MarketingProfs

MediaBuyerPlanner: Sales from Aramark’s direct marketing business, which includes public-safety supplier Galls, workwear merchant WearGuard, and Crest Uniform Healthcare, fell 2 percent from last years, while fourth quarter sales fell 5 percent, writes Multichannel Merchant.Overall, Aramark Corp. sales saw a 6 percent increase over the previous year.
The closure in the fourth quarter of the struggling Crest healthcare catalogs contributed to the operating loss.
Total sales for Q3 of Talbots climbed 33 percent, as a result of the acquisition in May of J. Jill Group, but while Talbots same-store sales rose more than 2 percent, same store sales for J. Jill fell almost 7 percent. Net income plummeted from $19.9 million to $8 million in the third quarter.
Charming Shoppes’ net income soared 80 percent; officials attributed much of the growth to lower levels of season inventory, which led to an improved merchandise margin. Net sales rose nearly 5 percent for the quarter, while sales for the direct-to-consumer segment, consisting primarily of the Crosstown Traders catalogs and websites, fell 17 percent.