In the past year, TLYS has throttled back on expansion, instead focusing on making the existing store base more productive and profitable, with a goal of returning to high-single-digit operating margins. In a presentation at the ICR conference, it maintained guidance for Q4 of flat to +2% comps and EPS of $0.15 to $0.20 vs. $0.10 last year. Holiday was much less promotional that at other retailers, management said, but marketing communications emphasized value in the stores.

TLYS’ product margins are very consistent, so it has been looking to lower inventory levels overall and tightly manage expenses to improve profits. To ... Log in to view full article.