What: Shares of clothing retailer The Men's Wearhouse (TLRD) plummeted more than 45% on Friday after posting disastrous preliminary Q3 results.
So what: Men's Wearhouse shares have slumped sharply in recent months on concerns over a sharp sales decline at its recently acquired Jos. A. Bank stores, and today's preliminary Q3 results -- same-store sales declined a disappointing 14.6% -- only reinforce those worries. In fact, Men's Wearhouse now expects sales at established Jos. A. Bank locations to decline 20%-25% next quarter as it tries to lower its dependence on aggressive promotions like "buy one, get-three-free" events, suggesting that a significant sales improvement isn't happening anytime soon.
Now what: Management now expects Q3 EPS of $0.46-$0.51, well below its prior view of $0.87 and the Wall Street consensus $0.99. "We implemented several strategies that we believe are potentially offsetting variables to the expected traffic and unit declines including new, updated and expanded assortments, higher average unit retail prices to go along with our new promotional strategy, additional investments in new promotional and brand building marketing, a new rewards-based customer loyalty program, and better selling behaviors, supported with extensive training and an updated incentive compensation structure for the Jos. A. Bank store employees," said CEO Doug Ewert. More importantly, with the stock now off a whopping 65% from its 52-week highs and trading at a single-digit forward P/E, today's short-term concerns might be providing patient Fools with a solid long-term retail opportunity.
