The second quarter is expectedly disheartening for the US-based fashion retailer J. Jill!
The fashion label announced on Thursday (3 September) that its second quarter net sales dipped by a worrying 49 per cent to touch US $ 92.6 million from US $ 180.7 million the previous year.
Notably, the direct to consumer sales represented 71.6 per cent of total net sales, in comparison to 42.6 per cent in the Q2 of fiscal 2019.
There was a fall in gross profit too! While it was US $ 105.3 million a year back during the same period, it dropped to US $ 55 million this quarter that ended 1 August.
Here again it’s important to note that gross margin was 59.4 per cent compared to 58.3 per cent in the Q2 of last year, distinctly reflecting the impact of measures taken by the retailer in 2019 to clear excess inventory.
Inventory at the end of Q2 this year is down to US $ 64.2 million, while it was US $ 70 million a year back.
The net loss was US $ 18.5 million compared to a loss of US $ 96.7 million in the Q2 of the previous year.
The struggle for the retailer has been continuing much before the pandemic had started and this had also led to Linda Heasley stepping down as CEO late last year. And this year has been worse, with the pandemic killing all its sales and eventually leading the retailer to bankruptcy.
In fact, earlier this week, the retailer had said that it will be filing for bankruptcy if it does not succeed in getting lenders holding 95 per cent of its term loans.
Also Read: J. Jill plans Chapter 11 if it fails to reach 95% threshold by 11 September
Also Read: J. Jill and Destination XL most vulnerable retailers, says S&P Global
Time is running out for the womenswear retailer and the coming weeks will tell us where the retailer’s future lies.
