PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., May 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Claire's Stores,
Inc. (NYSE: CLE) reported today that comparable store sales for the four weeks
ended May 1, 2004 increased nine percent after achieving a 15 percent increase
in comparable store sales during the corresponding four-week period last year.
Total sales during the four-week period ended May 1, 2004 increased 14 percent
to $93,952,000 compared with $82,092,000 for the comparable four-week period
last year.
Comparable store sales results for April 2004 compared to April 2003 were
as follows:
* Claire's North America: positive low double digits
* Claire's International: negative low single digits
* Icing by Claire's: positive high teens
Sales for the first fiscal quarter ended May 1, 2004 increased 18 percent
to $281,963,000 compared to sales of $239,756,000 during last year's first
fiscal quarter. Comparable store sales for this year's first fiscal quarter
increased 11 percent, after achieving an eight percent increase during last
year's first fiscal quarter.
Bonnie Schaefer, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of Claire's Stores, Inc. said, "As
noted last month, our international comparable store sales performance in this
year's first fiscal quarter was impacted by the absence of sales relating to a
celebration in the UK that occurs every other March. Last year, we generated
sales of approximately $1.1 million in connection with that event. With
respect to those aspects of our business over which we have control, we are
continuing our efforts to improve our international comparable store sales
performance. Switzerland, Austria and Germany (SAG) is the region in which we
first began to focus our efforts and the improvements there outpace the United
Kingdom and France. As our work continues, it is our expectation that gains
in comparable store sales will occur in those locales as well."
Marla Schaefer, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of Claire's Stores, Inc. said, "A
nine percent increase in comparable store sales this April, after last April's
15 percent increase, serves as a testament to the strength of our product
offerings across the board. In North America, we are continuing to
successfully time the placement of our merchandise to capitalize on trends and
seasonality, both in jewelry and accessories. As a result, we are doing a
better job of placing specific styles in our stores as customers seek them out
and reducing our inventory in those styles as demand begins to wane."
We remain comfortable with the revised net income and EPS guidance for the
first fiscal quarter issued on April 27, which calls for net income to reach
$23 million to $24 million, or $0.23 to $0.24 per diluted share. In last
year's first fiscal quarter net income reached $15.6 million, or $0.16 per
diluted share.
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%
Year to Date $ 281,963 $ 239,756 18% 11%
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 April 30, 2004, Claire's Stores, Inc. operated
approximately 2,830 stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Austria and
Germany. Claire's Stores, Inc. also operates through its subsidiary, Claire's
Nippon, Co., Ltd., 130 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 operates 55 stores in the Middle
East under a licensing and merchandising agreement with Al Shaya Co., Ltd.
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 Internet home
page: http://www.clairestores.com.
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 conditions; currency fluctuations and exchange
rate adjustments; 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.
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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