Kirkland's misses Q1 expectations, announces rebranding

Shares of Kirkland’s (NASDAQ:KIRK) are under pressure into Tuesday’s open following the release of first quarter results which missed Wall Street’s expectations on both the top- and bottom-line.

"Like many in retail, our first quarter performance was impacted by weather and the continued softness in consumer sentiment. Despite these challenges, we saw improvements in our store performance for the combined March and April period,” CEO Amy Sullivan said.

To address the damage caused by a tornado at the company’s Jackson, Tennessee distribution center and eliminate underperforming assets, the company is taking actions to move access and slower turning inventory, “sharpening operational discipline to improve inventory productivity” and maximizing the company’s partnership with Beyond (BYON) in an effort to “unlock significant operating leverage, drive sustainable profitable growth and create long-term value for shareholders.”

As part of this initiative, the company announced a number of operational and leadership changes, including a rebranding from Kirkland’s to The Brand House Collective to reflect a multi-brand merchandising and retail operation. Pending shareholder approval, Kirkland’s will also change it ticker symbol on the Nasdaq from “KIRK” to “TBHC.”

Kirkland’s (NASDAQ:KIRK) has also added to its executive team Jamie Schisler as COO, Kerri Dlugokinski as VP of General Merchandising, Bed Bath & Beyond Home, and Courtenay Adolf, VP of Supply Chain. The company also appointed new members of the board to replace five outgoing directors.  

For the reported quarter, Kirkland’s (NASDAQ:KIRK) sales were down 11% to a below-consensus $81.5M, contributing to an adjusted loss of $0.51 per share. While this was improved from a loss of $0.65 a year ago, it missed expectations by $0.04.

Shares were last trading more than 10% lower in premarket.