PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Claire's
Stores, Inc. (NYSE: CLE) today announced that it will delay the release of
its Fiscal 2007 year end and fourth quarter financial results, which had
been planned for March 15th. During the course of reviewing its year-end
financial results and discussing certain accounting positions with the
Company's independent auditors, the Company decided to pre-clear an
accounting issue with the accounting staff of the Securities and Exchange
Commission in advance of filing its Annual Report on Form 10-K. While this
issue remains unresolved, the Company will not announce its unaudited
financial results.
The issue relates to the proper treatment of key money paid for lease
rights for the Company's stores in France and whether this key money should
be considered an intangible asset with an indefinite life, in accordance
with the Company's current accounting practice, or a direct cost of the
leases. If key money is considered a direct cost of the leases for stores
in France, amortization of these costs will be required and the Company
will record a non-cash charge and consequently reduce net income and
diluted earnings per share. The Company does not believe that amortizing
these costs will have a material impact on its net income or financial
position in Fiscal 2007, and the Company expects that it will meet or
exceed its prior fourth quarter and Fiscal 2007 guidance.
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 adult females 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 March 3, 2007, Claire's
Stores, Inc. operated approximately 3,000 stores in the United States,
Canada, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the United Kingdom, Ireland,
France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Holland and
Belgium. Claire's Stores, Inc. operates through its subsidiary, Claire's
Nippon, Co., Ltd., approximately 195 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 approximately
120 stores in the Middle East and Turkey under a licensing and
merchandising agreement with Al Shaya Co., Ltd. and eight 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 and other changes to comply with
applicable laws, rules and regulations. 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 28, 2006. 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.prnewswire.com/comp/174913.html /
CONTACT:
Marisa F. Jacobs, Esq., Vice President of
Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Claire's Stores,
Inc., +1-212-594-3127, Fax: +1-212-244-4237,
marisa.jacobs@claires.com
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