PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Claire's Stores,
Inc. (NYSE: CLE) today reported that for the five weeks ended December 31,
2005 comparable store sales rose four percent, in contrast to the five-week
period ended January 1, 2005 when comparable store sales rose five percent.
Total sales during the five-week period ended December 31, 2005 increased
three percent to $231,454,000 compared with $224,024,000 for the comparable
five-week period last year.
Comparable store sales results for December 2005 compared to December 2004
were as follows:
* Claire's North America: positive mid single digits
* Claire's International: positive low single digits
* Icing by Claire's: positive mid single digits
Please note that our comparable store sales numbers are calculated in
local currencies. Total sales numbers give effect to the impact of foreign
exchange, with December 2005 revenues reflecting the strengthening of the U.S.
dollar compared to December 2004.
Co-Chairman and Co-CEO Bonnie Schaefer stated that, "Comparable store
sales remained positive at our International division during December.
Unfortunately, sales were negatively impacted on crucial shopping days between
Christmas and New Year's. Unusually severe weather conditions in both
continental Europe and the United Kingdom had the effect of curtailing
traffic. Once the storms subsided, traffic quickly returned to more normal
levels."
Co-Chairman and Co-CEO Marla Schaefer stated that, "Our predictions for a
late shopping season were absolutely on target. Traffic during the first two
weeks of December was modest compared to the remaining three weeks.
Furthermore, purchases of gift cards exceeded last year's levels, continuing
the trend of shifting sales into January. In general, we are pleased with our
performance in light of the widespread retail industry uncertainty surrounding
this Christmas season."
CLAIRE'S STORES, INC.
(Monthly Sales in 000's)
TOTAL COMP. STORE
REPORTING PERIOD FY 2006 FY 2005 CHANGE CHANGE
February $88,139 $82,229 7% 6%
March $119,692 $105,782 13% 10%
April $94,962 $93,580 1% (2%)
May $94,593 $89,239 6% 3%
June $124,336 $116,757 6% 4%
July $105,838 $99,227 7% 7%
August $110,717 $98,990 12% 10%
September $116,366 $105,884 10% 8%
October $100,351 $91,828 9% 8%
November $101,433 $97,325 4% 5%
December $231,454 $224,024 3% 4%
Year-to-Date $1,287,881 $1,204,865 7% 6%
Company Overview
Claire's Stores, Inc., is a leading international specialty retailer
offering value-priced costume jewelry and accessories to fashion-aware tweens,
teens and young adults through its two store concepts: Claire's and Icing by
Claire's. While the latter operates only in North America, Claire's operates
internationally. As of December 31, 2005, Claire's Stores, Inc. operated
approximately 2,900 stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Austria,
Germany, Spain, Holland and Belgium. Claire's Stores, Inc. operates through
its subsidiary, Claire's Nippon, Co., Ltd., 172 stores in Japan as a 50:50
joint venture with AEON, Co., Ltd. (fka JUSCO, Co. Ltd.), a $40 billion
specialty retailer headquartered in Japan. The Company also licenses 81
stores in the Middle East and Turkey under a licensing and merchandising
agreement with Al Shaya Co., Ltd. and seven stores in South Africa under
similar agreements with The House of Busby Limited.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" which represent
the Company's expectations or beliefs with respect to future events.
Statements that are not historical are considered forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
anticipated. Those factors include, without limitation: changes in consumer
preferences and consumer spending for pre-teen, teen and young adult apparel
and accessories; competition; general economic conditions such as inflation
and increased energy costs; general and political social conditions such as
war, political unrest and terrorism; natural disasters or severe weather
events; currency fluctuations and exchange rate adjustments; changes in laws;
uncertainties generally associated with the specialty retailing business;
disruptions in our supply of inventory; inability to increase comparable store
sales at recent historical rates; inability to design and implement new
information systems; delays in anticipated store openings or renovations; and
uncertainty that definitive financial results may differ from preliminary
financial results due to, among other things, final GAAP adjustments. These
and other applicable risks, cautionary statements and factors that could cause
actual results to differ from the Company's forward-looking statements are
included in the Company's filings with the SEC, specifically as described in
the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the Fiscal year ended January 29,
2005. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-
looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. The
historical results contained in this press release are not necessarily
indicative of the future performance of the Company.
Additional Information:
Note: Other Claire's Stores, Inc. press releases, a corporate profile and
most recent 10-K and 10-Q reports are available via Claire's corporate
website: http://www.clairestores.com. For information about our products and
stores, please go to http://www.claires.com.
SOURCE Claire's Stores, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.clairestores.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/174913.html
CONTACT:
Marisa F. Jacobs, Esq., Vice President of
Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, of Claire's
Stores, Inc., +1-212-594-3127, fax: +1-212-244-4237, or
marisa.jacobs@claires.com
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