First quarter pounding for Claire’s

In the first quarter, fashion chain Claire’s had to deal with a a slump in its turnover. The American company points to the lousy exchange rate fluctuations and the closure of several stores as the main reasons for the turnover drop.

Large European drop

Claire’s first quarter turnover reached 299.6 million dollars (268 million euro), down 6.4 % compared to last year. The company points out it shut down several stores and that it had to deal with exchange rate fluctuations, but nevertheless, its like-for-like turnover also slumped.

Compared to last year, like-for-like turnover dropped 5.1 %. North American turnover remained relatively level, as it only slumped 0.8 % while European like-for-like turnover got hammered 12.7 %. If exchange rate fluctuations are ignored, the company’s turnover would have dropped 5.9 %.

Claire’s did manage to increase its gross profit margin, allowing its EBITDA (37 million dollars – 33 million euro) to remain relatively stable. One year ago, the company’s EBITDA reached 37.6 million dollars (33.6 million euro).