J.Crew Revises 4th Quarter & Fiscal 2008 Guidance

J.Crew sent a news release (click here or here) today announcing "that it is revising its fourth quarter and fiscal 2008 guidance, primarily to reflect lower than anticipated sales and gross margin trends. The Company expects to report results for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2008 during the second week of March 2009." Moreover, "this revised guidance reflects the aggressive inventory actions taken to clear fall and holiday inventory during the fourth quarter".

The MarketWatch site (click here) sums it up with the following:
"J.Crew Group Inc. on Thursday lowered its earnings forecast for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2008, blaming lower sales and gross margins. The apparel retailer now sees a fourth-quarter loss of 24 cents to 29 cents a share, compared to its previous guidance of 5 to 10 cents a share in profit. For the full year, it projects earnings of 77 cents to 82 cents a share, versus its previous expected range of $1.11 to $1.16. On average, analysts surveyed by FactSet Research were looking for J.Crew to report a profit of 7 cents a share in the fourth quarter and $1.14 a share for the full year".

Things are still not looking good for J.Crew (although I will say it is much better off than other retailers during this difficult economic times). Despite all the {amazing} promotions and sales offered during the holidays, consumers are still (understandably) cautious about spending. I am hoping that J.Crew will be able to perform better during the next year (especially since I own their stock- and I lost *a lot* on my initial investment!) ;)

Do you own J.Crew stock? What are your thoughts on the news (are you surprised or expected this)? What do you think J.Crew should do to "turn things around"?