Christopher & Banks Warns Of Quarterly Sales Shortfall

Women's apparel retailer Christopher & Banks Corp.'s shares slumped 12% in premarket trade, after the company warned that third-quarter sales would fall below estimates, due to soft mall traffic, weak demand and the fallout from the West Coast port disruption. The company said it now expects sales for the quarter to range from $114 million to $118 million, below the FactSet consensus of $124 million. Margins are expected to show less improvement than previously announced. "We are operating our business with the assumption that the current environment will remain challenging and promotional activity will continue to be aggressive, creating continued pressure on sales and margins," Chief Executive LuAnn Via said in a statement. The company has seen some recent improvement in the sales of fashion merchandise and is focused on managing costs, she said. Shares were up 6.6% in the year through Monday's close, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.3%.