UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
8-K
CURRENT
REPORT
PURSUANT
TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d)
OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date
of Report (date of earliest event reported)
|
May
18, 2006
|
THE
CHILDREN'S PLACE RETAIL STORES,
INC.
|
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
|
DELAWARE
|
|
0-23071
|
|
31-1241495
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of
incorporation)
|
|
(Commission
File
Number)
|
|
(IRS
Employer ID Number)
|
915
Secaucus Road, Secaucus, New Jersey
|
07094
|
(Address
of principal executive offices)
|
(Zip
Code)
|
Registrant's
Telephone Number, including area code:
|
(201)
558-2400
|
(Former
name or former address, if changed since last report)
|
Check
the
appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously
satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following
provisions:
o
|
Written
communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17
CFR
230.425)
|
o
|
Soliciting
material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14a-12)
|
o
|
Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17
CFR
240.14d-2(b))
|
o
|
Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17
CFR
240.13e-4(c))
|
Item
2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition
On
May
18, 2006, The Children’s Place Retail Stores, Inc. (the “Company”) issued a
press release announcing certain financial information for the first quarter
ended April 29, 2006. A copy of the Company’s press release is included as
Exhibit 99.1 hereto.
On
May
18, 2006, the Company held a conference call, which was referred to in the
press
release, to discuss such financial information. A transcript of this conference
call is included as Exhibit 99.2 hereto.
Use
of
Non-GAAP Financial Information
To
supplement the Company’s consolidated financial statements presented in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and included
in the press release attached hereto as exhibit 99.1, the Company uses
a
non-GAAP financial measure which excludes equity compensation and stock
option
expense in calculating its diluted earnings per share results for
2006.
The
Company’s management reviews this non-GAAP financial measure internally to
evaluate the Company’s performance. Additionally, the Company believes that such
information also provides investors a better understanding of the Company’s
current operating results and provides measures to help investors understand
the
Company’s first quarter operating results this year as compared to last
year.
A
detailed reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure to the comparable
GAAP financial measure is set forth in the table attached hereto as exhibit
99.3.
(a) Financial Statements of Business Acquired: Not
applicable
(b) Pro Forma Financial Information: Not applicable
(c) Exhibits:
99.1 Press Release dated May 18, 2006.
99.2 Transcript of conference call held May 18,
2006.
99.3 Earnings per share reconciliation
table.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
|
|
|
|
THE
CHILDREN'S
PLACE RETAIL STORES, INC. |
|
|
|
Date: May
19,
2006 |
By: |
/s/ Susan
Riley |
|
Name:
Susan Riley |
|
Title:
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
|
INDEX
TO
EXHIBITS
Current
Report on Form 8-K
dated
May
18, 2006
The
Children's Place Retail Stores, Inc.
99.1 Press
Release dated May 18, 2006.
99.2 Transcript
of
conference call held May 18, 2006.
99.3 Earnings
per share
reconciliation table.
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE
CHILDREN’S PLACE RETAIL STORES, INC. REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2006 FINANCIAL
RESULTS
~
Earnings Per Share Increased 53% to $0.52 for the First Quarter
~
~
Net
Sales Increased 16%; Comparable Store Sales Increased 9% ~
Secaucus,
New Jersey - May 18, 2006 - The Children’s Place Retail Stores, Inc. (Nasdaq:
PLCE)
today
reported financial results for the fiscal first quarter ended April 29,
2006.
· |
Consolidated
net sales for the first quarter increased 16% to $426.5 million, compared
to $369.2 million last year. First quarter sales were comprised of
$322.0
million from The Children’s Place brand, a 15% increase over last year’s
sales of $280.7 million, and $104.5 million from Disney Store, an 18%
increase compared to $88.5 million last year.
|
· |
Consolidated
comparable store sales increased 9% in the quarter. The Children’s Place
brand’s comparable store sales increased 8% on top of last year’s 13%
increase and Disney Store’s comparable store sales increased
14%.
|
· |
Net
income increased 56% to $15.3 million versus $9.8 million last
year.
|
· |
Diluted
earnings per share increased 53% to $0.52, compared to diluted earnings
per share of $0.34 for the first quarter last year. Excluding equity
compensation and stock option expense, diluted earnings per share for
the
quarter were $0.58, a 71% increase over last year. Last year’s earnings
per share, as reported, were reduced by $0.02 for the adoption of FSP
FAS
No. 13-1, the expensing of rent during construction. Last year’s earnings
per share also included a $0.03 non-cash charge related to acquired
Disney
Store inventory.
|
· |
During
the first quarter, the Company opened eight Children’s Place stores and
closed one. In addition, the Company closed one Disney
Store.
|
“Our
first quarter results mark a strong start to fiscal 2006,” said Ezra Dabah,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Children’s Place. “This is truly an
exciting time for The Children’s Place. Our first quarter performance reflects
the progress we are making toward our 2006 goals of: increasing market share;
enhancing the customer brand experience; and achieving greater expense
efficiency. At Disney Store, we are pleased with our first quarter results,
which were driven by our increased investment in apparel, a strong inventory
position and positive guest response to our merchandise offering.”
The
Children’s Place will host a webcast of its first quarter conference call today
at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time. Interested parties are invited to listen to the
call
at the Company’s web site, www.childrensplace.com.
An
archive of the webcast will be available on the site through Thursday, May
25,
2006.
The
Children’s Place Retail Stores, Inc., is a leading specialty retailer of
children’s merchandise. The Company designs, contracts to manufacture and sells
high-quality, value-priced merchandise under the proprietary “The Children’s
Place” and licensed “Disney Store” brand names. As of April 29, 2006, the
Company owned and operated 809 The Children’s Place stores and 316 Disney Stores
in North America and its online store, www.childrensplace.com.
-more-
PLCE
- First Quarter 2006 Financial Results
Page
2
This
press release and above referenced call may contain certain forward-looking
statements regarding future circumstances. These forward-looking statements
are
based upon the Company’s current expectations and assumptions and are subject to
various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those contemplated in such forward-looking statements including,
in particular, the risks and uncertainties described in the Company’s filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual
results, events, and performance may differ. Readers or listeners (on the call)
are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements,
which speak only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to release
publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made
to
reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the
occurrence of unanticipated events. The inclusion of any statement in this
release does not constitute an admission by The Children's Place or any other
person that the events or circumstances described in such statement are
material.
Contact: |
The
Children’s Place Retail Stores, Inc.
Susan
Riley, Chief Financial Officer, 201/453-7160
Heather
Anthony, Senior Director, Investor Relations,
201/558-2865
|
(Tables
Follow)
THE
CHILDREN’S PLACE RETAIL STORES, INC.
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(In
thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
|
|
13
Weeks Ended:
|
|
|
|
April
29,
|
|
April
30,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
sales
|
|
$
|
426,509
|
|
$
|
369,217
|
|
Cost
of sales
|
|
|
258,926
|
|
|
227,687
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
profit
|
|
|
167,583
|
|
|
141,530
|
|
Selling,
general and administrative expenses
|
|
|
129,430
|
|
|
113,424
|
|
Depreciation
and amortization
|
|
|
14,207
|
|
|
12,124
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating
income
|
|
|
23,946
|
|
|
15,982
|
|
Interest
(income)
|
|
|
(877
|
)
|
|
(95
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income
before income taxes
|
|
|
24,823
|
|
|
16,077
|
|
Provision
for income taxes
|
|
|
9,482
|
|
|
6,279
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income
|
|
$
|
15,341
|
|
$
|
9,798
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
net income per common share
|
|
$
|
0.54
|
|
$
|
0.36
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
weighted average common shares outstanding
|
|
|
28,242
|
|
|
27,383
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Diluted
net income per common share
|
|
$
|
0.52
|
|
$
|
0.34
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Diluted
weighted average common shares
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
and
common share equivalents outstanding
|
|
|
29,410
|
|
|
28,611
|
|
Note:
Periods presented include the retrospective application of FAS FSP
13-1.
THE
CHILDREN’S PLACE RETAIL STORES, INC.
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In
thousands)
(Unaudited)
|
|
April
29, 2006
|
|
January
28, 2006
|
|
April
30, 2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
assets:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
and investments
|
|
$
|
175,752
|
|
$
|
173,323
|
|
$
|
148,982
|
|
Accounts
receivable
|
|
|
35,301
|
|
|
28,971
|
|
|
21,248
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Inventories
|
|
|
215,326
|
|
|
214,702
|
|
|
158,200
|
|
Other
current assets
|
|
|
42,902
|
|
|
42,998
|
|
|
41,902
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
current assets
|
|
|
469,281
|
|
|
459,994
|
|
|
370,332
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Property
and equipment, net
|
|
|
260,318
|
|
|
248,628
|
|
|
203,391
|
|
Other
assets, net
|
|
|
53,542
|
|
|
48,698
|
|
|
20,189
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
assets
|
|
$
|
783,141
|
|
$
|
757,320
|
|
$
|
593,912
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
liabilities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts
payable
|
|
$
|
92,300
|
|
$
|
82,826
|
|
$
|
86,944
|
|
Accrued
expenses and
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
other
current liabilities
|
|
|
104,397
|
|
|
143,238
|
|
|
83,113
|
|
Total
current liabilities
|
|
|
196,697
|
|
|
226,064
|
|
|
170,057
|
|
Other
liabilities
|
|
|
147,686
|
|
|
138,390
|
|
|
106,838
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
liabilities
|
|
|
344,383
|
|
|
364,454
|
|
|
276,895
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stockholders’
equity
|
|
|
438,758
|
|
|
392,866
|
|
|
317,017
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
liabilities and stockholders’ equity
|
|
$
|
783,141
|
|
$
|
757,320
|
|
$
|
593,912
|
|
Note:
Periods presented include the retrospective application of FAS FSP
13-1.
THE
CHILDREN’S PLACE RETAIL STORES, INC.
SEGMENT
INFORMATION
(In
millions)
(Unaudited)
|
|
Thirteen
Weeks Ended April 29, 2006
|
|
|
|
The
Children’s
Place
|
|
Disney
Store
|
|
Shared
Services
|
|
Total
Company
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
sales
|
|
$
|
322.0
|
|
$
|
104.5
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
$
|
426.5
|
|
Segment
operating profit (loss)
|
|
|
52.5
|
|
|
(6.5
|
)
|
|
(22.1
|
)
|
|
23.9
|
|
Operating
profit as a percent of net sales
|
|
|
16.3
|
%
|
|
(6.2
|
)%
|
|
N/A
|
|
|
5.6
|
%
|
|
|
Thirteen
Weeks Ended April 30, 2005
|
|
|
|
The
Children’s
Place
|
|
Disney
Store
|
|
Shared
Services
|
|
Total
Company
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
sales
|
|
$
|
280.7
|
|
$
|
88.5
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
$
|
369.2
|
|
Segment
operating profit (loss)
|
|
|
48.0
|
|
|
(14.0
|
)
|
|
(18.0
|
)
|
|
16.0
|
|
Operating
profit as a percent of net sales
|
|
|
17.1
|
%
|
|
(15.8
|
)%
|
|
N/A
|
|
|
4.3
|
%
|
###
Unassociated Document
Q1
2006 The Children's Place Retail Stores, Inc. Earnings
Conference
Call
Transcript
May
18,
2006 / 9:00AM ET
CORPORATE
PARTICIPANTS
Heather
Anthony
The
Children's Place - Investor Relations
Ezra
Dabah
The
Children's Place - Chairman, CEO
Sue
Riley
The
Children's Place - CFO
Neal
Goldberg
The
Children's Place - President
Richard
Flaks
The
Children's Place - SVP-Planning, Allocation & IT
Amy
Hauk
The
Disney Store - SVP/Gen. Merchandise Manager
CONFERENCE
CALL PARTICIPANTS
Kimberly
Greenberger
Citigroup
- Analyst
John
Zolidis
Buckingham
Research - Analyst
Jodi
Cukierman
CIBC
World Markets - Analyst
Paula
Kalandiak
Roth
Capital Partners - Analyst
Tom
Filandro
FIG
-
Analyst
Janet
Kloppenburg
JJK
Research - Analyst
Anna
Andreeva
JP
Morgan
PRESENTATION
Operator
Good
day,
ladies and gentlemen. Currently, all sites are on the conference line in a
listen-only mode. Please note this call may be recorded. I will now turn the
call over to Ms. Heather Anthony. Go ahead, please.
Heather
Anthony -
The Children's Place - IR
Thank
you, operator and good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us today for a
review of our fiscal 2006 first quarter financial results. Joining us on this
morning's call is Ezra Dabah, Chairman and CEO Chief Executive Officer; Neal
Goldberg, President and Sue Riley, our Chief Financial Officer. Also on hand
to
answer your questions at the end of our remarks are Amy Hauk, Senior Vice
President/General merchandise manager and Richard Flaks, Senior Vice
president-Planning, Allocation and IT.
Today,
Ezra will update you on our latest market share gains, share some favorable
demographic information, and review the Disney Store business. Sue will cover
our financials in more details and Neil will review The Children's Place
business. After our prepared remarks, we will be able to take your questions.
Please limit yourself to one question so that we can speak with as many
participants as possible.
I'd
also
like to remind participants that any forward-looking remarks made today are
subject to the Safe Harbor statement found in this morning's press release
as
well as in our SEC filings. With that out of the way, I will now turn the call
over to Ezra Dabah, CEO. Ezra?
Ezra
Dabah -
The Children's Place - Chairman, CEO
Thank
you
very much. Good morning, everyone. Our first quarter results marked a strong
start to fiscal 2006. I am pleased to report our first quarter financial
highlights. Net sales up 16%, comparable-store sales increased 9%. Gross margin
increased 100 basis points. We leveraged SG&A expense and earnings per share
increased 53% to $0.52.
This
is
truly an exciting time for The Children's Place. Our first quarter performance
reflects the progress we are making towards our 2006 goals of increasing market
share, enhancing the customer brand experience and achieving greater expense
efficiency. According to NPD over the last 12 months through March, The
Children's Place brand grew to 4.3%, up to 27.8 billion children's apparel
markets in the U.S., up from 3.8% for the same period last year.
Current
demographic trends contribute to our optimism. According to the U.S. Census
Bureau, the number of children aged 0 to 9 years is expected to grow over 5%
from 2005 to 2010. This is a significant improvement in trend from 2000 to
2005,
when this age group remained relatively flat.
Worth
noting is that the older portion of the echo boom generation is now beginning
to
have children. In 2000, this group represented just 13% of the women
child-bearing age in the U.S. This year, echo boomers will represent
approximately 50% of this target market. Based on various reports, the echo
boomers are bigger spenders than the baby boomers or the Gen X'ers, and spend
approximately five times that of a mom at the same age. In addition, she's
brand-conscious, value-oriented, and appreciates quality and convenience. All
of
this plays well to The Children's Place brand attributes.
Turning
to the Disney Stores, we're pleased with the results of our first quarter.
Driving the brand's performance was our increased softline penetration, a
stronger inventory position and positive guest response to our merchandise
offering. Disney Stores' 14% comp increase was driven by a 10% increase in
the
average transaction size and a 4% increase in transactions. Particularly
encouraging this quarter was our increased traffic levels which is in contrast
to what we experienced all of last year. Our best-performing departments were
softlines, which comped well above the chain's average.
Our
strategy of lowering initial prices to generate increased unit sales and
transactions, was effective in the first quarter. With the base of our pricing
strategy in place, in the second half we will increase the percentage of better
and best merchandise to elevate the brand and increase average unit retails.
In
addition, we are on track to reintroduce adult apparel and offer more newness
and innovation in the toy category.
We
have
made good progress on our strategic initiatives, and believe we have the right
plans in place to enhance our second half performance. We look forward to the
much-anticipated back-to-back theatrical releases of Disney-Pixar's Cars in
early June, and the Walt Disney Pictures Pirates of the Caribbean -- Dead Man's
Chest, in early July. We have an exciting lineup of unique products for both
movies, and we plan to make a big merchandise statement supported by impactful
in-store marketing and direct-mail campaigns. The combination of these two
new
films will also provide great new content for our future boy's business, which
will complement the ongoing strength of the Princess franchise in
girls.
In
closing, at The Children's Place we are gaining customer loyalty as we continue
to strengthen our formula of desirable fashion, high-quality, value prices
and a
compelling store environment. At the Disney Store, we are pleased with our
recent performance which is still in the very early stages of its repositioning.
We believe that our business is well positioned to achieve long-term, profitable
growth, and thank The Children's Place and the Disney Store teams of executives
and associates for executing at such a high level.
Now
I
will turn the call over to Sue, our new CFO, who will review our financial
results.
Sue
Riley -
The Children's Place - CFO
Thank
you, Ezra, and good morning, everyone. I am pleased to report our strong first
quarter results. Net income for the first quarter was $15.3 million, a 56%
increase over last year. Diluted earnings per share were $0.52, a 53% increase
over last year's earnings per share of $0.34.
Earnings
per share excluding equity compensation and stock option expense were $0.58,
a
71% increase over last year. As a reminder, last year's earnings per share,
as
reported, were reduced by $0.02 for the adoption of FSP FAS 13-1, the expensing
of rent during construction. Last year's earnings per share also included a
$0.03 non-cash charge related to acquired Disney's store inventory.
On
a
segment basis, each brand showed strong operating profit growth. The Children's
Place recorded operating profit of $52.5 million versus 48 million last year.
Disney Store narrowed its operating loss to $6.5 million, compared to an
operating loss of $14 million last year. It should be noted that there were
modifications to last year's segment allocations.
Consolidated
net sales for the first quarter increased 16% to $426.5 million from $359.2
million last year. First quarter sales were comprised of $322 million from
The
Children's Place brand, a 15% increase over last year, and $104.5 million from
Disney Store, an 18% increase over last year.
Consolidated
comparable-store sales increased 9% for the quarter, driven by a 6% increase
in
comparable-store sales transactions and a 3% increase in average transaction
size.
The
Children's Place's brand comparable-store sales increased 8% on top of a 13%
increase last year. Comparable-store sales for Disney Store increased
14%.
Consolidated
gross profit dollars increased 18% to $157.6 million. Consolidated gross margin
increased 100 basis points to 39.3%, primarily driven by increased IMU at both
brands, lower markdowns at Disney Store, and buying and occupancy leverage.
Partially offsetting the increase were higher markdowns at The Children's Place
and increased distribution costs reflecting DC expenses that we have not yet
annualized.
Consolidated
SG&A as a percentage of sales improved by approximately 40 basis points to
30.3%. The leverage primarily reflects lower store payroll and expenses as
a
percentage to sales, and Disney Store transitional services incurred last year,
partially offset by equity compensation and the expensing of stock options,
higher marketing costs, and increased store incentive bonuses.
We're
pleased with our ability to have leveraged expenses, particularly when taking
into consideration the addition of equity compensation and stock option expense,
and severance paid out during the quarter.
Depreciation
and amortization expense was 3.3%, flat to last year.
Our
strong sales, increased gross margin, and expense efficiency resulted in
operating income of $23.9 million, a 50% increase over last year. Operating
margin increased 130 basis points to 5.6% compared to 4.3% last year. Our
effective tax rate was 38.2% in the first quarter versus 39% last year,
reflecting the impact of tax minimization strategies.
Moving
onto the balance sheet, we ended the first quarter with cash and equivalents
of
$176 million, an 18% increase compared to $149 million last year. Similar to
last year, we had no long-term debt and zero borrowings on our credit facility
at quarter end. Total inventory at cost was up 36% or 28% on a square foot
basis. At The Children's Place, inventory at cost was up 37% on a square foot
basis, which is above our guidance reflecting higher than anticipated
back-to-school merchandise in transit versus last year. Less than 3% of the
increase was spring and prior and we're comfortable with our inventory position
as we move into the second quarter. Disney Store inventory at cost was up
approximately 12% on a square foot basis, below our previous guidance, primarily
reflecting lower-than-anticipated merchandise in transit as well as strong
sales.
Looking
ahead, we expect The Children's Place brand to end the second quarter with
inventory per square foot up in the mid 30s versus a 12% decline last year,
and
anticipate ending the third quarter with inventories per square foot up in
the
single digits. At Disney Store, we expect to end the second quarter with
inventory per square foot up in the high 30s, and to end the third quarter
up in
the midteens.
During
the first quarter we opened eight The Children's Place stores, closed one and
remodeled four. In addition, we closed one Disney Store and remodeled two.
As of
April 29th, 2006 we operated a total of 1125 stores comprised of 809 Children's
Place stores and 316 Disney Stores, in approximately 5.2 million square feet.
Sales productivity increased approximately 9% in the quarter over last
year.
As
stated
in our April sales release, we raised our fiscal 2006 earnings per share
guidance to a range of $2.77 to $2.87, which represents a 22 to a 26% increase
over last year.
Thanks,
and now I will turn the call over to Neal.
Neal
Goldberg -
The Children's Place - President
Thanks,
Sue. Today I will review Q1 merchandise and highlights, our Canadian business,
and then wrap up with some highlights for the upcoming back-to-school
season.
Our
first
quarter performance reflects strong response to our spring casual and active
assortments, driven by skater pants, graphic tees and polos. In addition to
the
strength of our casual assortments, Easter dressy also performed very well
as
our customers continue to view us as a destination for special occasion
dressing. Our 8% comp was driven by a 6% increase in transactions, reflecting
increased traffic and a 90 basis point increase in customer conversion. Our
continued focus on conversion is clearly driving tangible results. Average
transaction size increased 2% in the quarter. Our strong comp performance was
broad-based with positive comps achieved across all regions, all departments
and
all store types.
The
strong response we experienced in spring has continued into the summer. In
support of the summer line, we sent a direct-mail piece to approximately 4.5
million customers, up from 4.3 million last year. We continue to experience
strong response rates to our mailers, which further validates our strategy
of
increasing the frequency and depth of our direct-mail program.
Complementing
our summer offering this year are aspirational marketing and in-store visuals,
in line with our company goal of enhancing the customer brand experience. Our
summer 2 assortment arrives in stores in time for Memorial Day weekend, and
will
include our patchwork madras group across the whole family, new color
extensions, and our Americana capsule.
I
recently returned from a visit up to Canada, which continues to be a terrific
market for The Children's Place brands. In just 3.5 years, we have grown the
business from zero to 65 Children's Place stores and $140 million Canadian
for
fiscal 2005. The Canadian customer has embraced The Children's Place brand,
and
loves our unique formula of desirable fashion, high quality, value prices,
and a
compelling store environment. In fact, The Children's Place is the
fastest-growing children's apparel brand in Canada according to NPD and already
owns 3.6% of the market as of year-end -- a great achievement in such a short
time frame.
Departmentally,
our newborn and baby girl businesses rank among the top two brands in Canada.
We
continue to believe that this market has a potential for approximately 120
stores or 10% of our total opportunity for 1200 stores across North America.
These stores are very productive, with average sales per square foot of $411
US
in fiscal '05, or 25% higher than the total company.
Turning
to back-to-school, we believe we have a great assortment this year and the
right
strategies to drive a successful season. With a commitment to elevating the
brand and opportunities identified from last year, our 2006 back-to-school
strategies reflect four key areas. First, staggering merchandise flows which
will enable us to capture more wear-now business. New merchandise will flow
into
stores beginning with a small transitional capsule in early June, and uniforms
will arrive in stores based on store segments to coincide with school calendars.
Key items such as denim and backpacks will set in late June, with our full
fall
1 assortment arriving in stores in early July. Our new premium denim offering
and expanded fashion assortment will be in stores towards the end of
July.
Next
is
building our growing denim business to become the denim destination this
back-to-school season. We have enhanced our entire denim category to include
new
fits, washes, marketing and increase the quality. In addition to our 2 to 28
and
fashion denim programs, this year we are layering on a premium denim
program.
Third,
expand our micromerchandising capability to maximize tiering and climate
opportunities. For example, this year, 30% of our fall assortment is
differentiated based on climate, and we have edited or increased assortments
for
the top 200 and bottom 200 stores.
And
finally, increasing average unit retails through good/better/best pricing
strategy. We are increasing the percentage of better and best merchandise while
still offering a strong assortment of high-quality merchandise at the great
2
for and value prices that we're known for.
In
closing, we're pleased with the continued strength of The Children's Place
brands. As Ezra mentioned, our market share gains are evidence of our increasing
popularity with the customer which is particularly exciting given that such
a
large portion of our target market has yet to discover our brand. Through
compelling assortments, elevated marketing, and enhancing the store environment,
we are committed to taking this brand to the next level and see significant
growth ahead.
Thanks,
and I will now turn the call back over to Ezra.
Ezra
Dabah -
The Children's Place - Chairman, CEO
Thank
you, Neal. Operator, we are ready to take questions.
QUESTION
AND ANSWER
Operator
(OPERATOR
INSTRUCTIONS). Kimberly Greenberger from Citigroup.
Kimberly
Greenberger -
Citigroup - Analyst
Great,
thank you. Good morning and congratulations on a nice quarter. I'm wondering
if
you can talk about performance plays The Children's Place division external
gross margin, how the first quarter margin compares to either last year or
to
your historical levels. And, any sort of parameters you can provide around
the
external gross margin improvement at the Disney stores would be very helpful.
Thanks.
Sue
Riley -
The Children's Place - CFO
Okay,
Kimberly, if you look at Children's Place gross margin compared to last year,
and this is on an external basis, we saw some very nice leverage, occupancy
leverage. We gave some of that -- actually most of that back in the DC expenses.
And bear in mind, we haven't annualized that DC yet, which has more capacity
than what we actually were able to use in the first quarter just because of
the
timing of our quarters. And then we did take markdowns at Children's Place,
which we expected to do, which mitigated the margin somewhat.
If
you
look at the total margin, a 100-basis-point improvement, you basically see
the
same pattern, except that the Disney margin was considerably stronger
year-on-year as a result of IMU improvement that we're seeing -- which were
driven in part by the pricing and in part by cost reduction as we sourced more
efficiently. And lower markdowns -- excuse me -- and lower markdowns in
Disney.
Ezra
Dabah -
The Children's Place - Chairman, CEO
So,
Kimberly, you know at Disney, we're certainly continuing to shrink that delta
between the Disney gross margin and The Children's Place and made some nice
improvement in the first quarter towards that.
Kimberly
Greenberger -
Citigroup - Analyst
Then
secondarily on the SG&A initiative, it sounds like we started to see some
results of the expense tightening that you've talked about at your analyst
day
back in December. What sort of leverage point do you have for SG&A going
forward? In other words, what comp do you need to see that leverage on your
SG&A as we get out into the year?
Sue
Riley -
The Children's Place - CFO
Our
guidance on SG&A hasn't changed from where we guided you earlier this year.
We're basically looking at some deleveraging on SG&A when you include option
and equity expense, and the actual leverage when you take option and equity
expense out.
Kimberly
Greenberger -
Citigroup - Analyst
Great,
thank you.
Sue
Riley -
The Children's Place - CFO
You
can
expect to see a little leverage when we take that expense out,
okay?
Operator
Brian
Tunick, JP Morgan.
Anna
Andreeva
-
JP
Morgan
Thanks,
good morning, it's Anna for Brian. Just a follow-up on the markdowns at the
core
Place division. Should we expect to see more going forward? Was that a surprise?
Could you just give us some color on that? And also, could you update us on
the
progress for the search of the President of Disney, and also GMM at core
Place?
Sue
Riley -
The Children's Place - CFO
Just
to
clarify, the markdowns at Children's Place were not a surprise. We came into
the
quarter with a higher inventory position and expected the markdowns that we
in
fact took and our strategy has not changed moving on into the second
quarter.
Richard
Flaks -
The
Children's Place - SVP
-
Planning, Allocation & IT
If
I
could just reiterate, our strategy for the last year and continued is to drive
market share which clearly from these results you can see we are making
progress. But the same time, drive margin dollars. So we're not as focused
on
the markdown rate as we are driving the top line and the margin dollar piece.
We
do in the back half of the year see that more in line with last year's levels
of
markdowns.
Anna
Andreeva
-
JP
Morgan
Okay.
Ezra
Dabah -
The Children's Place - Chairman, CEO
As
it
relates to the search for a President of Disney Stores and GMM at The Children's
Place, both those searches are ongoing. We are looking for the very best,
brightest candidate, and it will just continue to be ongoing until we find
the
very right individual to lead those two positions.
I
would
just like to add that as you know I always talk about how fortunate I am to
have
a tremendously strong management team surrounding me, and we believe that we
are
not losing much by having those two positions open at the time. We would rather
wait to find the right individual.
Unidentified
Speaker
Okay,
thanks. Good luck.
John
Zolidis, Buckingham Research.
John
Zolidis -
Buckingham Research - Analyst
Hi.
Good
morning, guys. A question on the equity compensation in the quarter. It looks
like it was about $0.04, but annual guidance is about $0.30, if I recall. Can
you explain the disconnect there?
Sue
Riley -
The Children's Place - CFO
Yes,
it
was actually -- equity compensation in the first quarter was about $3 million.
Bear in mind, we had some key executive positions that remain open that we
expect to fill, so our guidance hasn't changed for the year. We are expecting
to
be about 13 million for the -- I'm sorry, did I quote you wrong? Yes, 13 million
for the year.
John
Zolidis -
Buckingham Research - Analyst
Okay,
and
the in the breakout that you provided on the operating profits by division,
where is equity compensation in that?
Sue
Riley -
The Children's Place - CFO
Equity
compensation is for the most part in shared services, in that breakout. To
the
extent that we have an executive that's directly associated with one division
or
another, it's allocated to that division, but in fact most of it is for the
--
most of it is in shared services.
John
Zolidis -
Buckingham Research - Analyst
Okay,
so
those breakouts by division are apples-to-apples? over last year?
Sue
Riley -
The Children's Place - CFO
Yes,
they
are.
John
Zolidis -
Buckingham Research - Analyst
Now
on
the Disney Store side, you said that there was some
reclassification.
Sue
Riley -
The Children's Place - CFO
Yes.
Actually the reclassification from last year primarily pertained to Children's
Place and shared services. So Disney Stores was impacted only by about $0.5
million last year, versus -- it was really an allocation issue between
Children's Place and shared services.
John
Zolidis -
Buckingham Research - Analyst
Okay,
that's what I have in my model, so thank you.
Operator
Jodi
Cukierman, CIBC World Markets.
Jodi
Cukierman -
CIBC World Markets - Analyst
Hi,
how
are you. I'm calling in for Dorothy Lakner. I just have a couple of questions
this morning. At The Disney Stores, I was hoping you could comment a little
bit
more on what types of softline categories drove the performance during the
quarter. And during your prepared remarks, you spoke about back-to-school plans
for The Children's Place brand, but we were hoping you could discuss some of
the
merchandising opportunities in softlines for Disney for summer and
back-to-school.
Amy
Hauk -
The Disney Store - SVP/Gen. Merchandise Manager
Okay,
I'm
going to take that question. For spring, we saw softlines growth across both
boys and girls and newborns. Newborn was a new business for us that we're not
rounding and we saw strong performance, so that was incremental there. We also
saw exceptionally strong performance in our dressy categories, which gives
us
continued opportunity to grow better and best in raising the AUR, which we
think
is a huge opportunity to go forward and a win.
Continued
softlines growth into Q2 is -- we see active as well as Cars, we have a strong
softlines presence in Cars, and we also launched a new basic tee, graphic tee
program and we're looking at graphic tees as being an opportunity for us going
forward into the rest of year and beyond.
Does
that
answer your question?
Jodi
Cukierman -
CIBC World Markets - Analyst
That
was
very helpful.
Amy
Hauk -
The Disney Store - SVP/Gen. Merchandise Manager
And
back-to-school, back-to-school obviously we think denim is a core business
for
us as well, and we will be looking to elevate that through innovative
interpretation of character. And I'm actually very excited about how fresh
and
new and exciting I think our back-to-school denim is going to look at the Disney
stores. And then we will also be looking at back-to-school bags as well as
leveraging Ezra earlier the great boys franchises that we have in Cars and
Pirates. And then also in girls, we've seen exceptionally strong, continued
performance in princess, layered on with Tinkerbell and Fairies.
Jodi
Cukierman -
CIBC World Markets - Analyst
And
one
question regarding the Disney remodels. You slowed down a little bit because
you
were coming up with new Disney Store format. I was wondering if we could just
get an update on the new prototype and how that's coming along.
Ezra
Dabah -
The Children's Place - Chairman, CEO
Yes,
we're just beginning the process of designing the new prototype, and at this
particular time, we expect to begin the rollout in early 2007.
Jodi
Cukierman -
CIBC World Markets - Analyst
Great,
thanks very much.
Operator
Paula
Kalandiak, Roth Capital Partners.
Paula
Kalandiak -
Roth Capital Partners - Analyst
Its
Paula
Kalandiak, good morning. I have a question about the merchandise at The
Children's Place side of the business. It sounds like you're going to layer
in a
lot more of the better and best at Disney. Is there also can opportunity at
The
Children's Place, and can you tell us a little more about the premium denim
and
what the price point is going to be there?
Neal
Goldberg -
The Children's Place - President
Sure.
Clearly, we view that there is an opportunity to layer in other levels. We
are
very proud of our good levels; we are supporting that with our 2fors and our
value, but we see opportunities for better and best throughout most categories.
The best example which we spoke about earlier is premium denim.
It's
going to be a range of prices, but it's really going to be about wash, hardware,
trim and fabric differences and we're very excited about it. And we think
clearly the key thing is to hold onto our good prices. Customers have learned
to
expect them and love them, but they also have an appetite for better and best
categories across all areas and we're really excited to make sure we can fulfill
those requests that they are asking us for. So you're going to see a couple
of
different areas throughout the store.
Operator
Tom
Filandro, FIG.
Tom
Filandro -
FIG - Analyst
Congratulations
as well; great quarter. (multiple speakers) one question -- what the heck are
you guys going to do with all that cash?!
Second
question is, how is the Web business going for Disney and the Disney Store
brands? Have you guys come to any conclusion on how you can sort of resolve
this
issue of people getting e-mails from the Disney Corporation about shopping
versus your e-mails and direct-mail pieces? Thank you.
Ezra
Dabah -
The Children's Place - Chairman, CEO
Tom,
I'm
not sure if you want to answer that on cash, but you know we are a very young
company, we have much growth ahead of us, and we certainly look to find good
uses for that cash in the future.
As
it
relates to the Disney Store e-com site, we're working together with the Walt
Disney Co. to figure out what is absolutely best for the Disney Store guest
and
the Disney guest period. And at this particular time, we are looking forward
to
launch sometime in the spring of 07, a Disney Store e-com site.
Tom
Filandro -
FIG - Analyst
That's
awesome. Ezra, any callouts potentially for share buyback or dividend? I can't
imagine you need all that cash for the growth initiatives you have in
place.
Ezra
Dabah -
The Children's Place - Chairman, CEO
Again,
Tom, we are a young Company with a lot ahead of us. There's no thoughts at
this
moment towards anything like that.
Tom
Filandro -
FIG - Analyst
Keep
plugging away; thank you.
Operator
Kimberly
Greenberger, Citigroup.
Kimberly
Greenberger -
Citigroup - Analyst
I
just
had a follow-up for Richard Flaks. I noticed your -- you mentioned in the
prepared remarks that the Disney inventory and is below where you expected
it to
be, obviously that April sales impacted your in-stock position. What are your
plans to support the comps at the Disney division and getting in enough
inventory, given how depleted the levels were last year?
Richard
Flaks -
The Children's Place - SVP-Planning, Allocation & IT
If
you
noticed in the shared remarks as well, we talked about inventory at the end
of
the second quarter being in the '30s. So we do rectify that, get it from the
12%
recorded at the end of the first quarter up to the mid 30s or so in the end
of
the second quarter. The shift is really timing of in-transit. So things that
we
had anticipated being already on the shelf and in our ownership on the balance
sheet at the end of the quarter that come into ownership soon after that. So
we
are comfortable that we have the right level of inventory to continue to sustain
the Disney business.
Janet
Kloppenburg, JJK Research
Janet
Kloppenburg -
JJK Research - Analyst
Good
morning everyone. Congratulations. I was wondering if maybe Neal and Amy could
talk a little bit about this good/better/best program and how you will know
or
if you will test for the optimal level of allocation. In other words, I guess
I
feel a little bit, particularly at The Children's Place, Neal, that before
you
know it, your prices are skewing higher and there will be some resistance from
the customer. So maybe you could talk a little bit about how you'll approach
getting the right balance there. Thank you.
Neal
Goldberg -
The Children's Place - President
You
know,
I will speak to The Children's Place, Janet. We always have said we would look
at pricing surgically. We are very cognizant of our value proposition, and
our
good, our two-fors, we're going to keep there, they are the big part of our
business.
We
are
always looking for opportunities in better and best, and our customers are
asking for it. So we will layer that in surgically where we see fit. And quite
candidly, we don't price -- and I'd want to say we want to hit a price point
where we just look at the garment and say, what does it deserve? And we've
been
very successful doing that and we're just going to later in more of that across
the store. But without question, if our customers come in our store, they will
see value. They will see our two-fors, they will see our value proposition
very
clearly. And interesting enough, better/best just supports that even
more.
Janet
Kloppenburg -
JJK Research - Analyst
But
will
the better and best, Neal, be more prevalent at the peak seasons; let's say,
back-to-school and holiday?
Neal
Goldberg -
The Children's Place - President
No,
it's
going to be (multiple speakers) --.
Janet
Kloppenburg -
JJK Research - Analyst
It's
going to be right through the year?
Richard
Flaks -
The Children's Place - SVP-Planning, Allocation & IT
If
I can
just add to this, at the same time we are doing the better and best, we are
focusing on the tiered strategy, top store, average store, bottom store
strategy. So one of the things -- although we're not testing a lot of better
and
best, we are introducing a lot of it in the top 200 stores and not directly
into
the chain. And as we learn from that, we will roll it further in the chain.
That
doesn't mean there's not a better/best strategy in the rest of the chain, but
a
lot of it is skewed to the top stores.
Ezra
Dabah -
The Children's Place - Chairman, CEO
Also
as
Neal mentioned, that the value equation in the better and best category will
remain no different than it is in the good category. So we are looking over
time
slowly -- and this is a slow change into a little more better and best; we're
not moving the pendulum in any big way here. We certainly look forward to
elevate the brand, improve the AUR and we feel that this is the perfect timing
to move it up a little bit.
Amy
Hauk -
The Disney Store - SVP/Gen. Merchandise Manager
And
I do.
I think that's important that the value equation applies even at the higher
price pointed items, that for what you're getting, you feel like you're getting
a value. That's critically important. One other things also, Janet, as far
as
looking at it surgically, we saw a decrease in delta between the original retail
price and the net AUR out the door certainly at Disney in Q1 in our better
and
best categories, which shows that we have an opportunity to increase those.
And
again, it's really important to have that acceptability in the brand, which
is
our bread butter, it's our milk, and we will always keep that. But we want
to
give customers and guests the choice when they come up, to step up. And I think
Ezra talks about market share and the increase in marketshare; I think
Children's Place is becoming more recognizable as a brand and certainly Disney
is. We want to offer those options to the customer when they come through the
door.
Janet
Kloppenburg -
JJK Research - Analyst
Great,
thanks so much and good luck.
John
Zolidis, Buckingham Research.
John
Zolidis -
Buckingham Research - Analyst
One
follow-up question, just a clarification. I wanted to understand a little bit
kind of your thinking on inventory, market share, markdowns, inventory turns,
that kind of stuff. Because it seemed like you were saying that you were
accepting a higher markdown rate with a bigger inventory investment in order
to
take some incremental dollars. But wouldn't you be getting a lower return on
investment on your inventory investment, and also a lower inventory turns in
that scenario?
Richard
Flaks -
The Children's Place - SVP-Planning, Allocation & IT
Yes,
John, once again, we've not been focused as tightly on inventory turns. We
don't
look at inventory at a point in time, although we report that to you. We
continue to look at goods available to support the retail reductions we expect
through the balance of the year. So, we are much less focused on how much do
you
have at the end of April, then how much do we have to support the go-forward
business that we need to do.
But
you
understood me correctly where I said, as we position for growth -- and we're
not
planning to necessarily take higher markdown rates, but what we're doing is
we
are positioning the inventory that if the upside in the business wants to
materialize it can, but if it doesn't we have the room to get clean which we've
been doing consistently. We don't let that aged inventory carry. I don't know
if
that answers your question.
John
Zolidis -
Buckingham Research - Analyst
I'm
going
to think about that for a little bit.
Ezra
Dabah -
The Children's Place - Chairman, CEO
The
bottom line, John, is that at this particular moment, we're a little more
focused on market share. As Richard said before, we're focused on margin dollars
than we are the markdown percentage. And maybe down the line and a year or
so
from now, we'll be focused on gross margin percentage. But right now, what's
more important to us is continuing market share gain and gross margin
dollars.
John
Zolidis -
Buckingham Research - Analyst
Okay,
and
then just that comment from Neal on the strong response continued into summer.
Is that a comment on May business trends?
Ezra
Dabah -
The Children's Place - Chairman, CEO
You
could
assume what you would like to, but in a way, we have continued the strength
in
summer.
John
Zolidis -
Buckingham Research - Analyst
Okay,
great. Good luck, guys, and I guess we will see you tomorrow.
Operator
Paula
Kalandiak, Roth Capital Partners.
Paula
Kalandiak -
Roth Capital Partners - Analyst
Hi
again.
I just wanted to follow-up about your multiples program. Can you talk about
how
that might be different this year in terms of the way you flow it to stores
or
the amount that you've brought in for the multiple program this year versus
last
year?
Richard
Flaks -
The Children's Place - SVP-Planning, Allocation & IT
I'm
trying to think if I -- the flow to stores on multiples -- the flow strategy
doesn't directly affect multiples. There is a change to the flow strategy in
total. Last year we set our first back-to-school product at the end of June.
We
do have a capsule of product that is setting early June, but it's a combination
of multiples and other product; it's not just purely a multiple strategy
presentation.
In
terms
of the investment, we have comped the multiples business over last year, in
total. We've made some changes within the multiples business but it still
remains a significant part of our business.
I
think
as Ezra mentioned most of the multiples are part of the good category, and
we've
shifted some dollars into better and best but this has been more of an evolution
than a revolution. It's not a significant shift in what we've been
doing.
Paula
Kalandiak -
Roth Capital Partners - Analyst
Okay,
I
was actually thinking specifically about the 3 for 15 tanks, tees and shorts
multiple program.
Richard
Flaks -
The Children's Place - SVP-Planning, Allocation & IT
Oh,
the
multiples in summer?
Paula
Kalandiak -
Roth Capital Partners - Analyst
Yes.
Richard
Flaks -
The Children's Place - SVP-Planning, Allocation & IT
We
flowed
the multiples in summer the same timing is last year, but only into 200 stores.
And we are introducing multiples into the chain next week. So, we did shift
the
summer multiples program later in summer, and we saw new opportunity to increase
AUR in the summer time period. We were driving a lot of our volume out of $5
T-shirts, tanks, shorts, and felt we could get a premium at the beginning of
the
season on fashion.
Operator
At
this
time, we have no more questions queued.
Ezra
Dabah -
The Children's Place - Chairman, CEO
Okay,
thank you, everyone. Thank you for your continued interest in our company.
Sue
and the IR team are available should you have any additional questions or
follow-ups. Have a great summer. Thank you.
Sue
Riley -
The Children's Place - CFO
Goodbye.
Operator
Ladies
and gentlemen, this concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect at
anytime.
Exhibit
99.3
Non-GAAP
Reconciliation
(Unaudited)
Thirteen
Weeks Ended April 29, 2006 and Thirteen Weeks Ended April 30,
2005
(In
thousands, except per share amounts)
|
|
|
Thirteen
Weeks Ended
|
|
|
|
|
April
29,
|
|
|
April
30,
|
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Selling,
general and administrative expenses, as reported
|
|
$
|
129,430
|
|
$
|
113,424
|
|
Equity
compensation and stock option expense
|
|
|
2,950
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-GAAP
selling, general and administrative expenses
|
|
|
126,480
|
|
|
113,424
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating
income, as reported
|
|
|
23,946
|
|
|
15,982
|
|
Equity
compensation and stock option expense
|
|
|
2,950
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-GAAP
operating income
|
|
|
26,896
|
|
|
15,982
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Diluted
net income, as reported
|
|
|
15,341
|
|
|
9,798
|
|
Equity
compensation and stock option expense (tax effected at
40%)
|
|
|
1,770
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-GAAP
net income
|
|
$
|
17,111
|
|
$
|
9,798
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Diluted
net income per common share:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As
reported
|
|
$
|
0.52
|
|
$
|
0.34
|
|
Equity
compensation and stock option expense
|
|
$
|
0.06
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
Non-GAAP
diluted net income per common share
|
|
$
|
0.58
|
|
$
|
0.34
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Diluted
weighted average common shares and common share
equivalents
|
|
|
29,410
|
|
|
28,611
|
|