You Won't Like The Way This Looks; Men's Warehouse Plunges

In the commercials for his company, Men's Warehouse (NYSE: MW) co-founder George Zimmer says, "You'll like the way you look. I guarantee it." It's safe to say investors aren't going to like the way shares of Men's Warehouse look when markets open on Thursday.

In after-hours trading, the stock has plunged almost 18% after the company said its expects a second-quarter profit of $1.12-$1.13 a share, well below the $1.22 analysts were expecting.

Texas-based Men's Warehouse reported a fiscal first-quarter profit of $26.9 million, or 52 cents per share, compared with $27.4 million, or 52 cents per share, a year ago. Sales increased 1.1% to $586.6 million, but analysts expected a profit of 55 cents on sales of $593.9 million.

Total inventories increased 16.4% primarily to replenish comparatively oversold levels in the prior year as we embarked on a more aggressive promotional cadence while total cash and cash equivalents at quarter end were $118.7 million, according to a statement. The company said it repurchased almost $34 million of its own stock during the first quarter.

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