BARRY’S POSTS FIRST-QUARTER LOSS

Barry’s Inc. posted a $5.7 million net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 1997, which ended Aug. 31. That compares with a $1 million loss for the same period of fiscal 1996.

Net sales for the quarter totaled $26.1 million, down from $26.7 million. In other first-quarter results:

• Selling, general and administrative expenses rose $1.1 million because of higher expenditures for professional services, advertising and start-ups.

• Cost-of-goods-sold and occupancy expenses rose by about $1 million. Barry’s attributed the increase to a shift to value pricing and to higher reserves for inventory shrinkage.

• Barry’s incurred an extraordinary charge of $876,000 related to termination of a securitization agreement with Capital Markets Assurance Corp. This was replaced by an $85 million revolving line of credit from First National Bank of Boston. On the plus side, net interest expenses fell $46,000.

• Barry’s more restrictive credit policies amplified the effect of the extraordinary expenses. The policies “tend to reduce sales in the short term but result in higher-quality receivables,” says the company.

• Finance and insurance revenue fell by about $443,000 because of lower outstanding accounts receivable.