Press release
Citi Trends Announces 2020 Holiday Sales Results and Updates Long-term Strategic Plan
Comparable sales increased 10.3% for the nine-week holiday period Expects fourth quarter adjusted EPS between $1.22 to $1.32 compared to $0.88 in fiscal
About this update from Citi Trends, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nComparable sales increased 10.3% for the nine-week holiday period\n\nExpects fourth quarter adjusted EPS between $1.22 to $1.32 compared to $0.88 in fiscal 2019*\n\nRepurchased approximately 316,000 shares in the fourth quarter to-date\n\nInvestor presentation updated with information including a long-term strategic plan\n\n SAVANNAH, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nCiti Trends, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRN), the leading value retailer of apparel, accessories and home trends for way less spend primarily for African American and Latinx families in the United States, today announced results for its holiday selling period.\n\nTotal sales for the nine-week period ended January 2, 2021 increased 12.9% to $192.5 million compared with $170.5 million in the same period of 2019 and comparable store sales increased 10.3% versus 3.6% in the same period last year.\n\nDavid Makuen, Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are thrilled with our holiday sales results that significantly exceeded our expectations. The 10.3% comparable store sales increase is reflective of our curated merchandising strategies and on-trend gift assortment with amazing values, which resonated with our customers during the holiday season. Notably, we continue to drive meaningful gross margin and operating margin expansion fueled by full-price selling and accelerated inventory turns. I would like to thank our incredible teams for their hard work and dedication as they continue to meet our customers’ needs, especially during the dynamic holiday season.”\n\nMakuen continued, “Given our strong quarter-to-date results, we now expect positive comparable store sales in the low double-digit range for the fourth quarter. We enter 2021 in a strong position and are excited about the underlying momentum of our business. We are committed to the same merchandising and marketing strategies that have driven our recent success, and we believe we are well positioned to continue capitalizing on the demand for our brand and serving our loyal customer base.”\n\nGuidance\n\nBased on the quarter-to-date trends, the Company expects fourth quarter 2020 positive comparable store sales in the low double-digit range. For the full year 2020, the Company expects total sales to be only slightly below 2019 total sales, despite the fact that the Company’s stores were closed for approximately 16% of the total available s...