Whitehall Jewellers (NYSE:JWL) has had a rough couple of years since its glory days way back in 2000. Though its stock had already begun its downward spiral, the company's image was further tarnished by the legal troubles and SEC investigation it endured nearly two years ago.
In an environment with a plethora of competition from high-end retailers like Tiffany (NYSE:TIF) to online retailers like Motley Fool Rule Breakers pick Blue Nile (NASDAQ:NILE), along with fellow mall dwellers like Zale (NYSE:ZLC), the company obviously can't afford such missteps.
Whitehall's first-quarter results demonstrate that investors simply aren't interested in its wares. For the quarter, the company reported a net loss of $4.9 million, or $0.35 per share, adding to last year's loss of $3.7 million, or $0.27 per share. Its net sales dropped 2.8% to $71 million, compared to $73 million last year. This is on top of its disappointing comp sales, which were down 3.8%, after increasing 3.3% last year.
There obviously doesn't appear to be any positive news for the company, but leave it to an optimistic executive to try to find the silver lining. CEO Lucinda Baier pointed out that, while the quarter was disappointing overall, "beginning in March, we began to see the positive impact of initiatives put in place earlier this year."
Investors aren't buying it. In fact, they actually seem disinterested in the company overall, pushing the stock lower by about 1% on light volume. I definitely agree with the general lack of interest. There are simply too many more appealing options out there to justify waiting around to see if Whitehall Jewellers is capable of regaining its sparkle.
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Fool contributor Mike Cianciolo welcomes feedback and doesn't own shares of any of the companies mentioned in this article.
