Company Outlook
For the fourth quarter, the company expects comps to be down in the low-double-digit range. Net new stores will add about 170 basis points of growth versus 2021. The company expects the fourth quarter gross margin rate to improve sequentially versus Q3 but remain in the mid-30s range. This includes the impact of additional markdowns related to accelerated store closures and continued efforts to clean up slow-moving inventory. Given an atypically wide range of outcomes, the company is not providing EPS guidance at this point. The company expects a share count of approximately 29.0 million for Q4.
