Christmas bargains this year will be comparable to what shoppers saw last holiday season, Atlanta-based children’s clothing company Carter’s said.
The company is trying to encourage repeat visits and drive higher sales each time a customer walks into a store. Carter’s has been taking steps to make its sales more effective, and more profitable for the company, executives said in a Thursday conference call.
During the back-to-school shopping season, Carter’s did not repeat some denim promotions that were unprofitable last year. That led to decreased sales, but increased profits, Carter’s chairman and CEO Michael Casey said.
“We are intentionally changing some of the things that we’ve done in past to focus more on profitability,” he said.
Carter’s is improving its fashion in some categories, saying that boys’ knit tops in particular were too basic in their design.
Product costs, including cotton, have improved for the company. It has also brought more operations in-house, including e-commerce shipments.
Carter’s is planning to continue increasing its online and international sales,and said its primary focus is in Canada, China and Japan.
The company is raising its growth expectations for the remainder of the year. Carter’s now expects 12 percent sales growth, up from a range of 9 to 11 percent.
Carter’s made $59.4 million in the third quarter, up 72 percent from the $34.5 million it made in the same quarter a year ago.
