Ken Seipel, a Successful Turnaround CEO in
the Off-Price Retail Space and Veteran Board Member at Citi Trends,
Appointed Interim CEO
David Makuen, who Guided the Company Through
the Pandemic and Served with Distinction, Steps Down as CEO and
Board Member
The Board Commences a Search Process for a
Permanent CEO
Additionally, the Company Released
Preliminary First Quarter 2024 Results – Total Sales of $186.3
million, Comparable Sales Growth of 3.1% and EBITDA Loss of $0.8
million
Citi Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRN) (“Citi Trends” or the
“Company”), a leading specialty value retailer of apparel,
accessories and home trends for way less spend primarily for
African American and multicultural families in the United States,
today announced that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) has
appointed Ken Seipel as the Company’s interim Chief Executive
Officer (“CEO”), effective June 2, 2024. In connection with the
appointment, David Makuen has stepped down as CEO and a member of
the Board. To ensure a smooth and successful transition, Mr. Makuen
will serve as Senior Advisor to the CEO and the leadership team in
the coming weeks.
The Board’s independent members are commencing a search for a
new permanent CEO and plan to retain a nationally recognized
executive search firm to support the process. The Board will
consider external candidates, as well as Ken, in the CEO search.
Citi Trends’ Board includes several independent members with prior
experience carrying out successful CEO searches.
Peter Sachse, Executive Chairman of the Board, commented:
“On behalf of the Board and the Company’s employees, I thank
David for his dedication, hard work and strong leadership during
his four years as CEO. David’s contributions include guiding the
organization through the challenging COVID-19 pandemic and leading
it to a record year in terms of financial performance in fiscal
year 2021. The Board’s decision to appoint Ken and initiate a
search for a new permanent CEO is intended to position Citi Trends
to return the Company to past levels of profitability and beyond.
Ken has had success in several turnaround environments. Ken
previously served as the CEO of West Marine, and prior to that, led
the transformation at Gabe’s, an off-price retailer operating with
very similar customer income demographics as Citi Trends. As CEO,
Ken balanced profitable growth with strong cost controls to drive
record profitability. He has our full confidence.”
Mr. Makuen stated:
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as CEO of Citi
Trends. This is an incredibly talented organization with some of
the smartest and most committed individuals in the retail sector.
Together, we led the Company through an unprecedented period of
disruption during the pandemic and subsequent inflationary
pressures, while maintaining strong customer loyalty and advancing
many strategic initiatives designed to drive future brand growth. I
look forward to watching Citi Trends continue to delight customers
and deliver value for many years to come. I wish the Board and my
colleagues the very best.”
Mr. Seipel, interim CEO, concluded:
“I want to thank the Board for its confidence and David for
supporting a smooth transition. As interim CEO, I intend to
leverage my experiences driving profitable growth, capturing
efficiencies and operating across economic cycles to position Citi
Trends for enhanced value creation. We will focus on driving sales,
sharpening our product assortment decisions, streamlining costs,
optimizing our supply chain, improving inventory returns and
leveraging benefits from recent technology investments. Although
this represents a period of transition, the Board and I plan for
the coming months to be very productive and foundational for our
long-range growth.”
As a result of today’s announcements, the Board will include
eight members and, in line with corporate governance best
practices, Mr. Seipel will step down from his Board committee
roles.
Additional information related to today’s announcements can be
found on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission.
The company has provided the following summary of preliminary
first quarter 2024 results:
- Total sales of $186.3 million
- Same-store sales increase of 3.1%
- EBITDA loss of $0.8 million
Additional details of the Company’s first quarter 2024 results
will be discussed on the Company’s investor call at 9:00 am ET on
June 4th, 2024.
About Ken Seipel
Ken Seipel is a highly successful executive and director in the
consumer and retail sectors, with prior experience as a CEO and in
C-Suite roles. Mr. Seipel joined Citi Trends' Board in 2019 and
served as Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee and member of the Audit and Finance Committees. Mr.
Seipel also formerly served as Lead Independent Director at West
Marine, the world’s largest retailer of boating supplies. As CEO of
privately held West Marine from 2018 to 2021, Mr. Seipel completed
a company turnaround, resulting in record profits, leading to a
transaction that netted shareholders a six-time return on
investment. As CEO of privately held off-price retailer, Gabe’s,
from 2013 to 2017, he successfully led the business to record-level
profits, resulting in a three-time investment exit transaction for
the company’s majority private equity owner. His retail experience
also includes executive roles in merchandise and operations at
major Fortune 500 public companies, including Old Navy, Target and
J.C. Penney.
About Citi Trends
Citi Trends is a leading specialty value retailer of apparel,
accessories and home trends for way less spend primarily for
African American and multicultural families in the United States.
The Company operates 598 stores located in 33 states. For more
information, visit www.cititrends.com or your local store.
Forward-Looking
Statements
All statements other than historical facts contained in this
news release, including statements regarding the Company’s future
financial results and position, business plans and the objectives
and expectations of management, are forward-looking statements that
are subject to material risks and uncertainties. The words
“believe,” “may,” “could,” “plans,” “estimate,” “expects,”
“continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “upcoming,” “trend”
and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, are
intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all
forward-looking statements contain such language. Statements with
respect to earnings or sales are forward-looking statements.
Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements
are subject to the finalization of the Company’s quarter-end
financial and accounting procedures, are not guarantees of future
performance and are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties,
some of which cannot be predicted or quantified. Actual results or
developments may differ materially from those included in the
forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, which
are discussed in our Annual Reports and Quarterly Reports on Forms
10-K and 10-Q, respectively, and any amendments thereto, filed with
the SEC. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited
to, uncertainties relating to general economic conditions,
including inflation, energy and fuel costs, unemployment levels,
and any deterioration whether caused by acts of war, terrorism,
political or social unrest (including any resulting store closures,
damage or loss of inventory) or other factors; changes in market
interest rates and market levels of wages; natural disasters such
as hurricanes; uncertainty and economic impact of pandemics,
epidemics or other public health emergencies such as the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic; transportation and distribution delays or
interruptions; changes in freight rates; the Company’s ability to
attract and retain workers; the Company’s ability to negotiate
effectively the cost and purchase of merchandise inventory risks
due to shifts in market demand; the Company’s ability to gauge
fashion trends and changing consumer preferences; changes in
consumer confidence and consumer spending patterns; competition
within the industry; competition in our markets; the duration and
extent of any economic stimulus programs; changes in product mix;
interruptions in suppliers’ businesses; the ongoing assessment and
impact of the cyber disruption we identified on January 14, 2023,
including legal, reputational, financial and contractual risks
resulting from the disruption, and other risks related to
cybersecurity, data privacy and intellectual property; temporary
changes in demand due to weather patterns; seasonality of the
Company’s business; changes in market interest rates and market
levels of wages; the results of pending or threatened litigation;
delays associated with building, remodeling, opening and operating
new stores; and delays associated with building and opening or
expanding new or existing distribution centers. Any forward-looking
statements by the Company are intended to speak only as of the date
such statements are made. Except as required by applicable law,
including the securities laws of the United States and the rules
and regulations of the SEC, the Company does not undertake to
publicly update any forward-looking statements in this news release
or with respect to matters described herein, whether as a result of
any new information, future events or otherwise.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240531517477/en/
For Investors:
Tom Filandro CitiTrendsIR@icrinc.com
For Media:
Greg Marose CitiTrends@Longacresquare.com
Grafico Azioni Citi Trends (NASDAQ:CTRN)
Storico
Da Dic 2024 a Gen 2025
Grafico Azioni Citi Trends (NASDAQ:CTRN)
Storico
Da Gen 2024 a Gen 2025
