J. Jill’s 2005 web sales are virtually flat from 2004

Web sales at J. Jill Group Inc. were up 1.6% in 2005 compared to 2004, $81.8 million in 2005 vs. $80.56 million in 2004, the company reported today. Companywide sales were up 3.4% to $449.7 million from $434.8 million. The web accounted for 18.2% of 2005 sales vs. 18.5% in 2004. Catalog sales declined 29.3% in 2005 to $78.1 million from $110.5 million. 2005 comparable store sales were down 1.2% from 2004. 2005 net income was $1.5 million vs. $8.7 million in 2004.

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Fourth quarter Internet sales were unchanged from Q4 a year earlier, $21.14 million vs. $21.18 million. Total sales grew 9.6% to $130.9 million from $119.4 million. Q4 comparable store sales were down 3%. Catalog sales slid 18.5% to $20.2 million from $24.8 million. Q4 2005 net income was $3 million vs. $2.6 million in 2004.

“We attribute our disappointing results primarily to customer dissatisfaction with our merchandise offerings,” said Gordon R. Cooke, president and CEO. “Over the past couple of years we have endeavored to broaden the appeal of the J. Jill brand by standardizing our fits, improving the quality of our apparel, increasing the penetration of color and novelty in our assortment and becoming more contemporary in our design elements. While we believe we have achieved success with respect to improving the quality and fit of our apparel, some of the changes we made with respect to color, novelty and silhouette were not well received by our customer."

J. Jill, No. 87 in the Internet Retailer Top 400 Guide to Retail Web Sites is being acquired by The Talbots Inc., No. 85 in the Internet Retailer Top 400 Guide to Retail Web Sites.