Five Below to open 170 to 180 stores in 2021

Five Below isn’t letting the pandemic stop its national expansion.

The extreme-value tween and teen chain remains one of the few specialty retailers that has not pulled in the reins on brick-and-mortar growth. Five Below plans to open 170 to 180 stores across the country during the next nine months. The company currently operates some 1,051 locations nationwide. 

As previously reported, Five Below’s net sales for holiday 2020 jumped 21.1% to $722.3 million from $596.6 million in the 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, CEO, Five Below. “These strong results illustrate the broad appeal of our Wow offering at amazing values as well as the inherent flexibility of our model and merchandise offering.”

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.