The ongoing sales drop at J Jill continued into the new fiscal year, but the company’s management said its turnaround strategy has started to gain traction.

The women’s apparel retailer saw its net sales fall 6 per cent year-on-year to $144.4 million in the first quarter ended May 2.

Comparable sales decreased by 8.7 per cent, while direct-to-consumer net sales, which represented 45.6 per cent of net sales, fell 8.3 per cent.  

On the bottom line, operating income went down from $19.1 million a year earlier to $8.8 million, and net income dropped nearly 60 per cent to $4.7 million.

Despite the weak numbers, president and CEO Mary Ellen Coyne said the results were in line with our expectations and indicated the early progress of the company’s strategy. 

“We are balancing speed with careful deliberation as we evolve – making the best decisions for our business and our customers. I am confident in our ability to drive gradual, sequential improvement and position J Jill for sustainable growth.” 

The company reaffirms its outlook for the full year, expecting net sales to be flat to down 2 per cent and comparable sales to decline 1-3 per cent.

Last year, J Jill’s net sales decreased 2.3 per cent to $596.5 million, with comparable sales down 3.1 per cent. 

Coyne said at the time that the company “deliberately embarked on a period of testing and learning to build the foundation”.

The retailer ended the year with 256 stores, after opening nine and closing five locations during the period.