Talbots Inc., the struggling Hingham clothier, said yesterday it would slow store openings, reduce capital spending, eliminate television and national print advertising, and shutter another 22 shops - on top of 78 recently disclosed store closings.
The goal, Talbots said in a securities filing yesterday, is to reduce the company's cost structure by a minimum of $100 million by the end of fiscal 2009 and become profitable again.
The initiatives follow the release of Talbots' disappointing fiscal fourth-quarter earnings for the 13 weeks ended Feb. 2. In the quarter, sales declined to $587 million from $638 million the previous year. Sales at existing stores dropped 6 percent at Talbots and 6.3 percent at J. Jill, which was acquired by Talbots in 2006 for $517 million.
"Unfortunately, worsening economic conditions in the fourth quarter exacerbated problems that we had already recognized and have been working to address, and impacted our near-term performance," Talbots' chief executive Trudy Sullivan said yesterday in a statement.
Sullivan joined Talbots in August and has made a series of executive hires. And last month, Talbots said it planned to exit the children's and men's business, close 78 stores, and slash its workforce 5 percent.
"These decisive actions, and the several other measures that we will be taking across our business, will drive greatly improved long-term performance," Sullivan said. "We are confident that through these initiatives, our company will become much stronger."
Jenn Abelson can be reached at abelson@globe.com.
