in fiscal 2005.