Kirkland's CEO to retire; Q4 results tops Street

Nashville, Tenn. -- Kirkland's announced that Robert Alderson, the home decor retailer's long-time president and CEO, intends to retire at the end of fiscal 2013, or approximately Feb. 1, 2014.



In November, Kirkland's said that Alderson was taking a temporary medical leave of absence for six to eight weeks for a non-emergency medical procedure. Mike Madden, Kirkland's SVP and CFO, served as acting president and CEO during that time.



"Over the past five years, we’ve restored Kirkland’s stability and significantly enhanced its profitability," Alderson said We’ve also completed a huge amount of foundational work in systems, e-commerce, marketing, merchandising process, real estate and store operations. Over the course of the year, we will continue to work on substantially upgrading our merchandising talent and leadership. I have enjoyed the last 27 years at Kirkland’s, but now is the right time to begin recasting the leadership.”



The announcement came as the company reported that its net income dropped 6% amid rising operating expenses. The results beat Wall Street estimates but its first-quarter outlook was below what analysts had expected.



For the period ended Feb. 2, Kirkland's earned $14.3 million, compared with $15.2 million a year earlier.



Revenue rose 9% to $162.9 million from $149.1 million, helped by an extra week in the period. Same-store sales fell 2.6%.