Federated and Allied Stores Cut Losses During February

Allied Stores and Federated Department Stores, the American retailing operations of Canada’s Campeau Corp. that are trying to reorganize, cut their losses to $45.6 million in February from the late January period.

According to monthly statements required by the bankruptcy court overseeing the reorganization of the retail chains, Federated showed a loss of $29.8 million in February while Allied posted a $15.8-million loss. The losses do not include costs associated with the bankruptcy.

In the 20 days after the bankruptcy filing in January, Federated and Allied reported a combined loss of $56 million.

Sales at Federated and Allied were mostly higher in February, with the biggest gains coming in apparel, shoes, fashion and home accessories, the stores said.

Federated and Allied said February’s results reflected progress made with suppliers after the bankruptcy filing.

“We view February results as reflecting the stabilization of our department store operations in the post-filing period,” the companies said.

The February performance exceeded expectations for the first complete month of operations after the Jan. 15 filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In Chapter 11, a company is protected from its creditors while it attempts to reorganize.

Maas Bros., based in Tampa, Fla., and Bon Marche of Seattle, both showed slim profits in the month. Boston-based Jordan Marsh, and Sterns, which operates in New Jersey, lost money.