What happened
Shares of Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN -1.05%) were taking a spill today after the apparel retailer warned that comparable sales were down sharply in the current quarter.
As of 1:29 p.m EDT, the stock was down 7.9%.
Image source: Urban Outfitters.
So what
The hipster-centric retailer said in its 10-Q filing that comparable sales for the current quarter were running down by high single digits. Management did not elaborate on the slide, but it's odd for a company to reveal such news in a 10-Q. It also represents a significant decline from the 3.1% drop in comparable sales in the company's first quarter.
Now what
Shares of Urban Outfitters -- which also owns Anthropologie, Free People, and smaller chains -- hit a post-recession low on the news, as the company is struggling, along with many retailers, to succeed in an era of e-commerce and fast fashion.
CEO Richard Hayne has said that the American retail market is "overstored," and that retailers will have to close stores in order for the market to regain equilibrium. Urban Outfitters itself has not announced any significant store closures, but that could change if comparable sales continue to fall by high single digits.
Analysts had been expecting earnings per share to fall from $0.66 a year ago to $0.44 today, but that forecast, along with full-year expectations, is likely to be slashed after today's news.
