Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
Thank you ma’am. We will now begin the question and answer session. As a reminder, if you do have a question, please press the * followed by the 1 on your touchtone phone. If you would like to withdraw your question, please press the * followed by the 2. If you are using speaker equipment, you will need to lift the handset before making your selection. Our first question comes from the line of Andrew Sawyer with Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.
Andrew Sawyer – Goldman Sachs
Yes, sir. Thank you guys. I was just wondering, in thinking about outlet expansion on the boutiques, I get that your same-store sales were roughly down in the 20-30% range and, first of all, is that a roughly approximate number and second is there any thinking in terms of slowing the growth in those outlets in light of the declining productivity?
Leslie Blodgett
Andrew, let me begin with addressing that question. In regards to productivity for the boutique business, really three things impact on that business. One, the maturation of the store-base. Considering the significant growth we’ve had –
Two, as we discussed in our prepared comments, I’m sure we’ll talk a bit more about that today regarding acquisition to fall off on our GSK, we are just putting some pressure on the stores and the obvious one which is the slowing economy, particularly as it relates to the 3Q. In regards to number 1, our first comment about the maturity level of the stores, of the productivity, about 40% has to deal with that alone given the 79% growth? of younger stores coming into the mix. So that certainly added a fairly significant impact particularly in this Q. But you’re right, in that we do have a broad fall-off and productivity with existing stores and again much of that is related to the pressure we’ve seen from the higher priced kid business, particularly the getting started kid business. Much of our strategy, as we discussed, is on customer acquisition. In regarding the slowing economy, in particular with respect to trends in September, we also experienced certainly a fall-off in traffic as other retailers have.
Andrew Sawyer – Goldman Sachs
So no thinking in terms of maybe slowing the boutique sales in this type of environment, of boutique expansion?
Leslie Blodgett
So, in regards to the overall boutique expansion, we’ll talk a bit about that later as well, but if we continue to believe in the approach we’ve taken from a multi-channel perspective, and I think it’s evidenced by the fact that despite productivity losses, which again, there are many reasons for that, we continue to grow our revenue and market share in excess of the market. If you look at the brick and mortar business, in the period from a retail sales perspective, as I mentioned in my prepared remarks, you have an overall prestige market that declined in the period and despite a fall-off in productivity, the brick and mortar business increased significantly greater in the quarter. And as Leslie mentioned in her remarks regarding distribution strategy, we will take the learnings this year regarding market privatization and frankly sequencing within the market into how we approach our broader distribution strategy.
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