PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Claire's Stores,
Inc. (NYSE: CLE) reported today that comparable store sales for the four weeks
ended August 28, 2004 increased seven percent after increasing eight percent
during the corresponding four-week period last year. Total sales during the
four-week period ended August 28, 2004 increased 13 percent to $98,990,000
compared with $87,620,000 for the comparable four-week period last year.
Comparable store sales results for August 2004 compared to August 2003
were as follows:
* Claire's North America: positive mid single digits
* Claire's International: positive mid single digits
* Icing by Claire's: positive low double digits
For the first seven months of Fiscal 2005, sales increased 16 percent to
$685,773,000 compared to sales of $592,325,000 for the comparable period last
year. Year to date, comparable store sales increased ten percent compared
with an increase of six percent during the first seven months of Fiscal 2004.
Bonnie Schaefer, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of Claire's Stores, Inc. said,
"The revitalization of our international operation, which consists of our
stores in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Austria and
Germany (the latter three, collectively referred to as SAG), is continuing to
show progress. Performance continues to be strongest in SAG, where our
efforts have had the greatest time to take effect. In the United Kingdom and
Ireland, we are continuing to implement Claire's best practices, roll-out new
floor sets and deliver enhanced customer service, all of which are generating
positive results. The turnaround in France, as previously predicted, still
needs more time, however, we believe our aggressive focus on improving the
performance of those stores is slowly leading to improvements in that
country."
Marla Schaefer, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of Claire's Stores, Inc. said, "Our
North American business continued to perform well in August, at a time when we
are beginning to come up against increasingly difficult comparable store sales
comparisons. Results would have been even more robust if Labor Day fell in
August, as it did last year. Instead, the one week time lag resulted in lower
store traffic this August versus last. Back to school shopping got off to a
later start this August as families remain on vacation and schools in the
Mid-West and the Northeast will be opening approximately one week later than
last year. Our projection that consolidated comparable store sales for the
third fiscal quarter will rise by nine to ten percent took into consideration
the shift in Labor Day."
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%
May $89,239 $78,258 14% 10%
June $116,757 $101,072 16% 11%
July $98,824 $85,619 15% 9%
August $98,990 $87,620 13% 7%
Year-to-Date $685,773 $592,325 16% 10%
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 August 30, 2004, Claire's Stores, Inc. operated
approximately 2,835 stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Austria and
Germany. Claire's Stores, Inc. operates through its subsidiary, Claire's
Nippon, Co., Ltd., 138 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 licenses 55 stores in the Middle
East under a licensing and merchandising agreement with Al Shaya Co., Ltd. and
two 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. 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 or natural disasters; currency fluctuations and
exchange rate adjustments; changes in laws; 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.
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.claires.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, +1-212-594-3127,
or fax, +1-212-244-4237, marisa.jacobs@claires.com
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