Macy’s Chief Financial Officer Karen Hoguet warned analysts Tuesday that the department store’s gross margin could be below a forecast given in February.
Gross margins are now expected to be about 60 to 80 basis points below last year.
Following Hoguet’s comments, Macy’s shares began to sell off and were recently down more than 6 percent.
Hoguet said the company is still comfortable with the sales and profit forecast it provided in February.
Hoguet and Macy’s new CEO Jeff Gennette were meeting with analysts to discuss the department store’s future strategy.
Macy’s has been struggling as consumers shift more of their shopping online and spend less time at the mall.
In the fiscal first quarter, Macy’s reported a 39 percent drop in quarterly profit. The earnings were hurt by slumping sales and higher inventory, which weighed on its margins. Same-store sales — a closely watched metric for retailers — fell 4.6 percent during the quarter.
Macy’s expects its same-store sales this year will be down between 2 and 3 percent. Total sales are expected to sink 3.2 to 4.2 percent, while adjusted earnings should be in the range of $2.90 to $3.15 a share.
Macy’s stock has tumbled more than 34 percent over the past year but is down 37 percent in the year-to-date period.