Stage Stores Inc. (Houston) announced its second-quarter earnings, which included weaker sales than expected. Same-store sales increased by 0.8 percent.
As a consequence of the poor performance, it lowered its profit forecast for the year and will also be closing 90 stores. No information is currently available about which stores will be closed or when the closures will take place.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the company’s CEO Michael Glazer said, “We were challenged by the impact of a weaker peso and economic softness in parts of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Our earnings decline over the prior year was driven by a decrease in merchandise margin as we accelerated markdowns on seasonal categories.”