Coldwater Creek Reiterates Second Quarter Outlook
23 Luglio 2009 - 1:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
SANDPOINT, Idaho, July 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Coldwater Creek
Inc. (NASDAQ:CWTR) reiterated its second quarter outlook provided
in the Company's first quarter press release on May 27, 2009. The
Company issued this announcement in conjunction with its Analyst
Event scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. ET today in New York. The
Company is scheduled to report second quarter results on Wednesday,
August 26, 2009 after the market close. For the three-month period
ending August 1, 2009, the Company expects: -- Net sales in the
range of $215 million to $220 million, reflecting a same-store
sales decline in the low double digit range and a direct sales
decline in the high teens to low 20's range. This compares to
actual second quarter fiscal 2008 net sales of $241.4 million; --
Loss per share of $0.05-$0.07, in line with previously issued
guidance of a loss less than $0.08 per share. This compares to
actual second quarter fiscal 2008 diluted earnings per share of
$0.03; and -- Inventory at quarter end to decline in the mid-single
digit range per square foot, as compared to inventory at the end of
the second quarter last year. In addition, the Company remains on
track to achieve its expense and balance sheet management goals for
fiscal 2009, including: -- Delivering at least $30 million in
SG&A savings for fiscal 2009 over fiscal 2008; and -- Ending
the year with over $100 million in cash. Daniel Griesemer,
president and chief executive officer of Coldwater Creek,
commented: "We were pleased with the positive customer response to
our summer collection as our improved merchandise assortment and
value pricing initiative enabled us to drive a flat comp in May in
a highly promotional environment. However, the strong sell through
of our summer collection resulted in very lean inventory levels
that limited our ability to drive sales during our quarterly sale
event. Consistent with our previous guidance, we expect our second
quarter to show a loss, but represent a sequential improvement in
our business trends." Mr. Griesemer continued, "As we enter fall,
we are well positioned to benefit from the meaningful changes we
have made during the past year to improve the fashion sensibility,
fit and value in our merchandise. We believe that it is the
appropriate time to intensify our marketing efforts to showcase our
fall collection and enhance brand awareness, and we have invested
in inventory to capitalize on this opportunity. We are confident in
our brand direction and believe we have taken the necessary steps
to generate improved long-term results." Founded in 1984, and
headquartered in Sandpoint, Idaho, Coldwater Creek is a leading
specialty retailer of women's apparel, gifts, jewelry, and
accessories. The company sells its merchandise through premium
retail stores across the country, online at coldwatercreek.com and
through its catalogs. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release contains
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the securities
laws, including statements relating to our expected second quarter
fiscal 2009 sales and loss per share and other future plans and
financial results. These statements are based on management's
current expectations and are subject to a number of uncertainties
and risks, as well as assumptions that if they do not fully
materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our actual results to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from estimates or projections
contained in the forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to: -- the inherent difficulty in forecasting consumer
buying and retail traffic patterns and trends, which continue to be
erratic and are affected by factors beyond our control, such as the
current macroeconomic conditions and the global credit crisis,
continuing heavy promotional activity in the specialty retail
marketplace, and competitive conditions and the possibility that
because of lower than expected customer response, or because of
competitive pricing pressures, we may be required to sell
merchandise at lower than expected margins, or at a loss; -- the
possibility that our SG&A and cash projections will not be
realized, due to changing business conditions, including our
potential decision to invest opportunistically in our business; --
our potential inability to recover the substantial fixed costs of
our retail store base due to sluggish sales; -- our potential
inability to continue to fund our operations solely with operating
cash as a result of either lower sales or higher than anticipated
costs, or both; -- delays we may encounter in sourcing merchandise
from our foreign and domestic vendors, including the potential
inability of our vendors to finance production of the goods we
order; risks related to our foreign sourcing strategy; and the
possibility that foreign sourcing may not lead to any reduction of
our sourcing costs or improvement in our margins; -- because we
currently are carrying relatively low levels of inventory, we may
not have sufficient merchandise to meet demand, which may result in
lost sales and lower customer satisfaction; -- the effect of
volatile energy costs on various aspects of our business, including
shipping, transportation, merchandise acquisition and consumer
spending; -- increasing competition from discount retailers and
companies that have introduced concepts or products similar to
ours; -- difficulties encountered in anticipating and managing
customer returns and the possibility that customer returns will be
greater than expected; -- the inherent difficulties in catalog
management, for which we incur substantial costs prior to mailing
that we may not be able to recover, and the possibility of
unanticipated increases in mailing and printing costs; --
unexpected costs or problems associated with our efforts to manage
our expanding and increasingly complex business, including our
current efforts to improve key management information systems and
controls; -- the risk that the benefits expected from our strategic
initiatives will not be achieved or may take longer to achieve than
we expect; and such other factors as are discussed in our most
recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). We
believe that these forward-looking statements are reasonable;
however, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements, which are based on current expectations and speak only
as of the date of this release. We are not obligated to publicly
release any revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect
events after the date of this release. We provide a detailed
discussion of risk factors in periodic SEC filings, and you are
encouraged to review these filings in connection with this release.
Contact: Lyn Walther, Divisional Vice President, Investor Relations
Phone: 208-265-7005 Web site: http://www.coldwatercreek.com/
DATASOURCE: Coldwater Creek CONTACT: Lyn Walther, Divisional Vice
President, Investor Relations, of Coldwater Creek, +1-208-265-7005
Web Site: http://www.coldwatercreek.com/
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