PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Claire's Stores, Inc., a
leading specialty retailer offering value-priced jewelry and accessories,
announced that it has no material financial exposure to recent events in
the financial sector regarding Lehman Brothers.
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(R) and Icing(R). While the latter operates only in North
America, Claire's operates worldwide. As of August 2, 2008, Claire's
Stores, Inc. operated 3,053 stores in North America and Europe. Claire's
Stores, Inc. also operates through its subsidiary, Claire's Nippon, Co.,
Ltd., 205 stores in Japan as a 50:50 joint venture with AEON, Co., Ltd. The
Company also franchises 175 stores in the Middle East, Turkey, Russia,
South Africa, Poland 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, 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.
Additional Information:
Note: Other Claire's Stores, Inc. press releases, a corporate profile
and the most recent Form 10-K and 10-Q reports 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
CONTACT:
J. Per Brodin, Senior Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer of Claire's Stores, Inc.,
+1-954-433-3900, Fax, +1-954-433-3999,
investor.relations@claires.com
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