PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., Feb. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Claire's Stores,
Inc. (NYSE: CLE) today reported that for the four weeks ended January 29, 2005
comparable store sales increased seven percent after increasing ten percent
during the corresponding four-week period last year. Total sales during the
four-week period ended January 29, 2005 increased 11 percent to $74,226,000
compared with $66,969,000 for the comparable four-week period last year.
Comparable store sales results for January 2005 compared to January 2004
were as follows:
* Claire's North America: positive mid single digits
* Claire's International: positive low double digits
* Icing by Claire's: positive mid single digits
Sales for the fourth fiscal quarter ended January 29, 2005 increased nine
percent to $395,575,000 from $363,983,000 during last year's comparable fiscal
quarter. Comparable store sales increased five percent following an increase
of seven percent during last year's fourth fiscal quarter.
For Fiscal 2005 in its entirety sales increased 13 percent to
$1,279,141,000 compared to sales of $1,132,834,000 for the comparable period
last year. Comparable store sales increased eight percent compared to an
increase of seven percent during Fiscal 2004.
Bonnie Schaefer, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO stated that, "We are very pleased
with our International results for the month of January. While each region
performed well, the improvement in the United Kingdom was truly exceptional.
Our International comparable store sales have now been positive for nine
months (beginning in May 2004). Our transference of Claire's North American
best practices to Europe, which we have been implementing for more than a year
now, is bringing about sustained improvements. We expect to see continued
growth in Europe next year and are excited about moving into two new countries
as a means of further extending the Claire's brand."
Marla Schaefer, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of Claire's Stores noted that, "In
North America, January began on an extremely strong note during the post
Christmas and school break time period. It naturally tapered off as students
returned to school and then concluded on a more subdued basis as the Midwest,
Northeast and Southeast were battered by severe storms that impacted business.
Despite the negative impact of those storms, we cleared out merchandise in
January, and are entering Fiscal 2006 in a clean inventory position.
January's increased promotional activity will reduce fourth quarter gross
profit margins, however, we believe this is the correct course of action. The
Spring/Valentine's Day floor set has been in place since January 13, and we
are encouraged by customer reaction to these new offerings."
CLAIRE'S STORES, INC.
(Monthly Sales in 000's)
TOTAL COMP. STORE
REPORTING PERIOD FY 2005 FY 2004 CHANGE CHANGE
February $82,229 $66,858 23% 15%
March $105,782 $90,806 16% 10%
April $93,952 $82,092 14% 9%
May $89,239 $78,258 14% 10%
June $116,757 $101,072 16% 11%
July $98,824 $85,619 15% 9%
August $98,990 $87,620 13% 7%
September $105,884 $93,911 13% 10%
October $91,909 $82,615 11% 9%
November $97,325 $91,379 7% 3%
December $224,024 $205,635 9% 5%
January $74,226 $66,969 11% 7%
Year-to-Date $1,279,141 $1,132,834 13% 8%
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 January 29, 2005, Claire's Stores, Inc. operated
approximately 2,835 stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Austria and
Germany. Claire's Stores, Inc. operates through its subsidiary, Claire's
Nippon, Co., Ltd., 148 stores in Japan as a 50:50 joint venture with AEON,
Co., Ltd. (fka JUSCO, Co. Ltd.), a $25 billion specialty retailer
headquartered in Japan. The Company also licenses 57 stores in the Middle
East and Turkey under a licensing and merchandising agreement with Al Shaya
Co., Ltd. and four 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. 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, political and social conditions such as war,
political unrest and terrorism; natural disasters; currency fluctuations and
exchange rate adjustments; changes in laws; uncertainties generally associated
with the specialty retailing business; disruptions in our supply of inventory;
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 31,
2004. 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
http://www.claires.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,
marisa.jacobs@claires.com
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