Zumiez sees meaningful improvement in Q3

Zumiez offered some upbeat news in its third quarter earnings press release this afternoon.

The company said sales in the Western half of the U.S. have improved, most notably in California. Zumiez also saw “meaningful” improvement in same-store sales trends in the third quarter vs. the first half of the year.

Zumiez offered a better forecast for fourth quarter same-store sales than competitor PacSun. Zumiez expects fourth quarter same-store sales to be down in the mid-to-high single digits while PacSun executives predicted a low 20s decline early this week.

Third quarter results

Net sales: up 0.8% to $113.2 million

Same-store sales: down 8%. In the third quarter of 2008, same-store sales declined 5.8%.

Net income: down 25% to $5.1 million

Q4 same-store sales guidance: down high-to-mid single digits

Q4 earnings guidance: 18 to 22 cents per share