Cato Fashions July same-store sales down 9 percent

The Cato Corporation reported sales of 56.1 million dollars for the four weeks ended July 29, 2017, down 8 percent to sales of 61.2 million dollars for the four weeks ended July 30, 2016. Same-store sales for the month were down 9 percent to the prior year.

"Our negative sales trends persisted in July and the decline in sales continues to put severe pressure on merchandise margins and profitability. We expect a loss for the second quarter and full year earnings to be significantly below last year," said John Cato, Chairman, President, and CEO in a press release.

Sales for the second quarter, the company said, were 205 million dollars, down 13 percent to sales of 236.7 million dollars for the second quarter ended July 30, 2016. Second quarter same-store sales were down 14 percent to prior year.

Sales for the first half were 442.7 million dollars, down 15 percent to the prior year's first half sales of 522.2 million dollars, while same-store sales were down 15 percent to the prior year.

Picture:Cato Fashions website