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Mar 10, 2011
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Coldwater Creek posts weak Q4 results, shares drop

By
Reuters
Published
Mar 10, 2011

Coldwater Creek
Coldwater Creek
March 9 (Reuters) - Women's apparel retailer Coldwater Creek Inc posted weak fourth-quarter results as its products did not sell well during the holiday season and the company does not expect sales to improve in the near term, sending its shares down 12 percent.

"We expect our sales trends to remain challenging in the near term and expect the first steps of improvement to come as our summer product begins to arrive in our stores," a company executive said on a conference call with analysts.

Coldwater Creek's product offerings have not been striking the right chord with consumers. Last year, it named a new chief merchandising officer and a chief creative officer to try and revamp its product line and its namesake brand.

The company, whose larger rivals include Chico's FAS and Ann Taylor Stores Corp , said it was not giving exact earnings or sales outlook at this time citing 'reduced visibility' regarding the timing of its efforts to turnaround its business.

For the fourth quarter, the company posted a loss of 37 cents a share, excluding items.

Net sales fell 21 percent to $252.1 million.

Analysts on average expected a loss of 26 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $282.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Weak demand during the quarter led the company to cut product prices, hurting its gross margins. They fell to 24.1 percent from 28.4 percent in the year-ago quarter.

Shares of the Sandpoint, Idaho-based company were down 12 percent after the bell. They closed at $2.91 on Wednesday on Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Mihir Dalal in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Maju Samuel)

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