Mayor’s Jeweler’s reported a first-quarter net loss of $8.4 million, compared with a net loss of $7.4 million for the first-quarter of the previous year.

Also for the quarter, which ended May 4, the company reported a net sales decline of 21.7% to $28.4 million, when compared with the same result for the previous year. Comparable store sales for the first-quarter fell 26.3%.

Mayor’s says the decrease in sales is primarily due to merchandising and marketing issues related to the company’s significant reduction in available capital coupled with the continued slowdown of the economy.

JCK