Although it defies evolutionary theory, some of us are born with that gene that tells us "Yeah, go poke the bear . see what happens." I'm one of them and I just can't resist a good and potentially controversial story, so sooner or later I just had to take a crack at writing up Jos. A. Bank (NASDAQ:JOSB).

For those not familiar with the company, it's a retailer that sells "classically-styled" clothing for men along the same lines as Lands' End (owned by Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD)) and Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN), though a little closer to the former in price.

So far, so good, right? Well, what has made this story spicier in the past is that management has a different way of doing some things, and sometimes that has caused confusion, consternation, and crabbiness among analysts and investors -- particularly on the inventory side of things. And that's the curse of being "different" -- you get a lot of flak until your track record manages to silence everybody.

Anyways, Jos. A. Bank's results continue to look quite good. Sales were up more than 28%, with comp-store sales up almost 16%, catalog sales up almost 19%, and Internet sales up nearly 22%. Margins expanded nicely and operating income was up more than 52% this quarter. And while the full-year free cash flow picture wasn't great, I'm more of a fan of structural free cash flow, and the numbers by that standard were fine to me.

I can't hope to tackle every issue in what is supposed to be a brief column, so let me say my piece on inventory. By most standards of comparison, Jos. A. Bank carries quite a bit of inventory -- even when you factor in inventory builds for new stores, direct sales, and so on. As a result, that also inflates the cash conversion cycle number (though adding back rent expense makes this number look not quite as bad as well).

Here's the thing, though. By carrying a lot of inventory in styles that don't tend to be trend-sensitive, it can offer better customer service. Men don't go shopping for ambiance: They go shopping to buy something, and having what they want in stock is important. That said, one thing about inventory does strike me as odd -- why is inventory growing so much faster than accounts payable? Those two usually travel together, so I'm a little curious about how and why they're uncoupled to the extent that they are.

When it's all said and done, I find it a bit amusing that my biggest complaint with Jos. A. Bank ends up being not about the company, but the stock. I think the stock is worth about $43 -- so at today's price, it's just not that interesting to me, controversy or no.

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Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).