Good morning, everybody. So our next presentation is Five Below. We're obviously very happy to have them here today. And with us from the company, we have Tom Vellios, Executive Chairman, Winnie Park, new CEO. We also have Kristy Chipman, CFO. Unfortunately, Ken Bull was not able to make it today. He had a death in the family, so our thoughts are with him today. In any event, we'll get started. And first question, really, Tom, I think, is around the holiday and just results and maybe just some perspective on what went well, what didn't go well, what product categories did well, what you need to do better next year.
Good. So what happened, basically?
Yeah.
Good.
Exactly.
Happy New Year, everyone. Thanks, Ed. Just quickly, if there's a suggestion box, you know, water in a glass, maybe fire some bottles of water next year, but that's OK. Just, you know, right stuff.
OK.
I think, in general, if you look at our performance, our results came in, and we're very pleased with our results. Our results came in right in line with our plan, and I think it's important to understand a few months ago, we told everyone that our strategy, as we initiated our reset, was to focus on product, value, and experience. We felt that focus, going back to our core of what we stood for, was what was going to drive the reset for the company and put us back on our path to growth for the company, and with that, I think we went into Q4, and what we saw specifically on what worked on the experience part, I got to tell you, the team, overall, the team at Five Below leaned in. They did an outstanding job.
I look at where we were, the progress we made, and while we have a lot still to do, our service in the store was better. We invested labor in the stores to ensure that service was better. The team was energized, and as a result, I think our customer benefited, and we benefited. On the value side, we've always been a value retailer, an extreme value retailer, but we leaned in heavier, particularly around the price points of $1, $2, and $3. It was important for us, in addition to highlighting and focusing on price points of $5 and including some product $5 and beyond, that we amplify the value proposition at the $1, $2, and $3. With regard to product, no real news, because we've been talking about it. What works for Five Below is newness, trend, and value.
Where we were able to deliver that, we were very pleased with our results, indicating that the strategy we put in place on that focus is working, is beginning to work, but we still have a way to go. Within the product category, just to give you some examples, we looked at, for example, in the beauty category and gift sets, cozy, and particularly on the cozy section of our business, seasonal. We went into craft kits and construction kits across the entire gamut of product, where we were able to deliver the right items that would trend right at the right value. The customer responded. That, as an opportunity, and while our overall sales came in as planned, which was at the upper end of our guidance, I have to tell you, we're not satisfied with that. We think there's still an opportunity.
So where do we see an opportunity and kind of how might we address that? One thing that we saw, obviously, is, look, Five Below needs to be a gifting destination. A price point structure allows us to be a place that has universal appeal. And as we went into the holiday, clearly, what we've seen, and Kristy will touch on this later, that the shortest season, even when you look at 2019, does impact us. But putting that aside, I'm not happy with not only a negative comp, but where we are. I think the opportunity for us is to further amplify this strategy with the right items, key item intensification, help the customer through Q4, great items, buy them with conviction. We left some business, I believe, on the table, whether I'm allowed to say that or not allowed. Kristy will correct it.
We left some business on the table. Now, why didn't we buy more and should have bought? In some cases, I think when you look at a business that goes through a bit of a challenge, as I always did earlier in the year, I think the team made the right decisions. And as a company, we made the right decisions to adjust, to adjust our inventories, to make sure that we give ourselves position the company to impact change, but more importantly, to set us up right for the future. I don't believe Five will ever play the game of what are we doing short term. So it was important for us to plan for a great come out at the end of the season. As a result, we adjusted some of our inventories way back.
And as we all kind of get the gist of it, as we tried to chase, when we started seeing some of what was working, we weren't necessarily able to get all that we wanted of what we wanted. But that's OK. I think our inventory position will end well. I think the team knows what's working. And I believe that we have some opportunity for next year. I will tell you two quick things, and I'm probably running out of time. Product works, but I'm also learning that we've become the best-kept secret in America on the product side. So our voice to the customer, thank God we have Winnie. And hopefully, she'll touch on it. We need to amplify that voice. We go quiet. Great product in our stores that kind of you have to always come in to find out.
So we think we have an opportunity. And let me give you, and I'll close with a little example. The team got together. We challenged them. And we said, look, Five should be able to participate in all these seasons. So we all got together, put an event together for Black Friday, combining innovative marketing, a little fun and experience inside the store, great value. And we had a terrific performance. Am I allowed to say that?
Mm-hmm.
Good. We did really well for Black Friday weekend, proof to us that when you combine the product, the experience, and the value, it works. We are now seeing that when you amplify that message as we communicate with the consumer, I believe there's an even greater potential for the company.
Great. So maybe adding to this, Winnie, I wanted to say congratulations on joining Five Below. And I'm just curious any of your early observations that you might share around Five and holiday performance and what you noticed.
Absolutely. Absolutely. My first day of work was December 16. So I started holiday peak. And I was right in there with Tom. We spent a little bit of time at headquarters meeting folks. I spent a day at the DC to really understand how the product was flowing to the stores. And then the rest of the time was visiting stores. And it's a unique experience to be able to experience the brand at peak with the founder and what I saw with the customer, because I'm a day on the job. I don't know what I don't know, but I can see a customer's reaction. And the customer reaction when they walked in was surprise and delight. This is really where we come to life. And I know that the teams, all the way through from headquarters to the DC to the stores, were raring to go.
They needed to get the product on the floor. The maniacal focus on those last few days before the holiday was, first and foremost, in everybody's mind. And I saw the store staffing levels. And they were there to meet, greet, but most importantly, get the product in front of the customer. All of that was great. I would agree with Tom that my observation, even on December 16 and beyond, was we have a luxury problem. We ran out of some of the product. We could be more authoritative. We could buy more and go a bit deeper. So that's a great opportunity for us to pick up for next year. But just a tremendous learning in joining us in the stores for the first week on the job.
Must say, Winnie's pretty critical, too.
Share that with you?
So, Kristy, maybe I guess digging in a little bit to holiday and the cadence of sales. Tom had mentioned Black Friday started very well, but you were in line with guidance at the time. What did you see sort of post that? Did you see that strength in the final couple of weeks that we've heard from other retailers? Just any additional color that you provide?
Yeah, sure. I mean, as we had shared on our Q3 call, we were in line with our expectations coming into Black Friday, knowing at the time that we talked with you all that we were doing the Squish event, which was successful. We had lines out our doors again. We were excited to see that. The other thing we know is those last two weeks are not only critical to us, but also we go up against a lot of e-commerce and omnichannel retailers when we don't have as large of a presence. So I would say you have to bifurcate the last 14 days of the holiday. Those last seven days were great for us. I would say the first seven of that peak, 14 days, was in line with our plan, but softer. And again, it's until that holiday shipping cutoff.
That's when once that holiday shipping cutoff comes in, we really start to shine because we're brick and mortar. We're there for last-minute gifts, stocking stuffers, candy, things for the customer. And so that was pleasing to us. And when compared to last year, when compared to 2019, which we have used as our sister year, we were very pleased with the results.
So you are particularly impacted by the calendar, right, because of your business. I think in 2019, you mentioned that it was around 75 basis points a day. I think there was some question post-Q3 call around maybe an expectation of 500 basis points. Just now that you've had the opportunity to sort of see what happened, what do you think the calendar impact was in your business?
Yeah. I really think we were spot on with the 75 basis points per day, approximate. What we said in Q3 call was, and I think several of the analysts called this out, but the sequential cadence from Q3 to Q4 in 2019 was about 550 basis points of lost comp just from the there were six fewer days between 2018 and 2019. And so we had 550 basis points. We used some of that to make sure that as we were guiding for this year, we took that into consideration. And it worked for us. We looked at a whole bunch of other things as well. But I think once we go back and we analyze this year, it is about that 75 basis points. So when you think about Q3, we were up plus 0.6%.
We just shared with you that we were down 3.2% for the nine-week holiday. We're right in line with that expectation of down 75 for losing those five very critical peak shopping days.
Then a follow-up on the guidance. So comp is certainly close to the better end of the range. Sales, you've talked about at the upper half. So maybe a little bit on your expectation for January. Then you didn't change earnings guidance. So any additional thoughts around that?
Sure. First, from a sales perspective, -3.2% is in the upper half, right? We are trying to be a little bit more conservative. Just as we're guiding, we want to make sure you never know what happens in January. We do have a soft compare from last year. But the softer compare is in the first two weeks. We're in the middle of week two right now. So we have a week of a soft compare under our belt. The back half of the month does get a little bit tougher. So we want to make sure we're covered for anything unusual. We did have weather last year. We've had weather this year. We've seen days within the last couple of weeks with the weather that we've already had where we've closed up to 100 stores for a day.
Just being conservative and making sure that we're covered within what we're telling you from a sales perspective, I felt most comfortable saying upper half of the range for right now. From an EPS perspective on that guidance and keeping that full range open, we've talked a lot about shrink since I've been here for 18 months. We just kicked off last week counting over 1,000 stores. I don't expect to have any surprises there. I think that we have the benefit of two counts from January or three, actually, January, a small number in May and August, where we saw very consistent shrink results. Until we count those 1,000 or so stores, you know me, I don't want to go out there and say we're going to have a huge benefit from that.
I want to make sure I protect on the downside a little bit as well. So I felt it prudent to keep the guidance range where it was.
Great. So maybe just zooming out a little bit. Winnie, there's been quite a bit of excitement about you joining Five Below. Could you just maybe talk a little bit about why you chose this as the next chapter of your career?
Absolutely. I'm going to actually answer that question in two parts. First and foremost, I started shopping Five Below 10 years ago, and so I really see the business through the eyes of the customer, and I'm very close to that customer. I moved from Hong Kong to Chicago with a nine-year-old, and I was a single working mom, and we walked into this magical place called Five Below. We crossed the threshold. My daughter took off. I mean, she couldn't get through the store fast enough, and I started following her, and then I found my own path, and it was this great place where you could find so much good stuff. And guess what? You didn't have to break the bank, and so for me, that journey and we've been consistent shoppers. So it's been a decade now.
It's been a decade of really being in that environment and understanding it, and I think that the opportunity for us is to follow through on some of what Thomas said in terms of getting back to the basics and really keeping at the heart of what we deliver great product at great value with a great experience, and then on the professional front, it's pretty unique to join a company like Five Below with great fundamentals that is growing and has more room for growth, and so for me, that's super exciting. Any retailer, you want to sign up for that journey, so I'm just excited to be part of the crew and to be part of the journey and in terms of defining those next steps and how we do it well.
Great. Tom, you've been obviously very involved with the company, especially lately. How do you see Winnie and yourself working together? And then in terms of chief merchant, what's the expectation in terms of what happens there next?
Good question. By the way, when he speaks to growth and we spoke to our same store sales for the nine-week period, it's also important to note. I think we touched on it, but we were pleased with our new store performance as well because we have a lot of new stores. And we'll continue to have a lot of new stores, just to add that. I think if you look at and we touched on this before, the part I think in part a lot that impressed me and love about Winnie, by the way. I'll tell you one thing that stood out and which will kind of answer the question. In my first visit in the store, I kind of felt like Winnie knew the company, but really even knew the product and the people.
I think her ability to assimilate with the culture, her ability to connect with the people, but the ability to connect, and she is another one of these merchant junkies. And the great thing is she comes from two sides of the merchandising, the marketing. But she's just as inquisitive of the back end of the operation. So that kind of felt good for me. So how do you take all that? How do you take Ken Bull who's been with the company for almost 20 years and has probably the deepest level of knowledge over the entire business? And then you have a founder who's never really opinionated, but once in a while has maybe a point of view. I think it's actually easy. And I'll tell you why. I think we capitalize. My job is to be there to support both of them.
Together, as we put our strategy forth, set the strategy, and really be able to facilitate not just the transition, but really create this 1 plus 1 equals 3 between Winnie and Ken, with me being there as the person to kind of maybe assist as needed, but certainly be involved in the strategy. So I think it's actually we're sitting in a great position. And when I look at the combined and complementary skill sets of Winnie and Ken, I think the company is really in great position. I think everyone kind of brings up the question of merchandising and CMO because look, since day one, Five Below has made it its mission to always have a strong merchandising organization. And today, when you look at the organization, first of all, you have a couple of folks sitting up here.
Both, I will assure you, not only will be involved, but already involved in merchandising. God help our merchandising team. But we have, under Andy Klosterman's direction as SVP of merchandising by the way, his background was Dick's and Nike and American Eagle and so on and so forth. We also have seven DMMs, Kristy. Seven DMMs. I think six of those have been with the company for quite a while, anywhere between, I think, either seven or six to 15 years. So we have and we'll continue to invest. We feel very good about where we are with the merchandising team. We are looking. And if any of you are interested, the best, most amazing marketing position in America is open. And that's the head of marketing for Five Below. So that we need to fill.
That is, I know for Winnie and I, a very important position that we need to fill.
Great. Maybe what might be our final question, we'll see. Back to you, Winnie. I know you only started as CEO, so maybe not totally fair. But how do you think about the opportunities at the company as we look at 2025 and then even beyond?
Absolutely. I spoke a little bit about this. I do think we started this reset process in July of last year in terms of just getting back to basics, getting back to the core value proposition of what we offer our customers, right? Great product that's trend right, great price value, and a great experience. We're in the midst of completing and going through and making sure we deliver that every day. The second piece of this is Tom's talked about this. You really have to work hard if you don't cross a threshold to know what we offer. And I've worked at kind of the intersection between marketing, merchandising, and omnichannel my entire career. And so bringing some of that outside-in perspective to Five Below and how we could optimize that for the customer is huge. In today's day and age, I was just watching something mentioned to Tom.
I'm like, did you know there was a modeling clay thing happening? TikTok. And really understanding, let's put TikTok, whether they're here, whether they're not, but social media and this notion that people are finding out about product and trends and ideas. And they're building community, connecting that experience between social, what we offer in terms of our app, all the way through to the store, and having a through line and a story that the customer can follow, and that we can also distort the messaging around is a big opportunity. And we're so lucky because we've done all of this without really having to really push that. And now we can push that. And the last thing I'll say about omnichannel is just we've got this amazing network of 1,750 stores.
And just connecting that with, again, how customers interact with the product online and taking advantage of what you could do in terms of the online presence as well as the stores. So those are some of the things that we're going to be looking at. A big piece of it for me is maintaining this amazing culture that we've got and to keep that focus on great newness. Newness is what sells at Five Below. And we need to do it in the most focused way so that the customer gets it right off the bat.
Excellent. Well, I think that's it. We're out of time. But thank you again for participating, and we look forward to seeing a recovery continue in 2025.
Thanks, everyone.
Thank you.
Thank you, Ed.
Thank you, Ed.
Thanks, everyone.