Burlington Coat Factory: A Masterclass in Weather-Resilient Retailing

Weather strategy mitigates the negative impact of the 2d warmest October in 129 years

This week, I reviewed Q3 earnings calls from about a dozen retailers to assess the extent of the weather's impact on earnings. The experience was eye-opening, and I plan to post the summary results this week.

So stay tuned for that …

In the meantime, I was so impressed by the folks at Burlington Coat Factory that I decided to do a dedicated post on how they navigated the headwinds of this historically warm fall.

It’s a great example of how the most innovative retailers are operationally managing the real-time risks our changing climate poses.

Burlington Coat Factory's (NYSE: BURL) Q3 2024 sales performance was significantly impacted by the unseasonably warm temperatures, particularly from mid-September onwards. While the initial back-to-school selling season delivered strong results, the subsequent warmer-than-normal temperatures posed a significant headwind to sales, particularly within the company's core cold-weather categories.

"For the first half of the period, the trend is dominate…