Five Below holiday sales jump

Five Below’s holiday sales exceeded its expectations.

The extreme-value tween and teen retailer said that sales for the holiday period (November 1, 2020 through January 2, 2021) rose by 21.1% to $722.3 million from $596.6 million in the comparable year-ago period. Comparable sales increased by 10.1%.

“We are very pleased with our holiday sales performance, which surpassed our expectations,” said Joel Anderson, president and CEO, Five Below, which has more than 1,000 stores across 38 states. “These sales results were accompanied by gross margins that were in line with our expectations and SG&A leverage that was stronger than planned.”

The holiday mix included Five Below’s extreme-value products along with its expanded offering (select items priced above the chain’s signature $5.00 cutoff), all of which resonated with customers, Anderson said.

For the fourth-quarter, Five Below provided guidance for sales of $835 million to $840 million, comp sales growth of 11% and earnings per share of $2.08 to $2.12. The FactSet consensus is for sales of $825.2 million, comp sales growth of 8% and EPS of $2.04.

For the full year, the company forecasts sales of $1.939 billion to $1.944 billion, a comparable sales decline of 6.5% and EPS of $2.07 to $2.11. The FactSet consensus is for sales of $1.926 billion, a comparable sales decline of 4.6% and EPS of $2.03.