HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Claire’s Holdings LLC (“Claire’s” or the “Company”), today announced certain unaudited preliminary fiscal year 2021 results.
For the 2021 fiscal year, the Company expects to report:
- Global Net sales of $1.395 billion, growth of 53% over fiscal year 2020 and growth of 9% over fiscal year 2019.
- Global Same store sales growth of 18%, with North America growth of +27%, led by strong ear piercing, and Europe down -2%, driven by continued COVID-19 restrictions and closures. Against 2019, global same store sales were up 11%, with North America growth of 19% and Europe -7%.
- Concessions sales of $94 million, growth of 70% over fiscal year 2020, fueled by growth across retail partners in both North America and Europe.
- Adjusted EBITDA between $273 million and $277 million.
- Capital Expenditures between $65 million and $70 million reflecting growth and diversification of our retail footprint as well as key systems investments.
“We are extremely pleased with our fiscal 2021 global sales growth of 53% and preliminary adjusted EBITDA in a range of $273 to $277 million. This was a transformative year for Claire’s and we are thrilled with the progress we are making in the business aligned with our strategic initiatives to grow our concessions business, diversify our retail footprint, and enhance our customer experience. Our global teams, spanning both North America and Europe, remained agile in a dynamic environment, delighting our customers with outstanding products, experiences, service and care,” said Ryan Vero, Claire’s Chief Executive Officer.
“We proudly pierced more customers’ ears than ever in fiscal 2021 compared to prior years, and we continued to deliver new and distinctive products for which Claire’s is famous. I am extremely excited to see the accelerated roll out and success of our concession business with Walmart that began in January - setting the stage for many years of significant global growth. Claire’s is well positioned to serve our customers wherever they shop, bringing inspiration for self-expression,” Vero concluded.
The preliminary unaudited financial information for the fiscal year ended January 29, 2022 included in this press release are preliminary and may change. This preliminary financial information includes calculations or figures that have been prepared internally by management and have not been reviewed or audited by the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm. There can be no assurance that the Company’s actual results for the fiscal year ended January 29, 2022 will not differ from the preliminary financial information presented in this press release, and such changes could be material. This preliminary financial information should not be viewed as a substitute for full financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and is not necessarily indicative of the results to be achieved for any future periods.
Ryan Vero, Chief Executive Officer, and Michael Schwindle, Chief Financial Officer, will participate at the JP Morgan Leveraged Finance Conference being held from Monday, February 28, 2022 through Wednesday, March 2, 2022.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Management utilizes certain non-GAAP financial measures in addition to results determined in accordance with GAAP. This includes the use of adjusted EBITDA for purposes of evaluating ongoing operations and for internal planning and forecasting purposes. We believe that non-GAAP financial measures, when reviewed collectively with our GAAP financial information, provide useful supplemental information to investors in assessing our operating performance. Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as an alternative to GAAP financial information or as an indication of operating performance or any other measure of performance derived in accordance with GAAP, and may not provide information that is directly comparable to that provided by other companies in our industry, as these other companies may calculate non-GAAP financial measures differently, particularly related to non-recurring, unusual items.
Adjusted EBITDA
We make use of the non-GAAP financial measure adjusted EBITDA in evaluating our past results and future prospects. We present adjusted EBITDA because it is a key measure used by our management team to evaluate our operating performance, generate future operating plans and make strategic decisions. Accordingly, we believe that adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results in the same manner as our management team and board of directors.
We calculate adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude: income taxes, interest expense and income, depreciation and amortization, gain (loss) on early debt extinguishments, asset impairments, severance and transaction-related costs and certain non-cash and other items.
About Claire’s
Claire’s is a fully integrated global fashion brand powerhouse committed to inspiring self-expression through the creation and delivery of exclusive, well-curated products and experiences. We offer an immersive, experience-driven shopping environment for our consumers, with product offerings including jewelry, fashion accessories, tech accessories, cosmetics and more. Our trend-forward products are distributed in Claire’s-operated stores, via e-commerce and through our broad base of concession partners. For over 50 years, Claire’s has been a destination for the curious, creative and influential. Our entire ecosystem is anchored by our legacy in dynamic merchandising and our core piercing expertise and is informed by our unique understanding of and loyal relationship with our consumers worldwide. For more information, please visit https://Claires.com/.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains “forward-looking statements,” including statements regarding the Company’s unaudited, preliminary fiscal year 2021 financial results and statements about our current and future performance, within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and reflect the company’s judgment as of the date of this release. When used in this press release, the words “estimates,” “projected,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “future,” “propose” and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside Claire’s control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and Claire’s undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.