Topic: Growth Stocks

Stock Pickers Digest Hotline – Friday, June 3, 2016

Article Excerpt

REITMANS (CANADA) LTD., $4.47, symbol RET.A on Toronto, owns 750 women’s clothing stores across Canada. Those outlets are divided among several brands: Reitmans (327 stores), Penningtons (130), Addition Elle (104), RW & Co. (83), Thyme Maternity (68), Smart Set (23) and Hyda (17). The company also has 21 Thyme Maternity boutiques in Canadian Babies “R” Us stores. In the three months ended April 30, 2016, Reitmans’ sales rose 0.9%, to $203.5 million from $201.7 million a year earlier. Revenue increased despite the closure of 60 stores (mostly Smart Set locations) over the last year. Same-store sales gained 8.8%. Overall, sales through physical locations rose 6.3% while e-commerce sales jumped 52.5%. In the quarter, the retailer lost $6.0 million, or $0.09 a share, compared to its loss of $7.7 million, or $0.12 a share, a year earlier. The high U.S. dollar was a major factor in the loss. It hurt profit margins because Reitmans buys its merchandise from China, priced in U.S. dollars…