Foot traffic, sales trends bolster Five Below’s Q1
PHILADELPHIA — Teen discounter Five Below increased its first quarter profit forecast as sales for the period increased 33% to $95.6 million and same store sales advanced 4.2%.
"Our fiscal first quarter played out much as we had expected. Once the headwinds we saw in the first half of the quarter began to dissipate, we saw our traffic and sales trends strengthen as we believe customers looked to Five Below for unique, trend-right merchandise delivered at great values," said co-founder, president and CEO Thomas Vellios. "We opened 14 net new stores in the first quarter, of which 6 were opened during the last 9 days of the quarter and we are on track for the planned 60 net openings in 2013."
The retailer continues its 2013 expansion plans with the opening of its first store in Springfield, Ill., Friday, May 17, in White Oaks Plaza. Five Below’s move into Central Illinois follows the successful grand openings of nearly 20 store locations in Chicagoland throughout the past three years.
“Springfield offers the perfect recipe for a new Five Below store,” said Vellios. “It’s a family-oriented community with a strong retail presence, particularly in White Oaks Plaza, which we will share with other successful retailers such as TJ Maxx, Kohl’s, and Toys R Us. Five Below’s brand-name, trend-right merchandise will add a dynamic alternative for teen and pre-teen shoppers seeking an assortment of tech, fashion, beauty, crafts, and other must-have merchandise, all priced at $1 to $5.”
To celebrate its grand opening, Five Below’s Springfield store will give away a free Five Below T-shirt with any purchase to the first 300 customers on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of grand opening weekend, and one customer will win a $100 shopping spree. Five Below will also offer 5-cent hot dogs and a number of other contests and giveaways.
On May 17, Five Below will also open new stores in Highland, Ind.; Kingston, N.Y.; Mansfield, Ohio; and Dayton, Ohio.
Five Below operates in 19 states, from New Hampshire to Georgia along the East Coast to Illinois and Missouri in the Midwest. Five Below’s plan to open up to 60 new stores in 2013 will bring the number of locations to approximately 300.