Gap7 Month Performance Was Bleak Than Analysts Expected.

U.S.A

Retail group

Released the latest sales figures, the group's same store sales in July declined last year, which is also lower than that of Thomson Reuters. After a slight improvement in June, Gap group once again fell into the doldrums of performance doldrums.

The Gap group reported net sales of $1 billion 100 million for the four weeks ended July 30th, essentially flat compared to $1 billion 120 million in July last year, but 4% lower than last year's sales, far less than analysts forecast 0.3%.

Gap group's net sales in the second quarter also slightly lower than last year's US $3 billion 900 million, dropping to 3 billion 850 million US dollars.

Nevertheless, Gap group still said that the company's performance is improving gradually.

Sabrina Simmons, group chief financial officer, said that despite the mixed performance this quarter, the group still made progress in streamlining its business plan.

Signs of continued improvement in performance.

The progress made by Sabrina Simmons is that the group's main brand Gap fell 4% in July, which is better than last year's 7% decline, but still worse than the 1.4% decline in Thomson Reuters forecast.

In July, the other two brands of the group were not ideal. Banana Republic's year-on-year sales were lower than expected 3.9%, falling to double-digit 14%, down by -10% over the same period last year.

Another brand Old Navy performance was flat last year, an increase of 3%.

In the second quarter, group sales fell 2% less than expected. At the beginning of this year, Thomson Reuters predicted that the group's second quarter sales growth would be 1.6%.

The main line brand Gap year-on-year sales fell 3%, but 6% decline compared to the same period last year, Banana Republic second quarter sales fell 9%, the decline was worse than the same period last year 4%; Old Navy's performance continued to be flat compared with the same period last year, sales growth of 3%.

Gap group investor Jack Calandra revealed that the group's revenue in the second quarter was not equal to the impact of challenging pportation and pportation in May and July this year. Gap group will continue to take a cautious attitude towards the retail environment in the second half of fiscal 2016.

In June, the group's net sales amounted to US $1 billion 570 million, a 2% increase compared with the same period last year. Its sales performance in the same store was also better than that in the same period last year. Its performance outperformed by Thomson Reuters, which was 3.2% lower than that in the same period last year, and 1% in the same store last year.

Some analysts said that Gap group reduced the heavy inventory pressure by way of discount sales, resulting in the company's gross profit margin dropped to its lowest level in 2003. Excessive discount sales methods may lead consumers to stop buying full price products. The performance improvement in June alone does not mean that the group's performance has started to bottom up.

After announces its dismal first quarter results, Gap group will close 53 Old Navy stores in Japan and elsewhere.