(Bloomberg) – Kohl’s Corp. shares fell as much as 14% after the U.S. retailer posted a quarterly loss and sales declined, a sign of the struggle of many retailers amid pandemic uncertainty.
The company’s second-quarter report contrasts sharply with the booming sales figures released Tuesday by Home Depot Inc. and Walmart Inc., two mass retailers that were considered essential and allowed to operate through the pandemic. Kohl’s and its non-essential peers, meanwhile, are struggling to win sales where customers stay at home and flock to e-commerce.
Kohl’s posted a loss of 25 cents per share excluding some items – better than the estimated loss of 70 cents. Sales were $ 3.2 billion – a 23% decline from a year earlier, but still above analyst expectations.
The results contrast with Home Depot and Walmart and “underline the discriminatory and unequal effects of the pandemic on retail,” said Neil Saunders, CEO of GlobalData Retail, in a research note. The company’s sales sales “prove that the recovery for some retailers will be longer and longer.”
With the pandemic still running its operations, Kohl’s again refused to sell the same store. That is the figure most viewed by analysts and one of the best indicators of a retailer’s strength.
The company said it reopened all of its stores in the quarter and generated positive business management flow. Kohl’s has added pick-up and plexiglass barriers, while workers are forced to wear masks, a bid to reduce consumer nerves amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Looking ahead, Kohl’s said it expects Covid-19 to close its business in the second half of the year and that it plans to be “conservative”. It also sees customers start holiday shopping earlier than normal, and it is “ready to follow up on any question as it falls,” it said in slides accompanying the release.
Kohl’s shares fell to $ 20.26 on Tuesday, the lowest intraday in nearly five months. the share had declined 54% this year due to the close of Monday.
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