TAILORED BRANDS’ STOCK SOARS ON BETTER THAN EXPECTED Q2 RESULTS

by Brian Lipton

Men's WearhouseCalifornia-based Tailored Brands, Inc., owner of Men’s Wearhouse, Jos. A Bank, K& G, and Moore’s, has announced consolidated financial results for the fiscal second quarter ended July 30, 2016.

The company beat analysts’ expectations in reporting a profit of $25 million, or 51 cents a share, down from $47.8 million, or 98 cents a share, a year earlier. As a result, the company’s stock jumped by over 20 percent by mid-day on Thursday.

Revenue decreased 1.1% to $909.7 million. However, Men’s Wearhouse saw a 2.7 percent net increase in sales, and a 2.9 percent comparable sales increase. Meanwhile, all of the company’s other retail divisions saw a decline in sales, most notably, Jos. A. Bank, which reported a 16.3% comparable sales decline.

“Our second quarter results showed improvement compared to the first quarter yet reflected a challenging retail apparel spending environment as well as the continued transitioning of our Jos. A. Bank business,” said Doug Ewert, president and chief executive officer of Tailored Brands. “We continue to execute our transition plan for Tailored Brands and are on track to achieve our targeted $50 million of cost savings in fiscal 2016. Our store base rationalization is well underway. During the second quarter, we closed 86 stores, including 45 Jos. A. Bank factory stores and eight Men’s Wearhouse outlet stores, and we remain on schedule to close approximately 250 stores during fiscal 2016.”

Ewert added that guidance for the full year remained in the adjusted EPS in the range of $1.55 to $1.85 per diluted share. “Our full year guidance, reflective of a cautious retail environment, assumes slightly lower comparable sales growth at Men’s Wearhouse and better comparable sales performance at Jos. A. Bank, including positive comparable sales for Jos. A. Bank in the fourth quarter,” he added. “We remain positive on the long-term outlook for Tailored Brands and our positioning for sustainable growth and profitability. In addition to rightsizing our Jos. A. Bank we are advancing our initiatives to drive top-line growth and profitability, including introducing innovative product offerings such as custom clothing and strengthening our omni-channel capabilities to better serve our customers.”