Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from Sean Naughton - Piper Jaffray.
Sean Naughton - Piper Jaffray
In terms on the domestic front, your distribution is obviously relatively broad based. Have there been any differences that you have seen in the sell-throughs in different parts of the channel? So for example, the department store versus sporting goods? Or the independent channel in your own retail stores?
Steve Tully
I think to answer your question is just most challenging area in terms of retail performance has been in the mall based retailers. I think that’s where it’s been most difficult, in the department stores and those national chain that are based in the malls. I think we’ve had a little more success at the independent retailers around the country.
Sean Naughton - Piper Jaffray
Then following up on that, for your own retail stores, can you remind us where you are on the outlook for store openings and store closures as well as anything on the comps domestically versus your international comps?
Joe Scirocco
So in terms of store closures and we had previously said that we were looking at somewhere in the range of 25 stores. We believe that during the current fiscal year, we should have closed somewhere in the order of eight or nine, and I think we maybe nearly done with that at this point.
Going forward we continue to look at the profitability of our retail business, which is profitable around the world, but currently not so in the U.S. That’s obviously the result of comps, which have been significantly worse in the U.S. than they have been abroad. Our European business by contrast in the past quarter was comping down in sort of a high single digit range, which was offset by new store opening.
So whereas, we’re growing the retail platform in other parts of the world, in the U.S. we’re focused on rightsizing that. We have a number of stores that we continue to monitor and we’d look to take out those stores with negative cash flow if we are not able to foresee improvement and profitability as we finalize next year’s plan.
Sean Naughton - Piper Jaffray
Then lastly on the inventory, it looks like it’s down about 7% and you’re looking for sales down about mid teens obviously for the October quarter. Are there any specific pockets that you’re a little concerned about and then also lastly, what is your primary method of liquidation right now?
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