PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., Dec. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Claire's Stores,
Inc. (NYSE: CLE) reported today that comparable store sales for the four weeks
ended November 27, 2004 increased three percent after increasing six percent
during the corresponding four-week period last year. Total sales during the
four-week period ended November 27, 2004 increased seven percent to
$97,325,000 compared with $91,379,000 for the comparable four-week period last
year.
Comparable store sales results for November 2004 compared to November 2003
were as follows:
-- Claire's North America: positive low single digits
-- Claire's International: positive mid single digits
-- Icing by Claire's: positive low double digits
For the first ten months of Fiscal 2005, sales have increased 14 percent
to $980,891,000 compared to sales of $860,230,000 for the comparable period
last year. Comparable store sales increased nine percent for the first ten
months of this fiscal year compared to an increase of seven percent during the
first ten months of Fiscal 2004.
Bonnie Schaefer, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of Claire's Stores, Inc. said, "We
remain pleased with the sales performance of our international operation,
consisting of our stores in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Switzerland,
Austria and Germany. The latter three countries (collectively, SAG) have
registered dramatic improvements over the past year, and several of the
Company's highest performing stores can be found in Switzerland. Steady
growth is projected to continue there, although we also note that as of
October 2004, SAG is going up against very high comps reflective of the past
twelve month's dramatic growth. The United Kingdom is continuing to register
improvements, which we expect to extend into next year. The same is true in
France, which is beginning to show signs of a turnaround. We believe that our
European stores are well positioned for Christmas with inventory our customers
will find attractive and fairly priced, and accordingly, expect this holiday
season to outperform last year. "
Marla Schaefer, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO of Claire's Stores, Inc. said,
"When we announced our third quarter results on November 18, 2004, we
indicated that our North American sales during the first two and a half weeks
of November did not meet our expectations. That situation continued for the
balance of the month. Promotional offerings over the Thanksgiving weekend
moved briskly as did our Christmas merchandise. Taking a cue from those
results, we will be shifting our promotional strategy in December, to spread
out promotions more evenly throughout the month in lieu of weighting them
primarily towards the back end. We have not, however, increased the overall
level of promotional activity planned for the month. The number of
transactions recorded this November exceeded last November, however the
increase did not meet our internal projections. As always, December remains
the most important month of the quarter, although increased gift card sales
also bodes well for January."
CLAIRE'S STORES, INC.
(Monthly Sales in 000's)
FY FY TOTAL COMP. STORE
REPORTING PERIOD 2005 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%
September $105,884 $93,911 13% 10%
October $91,909 $82,615 11% 9%
November $97,325 $91,379 7% 3%
Year-to-Date $980,891 $860,230 14% 9%
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 November 30, 2004, 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 and
Germany. Claire's Stores, Inc. operates through its subsidiary, Claire's
Nippon, Co., Ltd., 146 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 54 stores in the Middle
East under a licensing and merchandising agreement with Al Shaya Co., Ltd. and
three 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; 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,
Fax: +1-212-244-4237, or marisa.jacobs@claires.com
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