Claire’s Stores Inc. (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) reported a 7 percent sales increase for the four weeks ended Feb. 26, 2005. Same-store sales increased 6 percent.
“Our international business performed well in February, although our results varied significantly in different regions,” said co-chairman and co-ceo Bonnie Schaefer. “The United Kingdom continued to deliver very strong results, with our work there producing a dramatic turnaround more quickly than we anticipated a year ago. Our stores in Switzerland, Austria and Germany are continuing last year’s trend by generating robust sales. The performance of our stores in France was not as strong as we had hoped. The process of exporting our North American best practices to that country remains a primary focal point of our efforts in Europe. We remain confident that France will follow in the path of our other international stores and begin to deliver sustained improvements.”
“Last year in North America, both Claire’s and Icing by Claire’s generated comparable store sales increases in excess of 20 percent,” said co-chairman and co-ceo Marla Schaefer. “This was a truly daunting number to go up against, and we are pleased that, despite that, our comparable store sales increased in the mid single digits this month. Our decision to mark down merchandise in January left our stores looking clean and fresh and customers are reacting positively to our spring merchandise.”