The Gap (San Francisco) prepared investors for the possibility that April 2002 will mark the lowest point yet in two years of declining sales.
The company's somewhat convoluted statement said, “Gap management estimates April will produce about 42 percent of the combined sales of the last two months.”
Ensuing arithmetic suggests April will produce sales of about $900 million, or 25 percent less than a year ago. And same-store sales are expected to drop by an estimated 33 percent.
In March 2002, same-store sales dropped 12 percent, the 23rd consecutive month of negative results. The company's monthly same-store sales have fallen by double-digit percentage points for nine straight months.