PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Claire's Stores,
Inc. (NYSE: CLE) today reported that for the five weeks ended September 30,
2006 comparable store sales rose one percent compared to last September,
when comparable store sales rose eight percent. Total sales during the
five-week period ended September 30, 2006 increased eight percent to
$125,508,000 compared with $116,366,000 for the comparable five-week period
last year.
Comparable store sales results for September 2006 compared to September
2005 were as follows:
* Claire's North America: positive low single digits
* Claire's International: negative low single digits
* Icing by Claire's: negative low single digits
Please note that our comparable store sales numbers are calculated in
local currencies. Total sales numbers give effect to the impact of foreign
exchange.
For the first eight months of Fiscal 2007, sales increased six percent
to $903,263,000 compared to sales of $854,844,000 for the comparable period
last year. Year to date, comparable store sales increased two percent
compared with an increase of six percent during the first eight months of
Fiscal 2006.
Bonnie Schaefer, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO stated that, "During the past
two years, a primary focus in our International business has been the
exporting and implementing of North American best practices. Our first area
of emphasis was store operations. This year, we turned our attention to our
merchandising best practices and the creation of a more centralized
merchandising operation. We believe that our 70/30 formula mix creates a
solid product platform. We are still working on other issues, particularly
in the area of allocation and feel that once our enhanced IT systems are in
place, this overhaul of our international business platform will once again
return us to healthy comparable store sales gains."
Marla Schaefer, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO noted that, "Our Claire's North
American stores continued to outperform Icing by Claire's in September.
This fall, our less expensive, value priced items are, in general,
outperforming higher ticket items. In addition, this season's more
streamlined styles are priced somewhat lower than last year's heavily
embellished Bohemian products. Icing by Claire's has been more severely
impacted by this trend, as it is more fashion oriented. However, we are
heartened by the fact that customers continue to view Claire's and Icing by
Claire's as prime destinations for fashionable, value priced costume
jewelry and accessories."
Comparable Store Sales Outlook for the Third Fiscal Quarter
In light of our comparable store sales performance in August and
September, we are revising our comparable store sales estimate for the
third fiscal quarter. We now project that comparable store sales will range
from flat to positive two percent.
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%
August $116,774 $110,728 5% 1%
September $125,508 $116,366 8% 1%
Year-to-Date $903,263 $854,844 6% 2%
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 adult females 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 September 30, 2006,
Claire's Stores, Inc. operated approximately 2,960 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 190 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 105 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.claires.com
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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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