L.L. Knickerbocker Cuts Loss While Sales Decrease by 34%

L.L. Knickerbocker Co. Inc., a Lake Forest marketer of collectibles, jewelry, toys and gifts, narrowed its second-quarter loss to $671,000, or 1 cent a share, from $1.1 million, or 4 cents a share, for the same period a year ago.

The loss for the recent quarter included $312,000 for a number of items, including professional fees related to the company’s bankruptcy proceedings.

Sales declined 34% to $8.8 million. The company attributed the decrease primarily to its move to shed its mail order collectible brands in the third quarter last year and the discontinuance of two unprofitable collectible brands in the first six months this year. Catalog doll sales have also declined.

The company said the divestiture of the mail order doll brand and the decrease in catalog doll sales were part of Knickerbocker’s plan to move away from mail order and catalog sales, which have high advertising costs and low operating margins.