PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., Aug. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Claire's Stores,
Inc. (NYSE: CLE) today reported that for the four weeks ended July 29, 2006
comparable store sales rose two percent compared to last July, when
comparable store sales rose seven percent. Total sales during the four-week
period ended July 29, 2006 increased seven percent to $114,049,000 compared
with $106,113,000 for the comparable four-week period last year.
Comparable store sales results for July 2006 compared to July 2005 were
as follows:
* Claire's North America: positive mid single digits
* Claire's International: negative low single digits
* Icing by Claire's: flat
Please note that our comparable store sales numbers are calculated in
local currencies. Total sales numbers give effect to the impact of foreign
exchange.
Sales for the second quarter of Fiscal 2007, ended July 29, 2006,
increased seven percent to $349,125,000 compared to $325,042,000 for last
year's second fiscal quarter. Comparable store sales increased two percent
compared with an increase of five percent in the second quarter of last
year.
For the first six months of Fiscal 2007, sales increased five percent
to $660,981,000 compared to sales of $627,750,000 for the comparable period
last year. Year to date, comparable store sales increased three percent
compared with an increase of five percent during the first six months of
Fiscal 2006.
Bonnie Schaefer, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO stated that, "Our international
division faced an extremely difficult comparison when judged against the
double digit comparable store sales increases of July 2005. We were
nevertheless disappointed that we did not meet our internal forecasts,
which called for a return to positive comparable store sales once June's
holiday related closings came to an end and World Cup related disruptions
were over. We have been scrutinizing our International operations and have
identified several areas where we are not yet performing at optimal levels.
Much has been accomplished over the past two years through the introduction
of our North American best practices abroad, which has led to the
strengthening of our store operations. Additional work remains to be done
and is currently under way. This is not an overnight process, but we remain
confident that the steps we are putting in place will result in a stronger
international business."
Marla Schaefer, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO noted that, "The performance of
our Claire's North American stores surpassed the performance of Icing by
Claire's. This coincides with Icing by Claire's outstanding performance
last July, when comparable store sales increased at low double-digit rates.
While both store concepts benefited last year from the strength of the
Bohemian trend, Icing by Claire's, with a more fashion forward customer
base, saw the largest boost from this trend. Since then, trends have
shifted to more modern and clean silhouettes, which we expect to drive our
fall business, along with a strong selection of key value driven items. We
introduced our back to school floor set during the latter half of July and
believe that our late summer and fall merchandise will coordinate well with
the major apparel trends currently flowing into stores. In terms of our
financial performance during the second fiscal quarter, we continue to
project that diluted net income per share will be essentially flat with
last year's second fiscal quarter, ranging between $0.35 and $0.36."
CLAIRE'S STORES, INC.
(Monthly Sales in 000's)
TOTAL COMP. STORE
REPORTING PERIOD FY 2007 FY 2006 CHANGE CHANGE
February $90,939 $88,139 3% 4%
March $116,666 $119,692 -3% -3%
April $104,251 $94,877 10% 9%
May $102,562 $94,593 8% 4%
June $132,514 $124,336 7% 2%
July $114,049 $106,113 7% 2%
Year-to-Date $660,981 $627,750 5% 3%
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 July 29, 2006, Claire's Stores,
Inc. operated approximately 2,935 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 185 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 100 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 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, +1-212-594-3127,
Fax +1-212-244-4237, marisa.jacobs@claires.com
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