The Talbots Inc. ended its 2002 fiscal year with single-digit decreases in both sales and net income.
The Hingham, MA-based retailer reported income of $120.8, down 5% from fiscal 2001. Net sales fell by 1% to roughly $1.5 billion.
Catalog sales declined by 7% to $147.4 million.
Sales for the fourth quarter totaled a $431.8 million, compared with $433.2 million during the same quarter in the previous year. Net income fell to $28.3 million, compared with $32.5 million the year before.
Catalog sales decreased by 3% to $68.3 million during the quarter, which ended Feb. 1.
CEO Arnold B. Zetcher acknowledged that “sales levels were not quite what we had hoped for.” However, he added that, “with our disciplined approach to expense and inventory management, we remained strongly profitable in 2002 with net income at 7.6% of sales.”
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