RetailSails

Although we learned this week that consumers are more upbeat about the future of the economy than at any time since September, it’s doubtful that sentiment will translate into a meaningful improvement in performance for most retailers – mall stores have been hit especially hard which makes the continued out-performance of The Buckle even more impressive.  This mall-based retailer, similar in size and flavor to the likes of Zumiez, Wet Seal and Hot Topic, seems to have forgotten that we are in a recession.  How about this – 21 consecutive months of double-digit same-store sales gains, with 32 consecutive months of positive same-store sales results overall:

That’s great, you say – a whole bunch of top line growth, but what about the bottom line?  Even better – margins continue to improve and bottom line growth is faster than revenue growth:

If we compare their performance against the previously mentioned competition it looks all the more impressive.  While Hot Topic seems to have turned the corner with 7 straight months of positive same-store sales, the same cannot be said of Zumiez or Wet Seal, who is really getting killed by the performance of Arden B stores in particular:

Unlike similar mall-based shops who seemingly try to double their store count every 3 years, The Buckle has been very conservative only opening about 20 new stores per year:

Throw in the fact they pay a neat little dividend (currently yields about 2.2%) and have no debt to speak of with about $162 million in cash, and you have yourself an all-around impressive retailer.  While I certainly wish I found this gem of a company before the stock climbed over 162% from its November lows, it’s certainly worth keeping an eye on for the future…