Bank Clothiers

Two customers of Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. have filed a class-action lawsuit against the Hampstead-based men's apparel chain, accusing the retailer of using deceptive marketing by claiming merchandise is on sale when it is actually being offered at regular price. James Waldron and Matthew Villani filed the complaint April 5 in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, seeking a jury trial. The plaintiffs filed on behalf of themselves and others who bought Jos. Bank merchandise from April 5, 2006, to the present.

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc.'s top executive, R. Neal Black, earned $2.9 million last year, a decrease from the $4 million in compensation Black earned in 2011, the Hampstead-based men's apparel retailer said. Executive compensation for CEO Black, who also serves as the company's president, included a base salary of $806,492 and $1.96 million in stock awards, Bank reported in a filing Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In 2011, Black's earnings also included $1.2 million in non-equity incentive plan compensation.

Men's clothing store chain JoS. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. now has 601 stores across the United States, the company announced Monday. The Hampstead-based public company opened two stores on Friday - one in Miami and the second in southeastern Michigan, the company said. "Achieving the 600 store level represents a significant milestone," said CEO R. Neal Black in a statement. "Over the past 5 years, we have opened more than 190 new stores. " JoS. A Bank expects to expand to 800 stores - 700 "full-line" stores and 100 factory outlets, the company's statement said.

With Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. likely poised to announce year-end and fourth-quarter results this week, investors and analysts wonder just how bad it will be. So far this year, stock in the Hampstead-based men's apparel chain has sat out the stock market rally, falling 6 percent even as the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 7 percent. The concern stems from the retailer's January warning that its profit for the fiscal year ended Feb. 2 will be off 20 percent. The problems prompted Zacks Investment Research to dub Jos. A. Bank its "bear of the day" in a report issued last week.

LOCALLY Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. Shares of the Hampstead-based men's clothier surged 4.4 percent yesterday, closing up $1.19 to $28, after the company reported a 25.3 percent increase in total sales, to $21.8 million, for August, and a 35.1 percent increase in combined catalog and Internet sales for the month. NATIONALLY CoolBrands International Inc. The frozen-dessert maker locked in a licensing dispute with Weight Watchers International Inc. said yesterday that its fiscal 2004 per-share profit rose 64 percent, short of analysts' forecasts.

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc., now in its fifth consecutive quarter in the black, said yesterday that earnings in the first quarter of the year doubled to $400,000, or 6 cents a share, compared with $200,000, or 3 cents a share, in the first quarter of 1996.The company said the results were affected by improved margins and new-store openings last year.The results for the quarter ended May 3 were 1 cent better than analysts' expectations.The company says it intends to open a total of 11 new stores from Louisiana to New York this year, including one in Columbia that is expected to debut in the fall.

After rebounding from the financial problems of last year, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. said yesterday that it will capitalize on six months of positive earnings and open 25 new stores in the next 2 1/2 years.The Hampstead-based men's apparel company said earnings grew to $200,000, or 3 cents a share, for the quarter ended Aug. 2, compared with a loss of $600,000, or 8 cents, for the same period in 1996."I think the apparel market rebounded somewhat and we rode it," said Timothy F. Finley, chairman and chief executive officer of the company.

This is a lousy time -- and Maryland is a lousy place -- to be looking for a job. But don't tell Timothy F. Finley.As chief executive of Hampstead-based Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc., he is among the small group of Maryland executives who are boosting employment these days.A report released Thursday said that Maryland suffered the second-largest job loss of any state in the 12 months that ended in July. But Bank is heading in the other direction. An aggressive expansion campaign -- including six new stores planned this month -- has meant dozens of new manufacturing jobs in Maryland.

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. has signed a lease to open its first airport store at the mall taking shape at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. The Hampstead-based retailer plans to use the new location to target the business traveler, including men running late for flights who may have forgotten to pack that tie or pair of dress socks. The 966-square-foot store, to open in May in the new Southwest Airlines concourse, will carry Bank's travel-ready attire, a line of wrinkle-free suits, shirts and accessories.

Most retailers would just as soon forget Holiday 2000. Not Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. In between selling camel hair blazers and lamb's wool sport coats, managers and salesmen at Bank's 117 stores pulled out lists of names sent by corporate headquarters, got on the phone and alerted customers to apparel that was in stock, in their size and on sale. In two months, the stores called 200,000 people. While other national chains missed December sales goals, Hampstead-based Bank set records.

Men's clothing store chain JoS. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. now has 601 stores across the United States, the company announced Monday. The Hampstead-based public company opened two stores on Friday - one in Miami and the second in southeastern Michigan, the company said. "Achieving the 600 store level represents a significant milestone," said CEO R. Neal Black in a statement. "Over the past 5 years, we have opened more than 190 new stores. " JoS. A Bank expects to expand to 800 stores - 700 "full-line" stores and 100 factory outlets, the company's statement said.

Men's retailer Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. said profits took a more than 11 percent dive in the third quarter, hurt by extra markdowns that drove the apparel sales and by Hurricane Sandy's strike to the East Coast. Net income fell to $13.3 million in the three months that ended Oct. 27, an 11.2 percent drop compared with net income of $15 million in the year-earlier period, the Hampstead-based company said Wednesday. The company earned 47 cents per share, down 13 percent from 54 cents per share earned in the third quarter of 2011.

Two customers of Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. have filed a class-action lawsuit against the Hampstead-based men's apparel chain, accusing the retailer of using deceptive marketing by claiming merchandise is on sale when it is actually being offered at regular price. James Waldron and Matthew Villani filed the complaint April 5 in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, seeking a jury trial. The plaintiffs filed on behalf of themselves and others who bought Jos. Bank merchandise from April 5, 2006, to the present.

Most retailers struggled through the recession. Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. thrived. While other men's clothing chains were shutting stores and cutting costs in the face of shrinking profits, the Hampstead-based retailer was expanding and investing. Jos. A. Bank opened new stores - 110 nationwide since 2008, bringing the total to 527 - broadened its product line, started outlet and tuxedo-rental businesses and announced plans recently to take its e-commerce site international.

Shareholders of Jos. A. Bank Clothiers approved the company's executive pay package in a nonbinding "say on pay" vote Friday. During the company's annual meeting, shareholders also re-elected President and CEO R. Neal Black and chairman Robert N. Wildrick to the board of directors. Black's base salary in fiscal year 2010 was $762,500, but total compensation was nearly $4 million, including incentives and stock awards. Wildrick's total compensation was $1.2 million. Shareholders also approved a measure to vote on executive pay every year.

Men's retailer Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. said this morning that fiscal first quarter earnings increased on strong sales of suits and dress shirts, while sales declined on seasonal products such as sportswear. The Hampstead-based company said that net income increased 12.7 percent to $17.8 million, or 64 cents per share, for the quarter ended April 30. That was compared with net income of $15.8 million, or 57 cents per share, for the first quarter of last year. Comparable store sales increased 0.1 percent as men cut back on seasonal products.

If he was keeping up with industry trends, Timothy Finley would have done the sensible thing.He would have closed the old Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. sewing factory on North Avenue next year when his workers' union contract expired, sending 409 employees packing, and turned to the Caribbean or Mexico to make 200,000 pairs of pants and 124,000 coats.After all, the nation has lost half its apparel manufacturing jobs -- from 1.5 million in the 1970s to 822,000 today -- to foreign manufacturers as retailers searched for cheap labor, where theoretically one can save about $15 on every pair of pants or jacket.

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Shares in the Hampstead-based menswear retailer dropped $2.10 to $24.40 even though the company reported record profits and sales for the most recent fiscal year.

Men's clothing chain Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. has extended a contract with its former CEO that pays him $825,000 a year in consulting fees, more than the base salary of some of its current executives. Robert N. Wildrick, 66, will also continue in his duties as chairman of the board, a position for which he was paid an additional $150,000 last fiscal year, according to a regulatory filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Wildrick's total compensation for fiscal year 2010, which also includes stock awards and other retainer fees, was $1.2 million.

People in England and Spain may now be able to buy suits and ties from Jos. A. Bank Clothiers. The Hampstead-based retail chain said today it will now make it possible for people in other countries to shop from its Internet site. It is expanding Internet shopping to more than 90 countries. The orders may be placed directly by international customers or by U.S. customers who wish to deliver their orders to family or friends at international addresses. The company is using a third party provider, FiftyOne Global Ecommerce, to facilitate the checkout and exporting of orders.  Shoppers will be able to use the currencies of the countries where they are buying from.