Cole National: second quarter results

Positive results for the second quarter of 2003, ended on August 2, for the Cole National group: with the same number of stores, sales reached 307.7 million dollars, a 7% increase compared to the same period in 2002.

The most significant increase was registered by Target Optical stores (+18.9%), followed by BJ's Optical (+15.6%) and Sears Optical(+7.8%). Pearle Vision stores increased their sales by 2.3% (+4.1% for stores under ownership and +0.8% for franchises).

During the quarter, net losses by the group (which includes the gift retailer, Things Remembered, in addition to Cole Vision) were reduced to 5.5 million dollars, compared to 5.7 million for the same period last year.