Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. backed its quarterly earnings outlook late Tuesday amid Wall Street fears about September sales.
Pacific Sunwear, which runs PacSun surfwear stores and the d.e.m.o. chain selling urban fashions, said troubles at d.e.m.o. won’t derail growth.
The company said it is sticking with an earlier forecast of 15% to 20% profit growth in the current quarter from a year ago, when it earned $107 million profit on sales of $1.2 billion.
The news comes as Pennsylvania’s American Eagle Outfitters Inc. warned about profits on Wednesday and analysts fretted about poor back-to-school sales amid high oil prices and Hurricane Katrina.
Pacific Sunwear plans to keep opening stores, Chief Executive Seth Johnson said at an investment conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.
The company’s dominant PacSun chain is set to grow to 900 stores, up from 786 now, Johnson said. D.e.m.o., which is working to overcome some fashion missteps, could go from 186 to 400, he said.
Pacific Sunwear is testing a home products line geared toward girls, including rugs, lamps and luggage, Johnson said. The products are set to sell in 375 PacSun stores in late October, according to Reuters.
The company also plans a chain of shoe stores, One Thousand Steps, next year. Shoes bring higher profits than clothes, Johnson said.
