'The plan to separate was rooted in our commitment to value creation from our portfolio of iconic brands,' said
'The work we've done to prepare for the spin shone a bright light on operational inefficiencies and areas for improvement,' continued Fisher. 'We have learned a lot and intend to operate
Leadership Update
The company's board of directors intends to appoint a new CEO to oversee the full portfolio of brands and corporate strategy. As previously communicated, in the interim, four of the company's senior leaders have been elevated and have taken on additional responsibilities reporting to
Additionally, the company today announced that
Fiscal Year 2019 Outlook
The company now expects total company fiscal 2019 comparable sales and net sales to both be at the higher end of its previous guidance range of down mid-single digits and down low-single digits, respectively. As a result of better than anticipated promotional levels over the holiday period, particularly at
'We are working aggressively to stabilize and improve business results,' said
Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2019 Earnings
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than those that are purely historical are forward-looking statements. Words such as 'expect,' 'anticipate,' 'believe,' 'estimate,' 'intend,' 'plan,' and similar expressions also identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding comparable sales, net sales and earnings per share for fiscal year 2019.
Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These factors include, without limitation, the following risks, any of which could have an adverse effect on the company's financial condition, results of operations, and reputation: the risk that additional information may arise during the company's close process or as a result of subsequent events that would require the company to make adjustments to its financial information; the risks associated with the termination of our plan to separate into two independent publicly-traded companies; the risk that the company or its franchisees will be unsuccessful in gauging apparel trends and changing consumer preferences; the highly competitive nature of the company's business in
internationally; the risk of failure to attract and retain key personnel, or effectively manage succession; the risk that the company's investments in customer, digital, and omni-channel shopping initiatives may not deliver the results the company anticipates; the risk if the company is unable to manage its inventory effectively; the risk that the company is subject to data or other security breaches that may result in increased costs, violations of law, significant legal and financial exposure, and a loss of confidence in the company's security measures; the risk that a failure of, or updates or changes to, the company's information technology systems may disrupt its operations; the risks to the company's business, including its costs and supply chain, associated with global sourcing and manufacturing; the risk of changes in global economic conditions or consumer spending patterns; the risks to the company's reputation or operations associated with importing merchandise from foreign countries, including failure of the company's vendors to adhere to its Code of Vendor Conduct; the risk that the company's franchisees' operation of franchise stores is not directly within the company's control and could impair the value of its brands; the risk that the company or its franchisees will be unsuccessful in identifying, negotiating, and securing new store locations and renewing, modifying, or terminating leases for existing store locations effectively; the risk of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; the risk that comparable sales and margins will experience fluctuations; the risk that changes in the company's credit profile or deterioration in market conditions may limit the company's access to the capital markets; the risk that trade matters could increase the cost or reduce the supply of apparel available to the company; the risk of changes in the regulatory or administrative landscape; the risk of natural disasters, public health crises, political crises, negative global climate patterns, or other catastrophic events; the risk of reductions in income and cash flow from the company's credit card arrangement related to its private label and co-branded credit cards; the risk that the adoption of new accounting pronouncements will impact future results; the risk that the company does not repurchase some or all of the shares it anticipates purchasing pursuant to its repurchase program; and the risk that the company will not be successful in defending various proceedings, lawsuits, disputes, and claims.
Additional information regarding factors that could cause results to differ can be found in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
These forward-looking statements are based on information as of
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