Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) The first question comes from the line of Jeff Klinefelter - Piper Jaffray.
Jeff Klinefelter - Piper Jaffray
My question is first of all on the comp guidance for Q3 it looks like you are not really looking for much of an improvement as you go against an easier comp. I wonder if you can share any color on what sort of a pattern you are looking for through the quarter or any other color on kind of spread of performance between factory and regular price stores that you have started to see materialize going into the fall season? Then just lastly an update on your direct biz circulation what you are looking for year-end. I know you have productivity measures there.
James Scully
First, with respect to comp guidance for Q3 our historical practice is we always go back and look at. The most recent trend we have is Q2 and obviously at a 5% negative comp it was actually consistent with Q1 and so for the first half we are running down five. That is always the basis for the trend. We think as we plan the back half we don’t really plan for unknown benefit we would expect. We just look at the current trend and then plan accordingly. We haven’t seen anything for the first couple of weeks that would lead us to change.
With respect to circulation, circulation was actually down 36% in the second quarter. It was down 27% in Q1. So for the first half we are down 30%. We are planning to be down about 20% in the second half which will mean for the year we will average down about 25-27% which is consistent with where our guidance was at the end of Q1. As a reminder there, that is really about an efficiency gain there in terms of the productivity that you mentioned. We have eliminated some re-mails and we have done some testing. It is really not that we are touching fewer customers it is how we touch the customers.
Jeff Klinefelter - Piper Jaffray
One clarification there, I notice you doing more niche mailings specific to your female customers and specific to your male customers. Is that part of this testing and any initial feedback on that?
James Scully
It is part of the plan and also we are testing other things as far as the size of the book as well. I would say as we said all along, our [inaudible] was down 18 in Q4. I think I said as we continue to test we will continue to go further into the file with some of the benefits. I think just the number itself points to the fact we have been very happy with the testing and it has been very effective.
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