HUDSON’S BAY HAS STRONG THIRD QUARTER THANKS TO EUROPEAN SALES

Hudson’s Bay Company, the Canadian-based retailer which owns Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor, has announced primarily positive third-quarter results, a change from most other major department stores.

The company had net earnings of $1 million (Canadian), as opposed to a $13 million loss last year, a consolidated sales growth of 34.1% and same store sales growth of 12.9%. Its department store group had an overall same store sales increase of 5.1%, with Saks’ OFF 5th and its European stores (including Galeria Kauhof) showing strong same-store increases, while Saks Fifth Avenue had a decrease of 3.6%

HBC also announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a quarterly dividend to be paid on January 15, 2016, to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 31, 2015.

“This was an important quarter for our retail business as we continued to execute our strategy of delivering operational improvements while growing and diversifying our retail offerings through targeted acquisitions,” stated Richard Baker, HBC’s governor and executive chairman. “With the addition of HBC Europe during the quarter, we now generate the majority of our sales outside the U.S., and have a significant European retail platform from which we can explore additional growth opportunities.”

Added Jerry Storch, HBC’s CEO, “We are pleased with our third quarter results in a difficult operating environment. We grew sales in both our stores and on the internet, and our Department Store Group performed extremely well given overall market conditions. We remain focused on strengthening our digital capabilities, expanding OFF 5TH, bringing Saks Fifth Avenue and OFF 5TH to Canada, and leveraging our scale to capture synergies and promote efficiencies across our businesses.”