Lord & Taylor Keeps Dragging Down Hudson's Bay: Why Does It Even Exist?

On Wednesday, multinational department store giant Hudson's Bay (TSX: HBC) served up one of its worst earnings reports yet. Comparable store sales declined again, while gross margin contracted, causing the company's adjusted net loss to nearly double to 203 million Canadian dollars.

The third quarter was weak for most department stores. For example, even industry stalwart Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) reported a 0.9% comp sales decline and a 27% decrease in adjusted operating income for the quarter. Still, Hudson's Bay fared particularly poorly. The bulk of its problems can be traced to the underperforming Lord & Taylor chain, which continues to be an anchor dragging the entire company down.

Most department stores posted weak results last quarter. Image source: Nordstrom.

Source: Fool.com