PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Claire's Stores, Inc.
(NYSE: CLE) announced today that it is exploring strategic alternatives for
enhancing shareholder value, including a possible sale of the company. The
Company has retained Goldman, Sachs & Co. as its financial advisor to
assist in this effort. The Company stated that there can be no assurance
that this process will result in any specific transaction.
The Company also stated that it does not expect to disclose further
developments relating to its exploration of strategic alternatives unless
and until the Board of Directors has approved a definitive transaction.
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 November 25, 2006,
Claire's Stores, Inc. operated approximately 3,000 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 195 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 115 stores in the Middle East and Turkey under a licensing
and merchandising agreement with Al Shaya Co., Ltd. and eight 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 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
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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