Business
Christopher & Banks Corporation Provides Operations Update Related to COVID-19
Christopher & Banks Corporation Provides Operations Update Related to COVID-19.
About this update from Christopher & Banks Corp
[{"type":"text","content":"\nChristopher & Banks Corporation (OTC: CBKC), a specialty women’s apparel retailer, today provided plans to reopen its store base over a period of time.\n\n\nThe Company plans to initiate the reopening of its stores to the public following temporary closures that occurred on March 19th. On April 27th, we reopened a small number of stores in select markets to serve solely as fulfillment centers for eCommerce sales. On May 4th, a majority of these stores will be open to the public at reduced store hours and with minimal associate coverage as we observe traffic trends and customer demand. With the health and well-being of employees and customers as a top priority, stores will employ strict sanitation and safety protocols in accordance with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as federal, state and local governments The Company will continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation as it plans a phased reopening of its store base throughout May and June.\n\n\nKeri Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Prior to the pandemic we were pleased with the momentum of our business as positive comparable sales extended through February. Overall, we believe that the strategies we developed and executed prior to the pandemic will continue to benefit our performance in the future. Our near term priority is to methodically execute the reopening of our store base.\n\n\nFollowing the COVID-19 outbreak we closed all of our retail stores and reacted swiftly and prudently to significantly reduce our planned merchandise receipts for the six months of March through August, which will allow us to better align our inventory levels to sales. We maintained the operation of our eCommerce site, which represented over 20% of our fiscal 2019 revenue, in order to continue to serve and engage with our customers. At the same time, we took swift actions to reduce our operating expenses and protect cash as we worked with our vendors on payment deferrals.\n\n\nAs we plan for the reopening our store base, the health and well-being of our associates and customers will remain our top priority. Stores will employ enhanced cleaning protocols, employees will be required to attest that they are symptom free, and there will be a limit of customers allowed in the stores. Our customer can also choose...