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MARKS BROS. CAN'T SHAKE THOSE YULE BLUESJEWELERS, LIKE MOST OTHER retailers, found the holiday season less than merry. But few of their stocks were hurt as badly as newly public Marks Bros. Jewelers. Its shares, offered in May at 14, had doubled by autumn, then dove when analysts estimated luster-less fourth-quarter earnings, which have yet to be reported. While profitable, Marks is still languishing at 25% below its IPO price. Other jewelry chains dropped, too, though not as much, and they have rebounded. Why is Wall Street singling out Marks ($131 million in sales) for punishment? Steven Kernkraut of Bear, Stearns says investors are more forgiving toward large chains, such as Zale (1,200 stores), than of small fry such as 170-outlet Marks. Plus, the big boys had the money for national TV ad campaigns. Still, Marks believes it will prevail by adding 28 stores in 1997. It is also testing Mother's Day ads whose concept may resurface at yearend.
By Lisa Sanders
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Updated June 15, 1997 by bwwebmaster
Copyright 1997, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
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