By Connor Hart

Children's Place widened its loss and reported lower sales in its fiscal first quarter, hurt by a challenging retail environment that has stymied turnaround efforts.

The kids' apparel company on Friday reported a loss of $53.2 million, or $2.40 a share, for the quarter ended May 2. That compares with a loss of $34 million, or $1.57 a share, in the same period last year.

On an adjusted basis, the quarterly loss was $2 a share.

Net sales fell 11% to $215.2 million, largely due to a decrease in direct-to-consumer sales of 10% stemming from lower traffic. Comparable sales, which account for store openings and closings, slipped 8.3%.

Children's Place during the recent quarter held its prices steady, which coupled with higher tariffs costs, weighed on margins, Chief Executive Muhammad Umair said. The company has filed roughly $40 million worth of tariff refund claims, which is expected to partially offset margin dilution during the remainder of the year, he added.

Umair said the decline in sales wasn't as steep as in the prior quarter. He pointed to the trend as evidence the company's turnaround efforts are taking hold, even as it faces a continually challenging landscape.

"We recognize that our value customer has been impacted by higher gas and grocery prices," Umair said. "As a result, we are committed to clear messaging regarding the strength of our price/value offerings"

Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 12, 2026 17:00 ET (21:00 GMT)

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