PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Claire's Stores,
Inc. (NYSE: CLE) today reported that for the four weeks ended July 30, 2005
comparable store sales rose seven percent compared to last July, when
comparable store sales rose nine percent. Total sales during the four-week
period ended July 30, 2005 increased seven percent to $105,838,000 compared
with $99,227,000 for the comparable four-week period last year.
Comparable store sales results for July 2005 compared to July 2004 were as
follows:
* Claire's North America: positive mid single digits
* Claire's International: positive low double digits
* Icing by Claire's: positive low double digits
Sales for the second quarter of Fiscal 2006, ended July 30, 2005,
increased six percent to $324,767,000 compared with $305,223,000 for last
year's second fiscal quarter. Comparable store sales increased five percent
compared with an increase of ten percent in the second quarter of last year.
For the first six months of Fiscal 2006, sales increased seven percent to
$627,560,000 compared to sales of $586,814,000 for the comparable period last
year. Year to date, comparable store sales increased five percent compared
with an increase of 11 percent during the first six months of Fiscal 2005.
Bonnie Schaefer, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO stated that, "The opening of four
stores in Spain late in July represented an important milestone for this
Company, as we expanded further into Europe. The financial impact, however,
was immaterial, and of course, those stores are excluded from any comparable
store sales calculations. Our strong comparable store sales results in July
are attributable to the continued strength of our business in the majority of
the countries where we already have a strong presence and our brand is
becoming increasingly well known. Throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland,
as well as Switzerland, Austria and Germany, our spring and summer merchandise
in both our costume jewelry and accessory categories was well received. In
France, we are continuing to refine our inventory selection, with the
objective of boosting comparable store sales in that country as well."
Marla Schaefer, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of Claire's Stores noted that, "Our
North American business performed well throughout the month, with business
strengthening as our back to school merchandise began to flow into the stores
during the second half of the month. The strong comparable store sales
generated by Icing by Claire's, following last year's mid teen comparable
store sales increase, is reflective of the efforts on the part of our buying
team to continue differentiating the two store concepts. Across both store
concepts, customers are showing enthusiasm for our late summer and fall looks,
which combine basics with key fashion trends such as bohemian and western
styles."
CLAIRE'S STORES, INC.
(Monthly Sales in 000's)
TOTAL COMP. STORE
REPORTING PERIOD FY 2006 FY 2005 CHANGE CHANGE
February $ 88,139 $ 82,229 7% 6%
March $119,692 $105,782 13% 10%
April $ 94,962 $ 93,580 1% (2%)
May $ 94,593 $ 89,239 6% 3%
June $124,336 $116,757 6% 4%
July $105,838 $ 99,227 7% 7%
Year-to-Date $627,560 $586,814 7% 5%
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 30, 2005, Claire's Stores, Inc. operated
approximately 2,850 stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Austria,
Germany and Spain. Claire's Stores, Inc. operates through its subsidiary,
Claire's Nippon, Co., Ltd., 166 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 70 stores in the Middle
East and Turkey under a licensing and merchandising agreement with Al Shaya
Co., Ltd. and six 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, political and 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 29, 2005. 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
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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