Claire's buying spree is still on!
Tuesday December 14, 8:02 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Claire's Stores, Inc.
Claire's Stores Announces Agreement To Buy 42 Stores In France
PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., Dec. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Claire's Stores, Inc. (NYSE: CLE - news) announced today that the company signed an agreement on December 10 to acquire Cleopatre, a privately held 42-store fashion accessory chain in France. The transaction involved approximately $11 million in cash. The Cleopatre acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of February, subject to the customary closing conditions.
Cleopatre, headquartered in Paris, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Claire's Stores, Inc. The stores are located in prime city centers and malls and are approximately 500 square feet in size. The acquired stores will continue to operate under the Cleopatre trade name.
Rowland Schaefer, Claire's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, ``Claire's is committed to growing the European segment of our business. We see a huge growth opportunity in Europe with a potential of at least 1,300 additional stores in countries where we already have a presence. We are extremely pleased with the performance of Bijoux One, our 55-store chain in Switzerland, Austria and Germany, which we acquired in November of 1998. Bijoux One continues to outperform company plan. We envision doubling Cleopatre's annual sales per store, which currently average $250,000, over the next year, as we layer Cleopatre's merchandise with Claire's merchandise.'
Claire's Stores, Inc., a leading mall-based retailer of popular-priced teens' accessories and costume jewelry, currently operates approximately 3,055 stores under the following trade names: Claire's Accessories, Afterthoughts, the Icing, Velvet Pixies and Mr. Rags. The stores are located throughout the United States, the Caribbean, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Austria and Germany.
This 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 for teen apparel and accessories, competition, and economic conditions.
SOURCE: Claire's Stores, Inc. |
