Five Below CEO Exits

Five Below Inc. (Philadelphia) announced Joel Anderson has stepped down as President and CEO and that COO Kenneth Bull will assume those roles on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is found. The company said Anderson left “to pursue other interests.”

In addition, the company said Thomas Vellios, Co-Founder, Non-Executive Chairman and former CEO, is assuming the role of Executive Chairman on an interim basis to support Bull and the executive leadership team in the transition.

“I have tremendous confidence in Ken and the senior leadership team who will continue to execute on our growth strategy,” said Vellios. “Ken has been an integral part of the Five Below team for nearly two decades, including leading the Company for 11 years as CFO and most recently as COO, with significant experience and deep knowledge of our business. He has played a pivotal role in architecting our strategic growth plans and leading key supporting initiatives.”

“With a long runway for continued growth and industry-leading returns on our new stores, we remain focused on driving sales, optimizing margins and providing customers with the exceptional value they expect from Five Below.”

Five Below also announced total sales for the 10-week period ended July 13, which showed a growth in total sales but a decrease in comparable sales. Specifically, the company said its sales increased by 9.5% versus the first 10 weeks of the second quarter ended July 8, 2023, while its comparable sales fell 5.0% versus the restated and comparable period. As a result, the Company now expects sales for the fiscal second quarter ending Aug. 3, to be in the range of $820 million to $826 million and assumes a 6% to 7% decrease in comparable sales.

The retailer – which describes itself as “a trend-right, high-quality extreme-value retailer for tweens, teens and beyond” – was founded in 2002 and has more than 1600 stores in 43 states.