LITTLE ROCK — Dillard's Inc. on Saturday outlined steps to bolster performance, including closing stores, to cope with the difficult economic environment it faces.
The Little Rock-based company began cutting capital expenses dramatically last year and will continue to trim such costs, said William Dillard II, chief executive officer, at an annual shareholders meeting that lasted about 10 minutes. It plans to open four stores next year, about half its typical number.
In recent years Dillard's opened stores in too many markets and some in which it probably shouldn't have, Dillard said.
Profit at Dillard's in fiscal 2007 plunged 78 percent to $53.8 million from $245.6 million for the year before.
Dillard's in April defused tension expected at this year's meeting by settling a challenge from New York-based investors who had proposed four new board directors. They and Dillard's compromised with a new slate.
That slate was elected by an overwhelming shareholder majority Saturday. Auditors Deloitte & Touche LLP were re-elected. Vote totals weren't released.
The company also avoided a challenge from Christian Brothers Investment Services Inc. Christian Brothers said in April that it agreed not to offer a "sustainability" report for a vote after Dillard's agreed to issue in about a year a report on areas such as implementation of its social-accountability policy, which addresses factory-labor issues.
Arkansas, Pages 33 on 05/18/2008