PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., June 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Claire's Stores,
Inc., a leading specialty retailer offering value-priced jewelry and
accessories, announces the appointment of Joan Munnelly, an accomplished
and proven executive with over 30 years of retail experience, to a new
company position of Chief Merchandise Officer reporting to Gene Kahn,
Claire's CEO.
In her new position as Chief Merchandise Officer, Joan will oversee the
entire assortment strategy and merchandise process for our worldwide
business, working in concert with our buying teams in North America and
Europe. She will have direct responsibility for our fashion, trend, and
product innovation function, our product design and development team, and
our Asian-based sourcing organization. Joan's responsibilities will also
include overseeing assortment planning, selection, and the buying process
from concept development through merchandise commitment. In addition, Joan
will be a member of the Corporate Senior Management Team charged with
establishing and implementing the Company's current and future global
direction.
Gene Kahn, Claire's CEO, stated, "Joan's exceptionally rich and varied
experience in the retail business as a product-driven merchant makes her
especially well-suited for this important new position at Claire's as we
continue to build on our global merchandise offense. We believe Joan brings
tremendous value through her demonstrated leadership skills and extensive
merchandising experience in specialty retail, with a particular focus on
our core customers."
During the last eight years, Joan was with Tween Brands, where for the
last five years she was Executive Vice President, GMM of Merchandising,
Design and Fashion for all areas of that company's new growth vehicle,
Justice. Joan held a similar position with Limited Too, which she joined in
September 1999. Prior to joining Limited Too, Joan worked at Claire's as a
Vice President of Merchandising for two years, and served for three years
as Merchandise Manager for United Retail Group. Joan entered the retail
industry at Macy's, where she worked for 18 years holding various positions
of increasing responsibilities, from executive trainee through Vice
President of Merchandising and Product Development.
Joan Munnelly stated, "I am very excited to join the Claire's team. I
believe my recent specialty retail experience focusing on the tween
customer, coupled with my prior experience in the teen market, will allow
me to lead Claire's global merchandise charge. The jewelry and accessories
business has always been a favorite of mine. I look forward to using my
extensive merchandising experience and expanding my focus to positively
impact our global assortments."
Company Overview
Claire's Stores, Inc. is a leading specialty retailer of value-priced
jewelry and accessories for girls and young women through its two store
concepts: Claire's and Icing. While the latter operates only in North
America, Claire's operates internationally. As of May 3, 2008, Claire's
Stores, Inc. operated 3,053 stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto
Rico, the Virgin Islands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Spain,
Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands and Germany. Claire's
Stores, Inc. operates through its subsidiary, Claire's Nippon, Co., Ltd.,
201 stores in Japan as a 50:50 joint venture with AEON, Co., Ltd. The
Company also franchises 169 stores in the Middle East, Turkey, Russia,
Poland, South Africa and Guatemala.
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; competition; general economic
conditions such as inflation and increased energy costs; general political
and social conditions such as war, political unrest and terrorism; natural
disasters or severe weather events; currency fluctuations and exchange rate
adjustments; uncertainties generally associated with the specialty
retailing business; disruptions in our supply of inventory; inability to
increase same store sales; inability to renew, replace or enter into new
store leases on favorable terms; significant increases in our merchandise
markdowns; inability to grow our store base in Europe; inability to design
and implement new information systems; delays in anticipated store openings
or renovations; uncertainty that definitive financial results may differ
from preliminary financial results due to, among other things, final GAAP
adjustments; changes in applicable laws, rules and regulations, including
changes in federal, state or local regulations governing the sale of our
products, particularly regulations relating to the metal content in
jewelry, and employment laws relating to overtime pay, tax laws and import
laws; product recalls; loss of key members of management; increases in the
cost of labor; labor disputes; unwillingness of vendors and service
providers to supply goods or services pursuant to historical customary
credit arrangements; increases in the cost of borrowings; unavailability of
additional debt or equity capital; and the impact of our substantial
indebtedness on our operating income and our ability to grow. 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
February 2, 2008 filed with the SEC on April 25, 2008. 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 the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Form 10-Qs are available
on Claire's business website at: http://www.clairestores.com.
SOURCE Claire's Stores, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.clairestores.com
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CONTACT:
Rebecca R. Orand, Senior Vice President,
General Counsel and Quality Control, Secretary to the Board of
Claire's Stores, Inc., +1-954-433-3900, Fax, +1-954-433-3999,
rebecca.orand@claires.com
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