"[N]et income for fiscal year 2012 is expected to be approximately 20% lower than net income for fiscal year 2011," they wrote.
According to Yahoo Finance, analysts were expecting earnings to climb around 8 percent from last year's earnings of $3.49 per share.
Among other things, management blamed Hurricane Sandy, the election, the fiscal cliff, and warm weather.
Jos. A Bank's sales strategy centers around marking its suits up and then offering abnormally large discounts through outrageous promotions.
However, this model may have revealed its first cracks.
"...our customers (specifically at our stores) didn't respond as well to our promotional offers as they had in the past," they wrote.
SEE ALSO: How Jos. A Bank Makes Money Buy Selling 1 Suit And Giving 7 Away For Free >
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Here's the full release via Yahoo Finance:
HAMPSTEAD, Md., Jan. 25, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JoS. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. (JOSB) announces that net income for fiscal year 2012 is expected to be approximately 20% lower than net income for fiscal year 2011. Actual results will depend on, among other things, sales for the remainder of the year, expenses and normal year-end processing. Fiscal year 2012 is a 53-week year which will end February 2, 2013; fiscal year 2011 was a 52 week year which ended January 28, 2012.
Commenting on the earnings update, R. Neal Black, President and CEO of JoS. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. stated: "Total company sales for the year will be up, but not enough to offset higher marketing expenses and lower gross margin. We are disappointed that we were not able to drive the sales gains we had expected. The fourth quarter started out slowly, as the first two weeks of fiscal November were negatively impacted by the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the distractions created by the presidential election and the uncertainty of the fiscal cliff. Going into the critical holiday selling season, starting on Black Friday, we believed we had a strong marketing and promotional strategy for the period. However, many of the promotional items and a large part of our holiday assortment were items that sell best in cold weather and the weather was unseasonably warm. Historically, we have had strength with these types of items, but our customers (specifically at our stores) didn't respond as well to our promotional offers as they had in the past. Our customers responded well to our suit promotions during this period, but our non-suit customers responded poorly to our holiday season offerings, even at very low prices on products such as sweaters, outerwear, hats, gloves, scarves, and jackets made of heavier fabrics such as camel's hair and cashmere. On the positive side, our Direct Marketing business continues to perform well, with double-digit sales growth so far for the fourth quarter. Despite the disappointing earnings results on a year-over-year basis, the fourth quarter and full year of fiscal 2012 will still be very profitable."
"The Company continues to maintain solid cash flows and a strong balance sheet. Additionally, during fiscal year 2012 we achieved several positive accomplishments. We opened our 600th store during the year, opened a total of 46 new stores in fiscal year 2012 and expect to open between 45 and 50 new stores in fiscal year 2013. We have continued to grow our new business initiatives such as our tuxedo rental and big and tall businesses which are starting to gain critical mass. And, for the first time we exceeded the $1 billion annual sales milestone in fiscal year 2012. We continue to remain very positive about the Company's long-term prospects," stated Mr. Black.