Replies to post #465 on Earning Plays

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Abercrombie profit edges up on sales increase
Staff and agencies
16 May, 2008


By DOUG WHITEMAN, Associated Press Writer Fri May 16, 12:22 PM ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. said Friday that its first-quarter earnings rose 3 percent from a year ago on stronger sales.

Sales rose 8 percent to $800.1 million from $742.4 million last year. But sales at stores open at least a year, considered a key indicator of a retailer‘s strength, fell 3 percent.

Abercrombie shares slipped 19 cents to $75.89 in midday trading after rising as high as $77.25 earlier in the session.

"They have been going to these tourist-destination stores in New York, Miami, Las Vegas. They love the dollar compared to the euro right now, and they‘re spending quite a bit at these stores," Lemos said.

"Despite a tough selling environment, we produced bottom-line growth while still remaining true to the aspirational positioning of our brands," Abercrombie & Fitch Chairman and CEO Mike Jeffries said in a statement.

Abercrombie last week announced that it will add a second flagship store in Europe, opening a store in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2009. Abercrombie already has a store in London and says it is securing locations for stores in Italy, France, Germany, Spain and Sweden. The company plans to open a store in Tokyo in late 2009.