Citi Trends Inc - Annual Report: 2020 (Form 10-K)

 

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

☒   Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

For the fiscal year ended February 1, 2020

 

Or

 

☐   Transition Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

For the transition period from                to                

 

Commission File Number: 000-51315

 

CITI TRENDS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code   (912) 236-1561

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.   Yes  ☐    No   ☒

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.   Yes  ☐    No   ☒

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.   Yes   ☒    No  ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).   Yes   ☒    No  ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,”  “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial account standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).   Yes  ☐    No  ☒

 

State the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold, or the average bid and asked price of such common equity, as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter: $166,153,095 as of August 3, 2019.

 

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date: Common Stock, par value $.01 per share, 10,841,564 shares outstanding as of March 31, 2020.

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

 

Part III incorporates information from the registrant’s definitive proxy statement, to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the close of the registrant’s fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K, with respect to the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on June 30, 2020.

 

 

 

FORM 10-K REPORT INDEX

 

Table of Contents

 

 

 

PART I

 

Some statements in, or incorporated by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Report”) of Citi Trends, Inc. (“we,” “us,” or the “Company”) may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements other than historical facts contained in this Report, including statements regarding our future financial position, business policy and plans, objectives and expectations of management for future operations and capital allocation expectations, are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “anticipate,” “project,” “plan,” “expect,” “estimate,” “objective,” “forecast,” “goal,” “intend,” “could,” “will likely result,” or “will continue” and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such language.  We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events, including, among other things: potential risks and uncertainties relating to the ultimate geographic spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the severity of the disease, the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak, actions that may be taken by governmental authorities to contain the COVID-19 outbreak or to treat its impact, the potential negative impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy and foreign sourcing, the impacts of COVID-19 on the Company's financial condition, business operation and liquidity, including the reopening of the Company’s retail stores and distribution facilities, our ability to anticipate and respond to fashion trends, competition in our markets, consumer spending patterns, general economic conditions, actions of our competitors or anchor tenants in the strip shopping centers where our stores are located, anticipated fluctuations in our operating results and expected cash position.

 

These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in Item 1A. Risk Factors and elsewhere in this Report and the other documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including our reports on Form 8-K and Form 10-Q, and any amendments thereto. Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of such statements. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States and the rules and regulations of the SEC, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this Report, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise.

 

Information is provided herein with respect to our operations related to our fiscal years ended on February 1, 2020 (“fiscal 2019”), February 2, 2019 (“fiscal 2018”) and February 3, 2018 (“fiscal 2017”).

 

ITEM 1.BUSINESS

 

Overview and History

 

We are a value-priced retailer of fashion apparel,  accessories and home goods for the entire family.  Our merchandise offerings are designed to appeal to the fashion preferences of value-conscious consumers, particularly African-Americans.  Our goal is to provide merchandise at discounts of 20% to 70% compared to department and specialty stores’ regular prices. Our stores average approximately 11,000 square feet of selling space and are typically located in neighborhood shopping centers that are convenient to low and moderate income customers.  As of February 1, 2020, we operated 571 stores in both urban and rural markets in 33 states.

 

Our predecessor, Allied Department Stores, was founded in 1946 and grew into a chain of family apparel stores operating in the Southeast. In 1999, the Company, then consisting of 85 stores, was acquired by a private equity firm. Following this acquisition, management rebranded the stores to “Citi Trends” and implemented several strategies to focus on the growing urban fashion market and improve our operating and financial performance. After the successful implementation of these strategies and the successful growth of our chain from 85 stores to 212 stores, we completed an initial public offering of our common stock on May 18, 2005.

 

We are a Delaware corporation, and our executive offices are located at 104 Coleman Boulevard, Savannah, Georgia 31408 and our telephone number is (912) 236-1561. Our Internet address is http://www.cititrends.com. The reference to our web site address in this Report does not constitute the incorporation by reference of the information contained at the web site into this Report. We make available, free of charge through publication on our web site, copies of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after we have filed such materials with, or furnished such materials to, the SEC. In addition, you may read and print any materials we file with the SEC on the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov.

 

Company Strengths and Strategies

 

Our goal is to be the leading value-priced retailer of fashion apparel, accessories and home goods for the African-American families we currently serve as our primary target market.  We strive to provide our customers with a place to shop that is fashionable, fresh, friendly, fair and fun. We believe the following business strengths differentiate us from our competitors and are important to our success:

 

Focus on Fashionable Mix. We focus our merchandise on fashionable apparel that we believe appeals to our core customers. We do not attempt to dictate trends, but rather devote considerable effort to identifying emerging trends and ensuring that our apparel assortment is considered timely and fashionable for our target customer. Our merchandising staff tests new emerging merchandise trends before reordering and actively manages the mix of basic, fashion, trend and branded products in the stores to keep our offering fresh and minimize markdowns.

 

Superior Value Proposition. As a value-priced retailer, we seek to offer top quality, fashionable merchandise at compelling prices in relation to department and specialty stores. We offer branded product at tremendous value that appeals to our core customer.

 

Merchandise Mix that Appeals to the Entire Family. We merchandise our stores to create a destination environment capable of meeting the fashion needs of the entire value-conscious family. Each store offers a wide variety of products for men,  women and children, as well as accessories and home goods. Our stores feature sportswear, dresses, outerwear, footwear, intimate apparel, accessories, scrubs, beauty and home. We believe that the breadth of our merchandise distinguishes our stores from many competitors that offer similar apparel primarily for women, and reduces our exposure to fashion trends and demand cycles in any single category.

 

Strong and Flexible Sourcing Relationships. We maintain strong sourcing relationships with a large group of suppliers. We have purchased merchandise from approximately 1,700 vendors in the past 12 months. Purchasing is controlled by a buying team located in New York, New York. We purchase merchandise through planned programs with vendors at reduced prices and opportunistically through close-outs, with the majority of our merchandise purchased for the current season and a lesser quantity held for sale in future seasons. To foster vendor relationships, we pay vendors promptly and do not ask for typical retail concessions, such as promotional and markdown allowances.

 

Attractive Fashion Presentation in a Friendly and Fun Environment. We seek to provide a fashion-focused shopping environment that is similar to a specialty apparel retailer, rather than a typical off-price store. Products are prominently displayed by style, rather than by size, on dedicated, four-way fixtures featuring multiple sizes and styles.  The remaining merchandise is arranged on hanging racks.  The stores are carpeted and well-lit, with most featuring a sound system that plays music appropriate for our target customer throughout the store.  Our stores are neat, orderly and clean, offering a friendly and fun environment. 

 

Friendly and Helpful Store Associates.  Our store associates are trained to provide friendly and helpful customer service to deliver a positive shopping experience.  Many of our store associates live in the neighborhoods where our stores are located and frequently shop our stores themselves.  As a result, our store associates cultivate a unique culture at our stores that enables a high level of connectivity with our customers.  We strive to make our stores a destination where everyone is welcome, and our store associates foster that vision every day through enriched customer engagement.

 

Cost-Effective Store Locations. We locate stores in high traffic strip shopping centers that are convenient to low and moderate income neighborhoods. We generally utilize previously occupied store sites which enables us to obtain attractive rents. Similarly, advertising expenses are low as we do not rely on promotion-driven sales but rather, we seek to build our reputation for value through everyday low prices. At the same time, from an investment perspective, we seek to design stores that are inviting and easy to shop, while limiting startup and fixturing costs.

 

Product Merchandising and Pricing

 

Products. Our merchandising strategy is to offer fresh and fashionable apparel,  accessories and home goods at attractive prices for the entire value-conscious family. We seek to maintain a diverse assortment of first quality, in-season merchandise that appeals to the distinctive tastes and preferences of our core customers. Approximately 20% of our net sales in fiscal 2019 were represented by nationally recognized brands. We also offer a wide variety of products from less recognized brands and a lesser amount representing private label products under our proprietary brands.

 

Our merchandise includes apparel, accessories and home. Within apparel, we offer fashion sportswear for men, women and children, including offerings for newborns, infants, toddlers, boys and girls. Accessories include handbags, jewelry, footwear, belts, intimate apparel, scrubs and sleepwear.  Home includes décor and functional bedroom, bathroom and kitchen products, as well as beauty and toys.

 

The following table sets forth the merchandise assortment by classification as a percentage of net sales for fiscal 2019,  2018 and 2017.

 

 

Pricing. We purchase our merchandise at attractive prices and mark prices up less than department or specialty stores. We seek to provide nationally recognized brands at prices that are 20% to 70% below regular retail prices available in department stores and specialty stores.  Further, we consider the price-to-value relationships of our non-branded products to be exceptionally strong. Both branded and non-branded offerings validate our fashion positioning and value to our customers. We review each department in our stores at least monthly for possible markdowns based on sales rates and fashion seasons to promote faster turnover of inventory and to accelerate the flow of current merchandise. 

 

Sourcing and Allocation

 

The merchandising department oversees the sourcing, planning and allocation of merchandise to our stores, which allows us to utilize volume purchase discounts and maintain control over our inventory. We source our merchandise from approximately 1,700 vendors, consisting of domestic manufacturers and importers. Our merchandising department consists of a buying team and a planning and allocation team.

 

The buyers on our buying team have, on average, 12 years of experience in the retail business and have developed long-standing relationships with many of our vendors, including those controlling the distribution of branded apparel. Our buyers, who are based in New York, travel regularly to the major United States markets, visiting major manufacturers and attending national and regional trade shows.

 

Our buyers purchase merchandise in styles, sizes and quantities to meet inventory levels developed by the planning staff. The buying staff utilizes several purchasing techniques that enable us to offer to customers branded and non-branded fashion merchandise at everyday low prices. The majority of the nationally recognized branded products we sell are purchased in-season, and we generally purchase later in the merchandising buying cycle than department and specialty stores. This allows us to take advantage of imbalances between retailers’ demands for specific merchandise and manufacturers’ supply of that merchandise. We also purchase merchandise from some vendors in advance of the selling season at reduced prices and purchase merchandise on an opportunistic basis near the end of the selling season, which we then store in our distribution centers for sale three to nine months later. Where possible, we seek to purchase items based on style or color in limited quantities on a test basis with the right to reorder as needed. Finally, we purchase private brand merchandise that we source to our specifications.

 

We allocate merchandise across our store base according to sales and merchandise plans that are created by our planning and allocation teams. The merchandising staff utilizes a centralized management system to monitor merchandise purchasing, planning and allocation in order to maximize inventory turnover, identify and respond to changing product demands and determine the timing of markdowns to our merchandise. A store-level planning system assists our team in their efforts to allocate merchandise to individual stores based on sales performance and planned inventory levels.  The buyers also regularly review the age and performance of the merchandise and manage both the reordering and clearance processes. In addition, the merchandising team communicates with regional, district and store managers to ascertain regional and store-level conditions and to better ensure that our product mix meets our consumers’ demands in terms of quality, fashion, price and overall value.

 

We accept payment from our customers for merchandise at time of sale. Payments are made to us by cash, check, Visa™, MasterCard™, American Express™, or Discover™. We do not extend credit terms to our customers; however, we do offer a layaway service.

 

Seasonality

 

The nature of our business is seasonal. Historically, sales in the first and fourth quarters have been higher than sales achieved in the second and third quarters of the fiscal year. Expenses and, to a greater extent, operating income, vary by quarter. Results of a period shorter than a full year may not be indicative of results expected for the entire year. Furthermore, the seasonal nature of our business may affect comparisons between periods.

 

Store Operations

 

Store Format. The average selling space of our 571 stores is approximately 11,000 square feet, which allows us the space and flexibility to departmentalize our stores and provide directed traffic patterns. We arrange most of our stores in a racetrack format with ladies’ sportswear in the center of each store and complementary categories adjacent to those items. Men’s and boy’s apparel and footwear are displayed on one side of the store, while dresses, ladies’ footwear and accessories are displayed on the other side. Merchandise for infants, toddlers, boys and girls, as well as home goods, are displayed along the back of the store. Impulse items, such as jewelry, beauty, sunglasses and consumables are featured near the checkout area. Products from nationally recognized brands and other current fashion styles are prominently displayed on four-way racks at the front of each department. The remaining merchandise is displayed on hanging racks and table displays. Large hanging signs identify each category location. The unobstructed floor plan allows the customer to see virtually all of the different product areas from the store entrance and provides us the flexibility to easily expand and contract departments in response to customer demand, seasonality and merchandise availability. Virtually all of our inventory is displayed on the selling floor.  Our mission is to curate the best product at value prices for our core customers.  We provide them a place to shop that is fashionable, fresh, friendly, fair and fun.  A critical component of our success is to maintain an environment that is neat, clean and organized, where everyone is welcome.

 

Store Management. Store operations are managed by our Senior Vice President of Store Operations, four regional vice presidents and 52 district managers, each of whom manages eight to fifteen stores. The typical store is staffed with a store manager, two or three assistant managers and seven to eight part-time sales associates, all of whom rotate work days on a shift basis. Store managers and assistant store managers participate in a bonus program based on achieving predetermined levels of sales and inventory shrinkage. District managers participate in bonus programs based on achieving targeted levels of sales, profits, inventory shrinkage and payroll costs. Regional Vice Presidents participate in a bonus program based partly on a roll-up of the district managers’ bonuses and partly on the Company’s profit performance in relation to budget. Sales associates are compensated on an hourly basis with incentives. Moreover, we recognize individual performance through internal promotions and provide opportunities for career advancement.

 

We place significant emphasis on loss prevention in order to control inventory shrinkage. Initiatives include electronic tags on many of our products, training and education of store personnel on loss prevention issues, digital video camera systems, alarm systems and motion detectors in the stores. We also visually monitor the stores throughout the day using sophisticated camera systems, capture extensive point-of-sale data and maintain systems that monitor returns, voids and employee sales, and produce trend and exception reports to assist in identifying shrinkage issues. We also maintain an independent, third party administered, toll-free line for reporting shrinkage concerns and any other employee concerns.

 

Employee Training. Our employees are critical to achieving our goals, and we strive to hire employees with high energy levels and motivation. We have well-established store operating policies and procedures and an extensive 30-day in-store training program for new store managers and assistant managers. Sales associates also participate in a 14-day customer service and store procedures training program, which is designed to enable them to assist customers in a friendly and helpful manner.

 

Layaway Program. We offer a layaway program that allows customers to purchase merchandise by initially paying a 20% deposit and a $2 service charge, although at various times, we reduce the deposit requirement to 10% and waive the service charge in connection with promotional events. The customer then makes additional payments every two weeks and has 60 days to complete the purchase. If the purchase is not completed, the customer receives a Citi Trends gift card for amounts paid less a re-stocking and layaway service fee.

 

Site Selection. Cost-effective store locations are an important part of our store profitability model. Accordingly, we look for second and third use store locations that offer attractive rents, but also meet our demographic and economic criteria. We have a dedicated real estate management team responsible for new store site selection. In selecting a location, we target both major metropolitan and rural markets. Demographic criteria used in site selection include concentrations of our core consumers. In addition, we require convenient site accessibility, as well as strong co-tenants, such as food stores, dollar stores and rent-to-own stores.  We will be the leading value-priced retailer within the neighborhoods we proudly serve.  We will be an integral part of our customers’ community by providing apparel, accessories, home furnishings and career opportunities.

 

Shortly after we sign a new store lease and complete the necessary leasehold improvements to the building, we prepare the store over a three to four week period by installing fixtures, signs, dressing rooms, checkout counters and cash register systems and merchandising the initial inventory.

 

Advertising and Marketing

 

Our marketing goals are to build the “Citi Trends” brand, promote customers’ association of the “Citi Trends” brand with value, quality, fashion and everyday low prices, and drive traffic into our stores. We generally focus our advertising efforts during the first quarter

(Spring/Easter), back-to-school and Christmas through the use of hip-hop radio stations, social media and influencer marketing.  In addition, we promote fashion trends and exciting deals in our window signage and through in-store announcements.  Our Facebook page has nearly 600,000 followers, and our Instagram account has more than 80,000 followers.  We use our social media channels to highlight our brand and engage our customers with compelling digital content on a regular basis.  We also maintain a website at http://www.cititrends.com and a mobile app, both of which advertise our latest in-store products and provide information about our business, including a store locator.

 

Distribution

 

All merchandise sold in our stores is shipped directly from our distribution centers in Darlington, South Carolina and Roland, Oklahoma, utilizing various express package distributors. Our stores receive multiple shipments of merchandise each week from our distribution centers. The Darlington distribution center has 550,000 square feet of space, while the Roland distribution center has 565,000 square feet of space.

 

We engaged a consulting firm to help us identify more efficient and less costly distribution alternatives.  We focused on leveraging the consultant’s relationships with transportation service providers, expanding the number of in-bound trucking options, and evaluating the current out-bound to store model.  This project began in the first quarter of 2019 and has  continued into 2020. 

 

Information Technology and Systems

 

We have information systems in place to support our core business functions, using a combination of industry-standard third party products and internally developed applications.  These systems support purchase order management, price and markdown management, merchandise planning and allocation, general ledger, accounts payable, sales audit, loss prevention and supply chain functions. 

 

Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, we were embarking on a systems transformation project with a leading consultant to provide a strategic roadmap for the future of our information systems.  However, due to the negative economic effects of COVID-19, we have delayed this project.  Our top priorities for this project were to reinvent and dramatically improve our planning and allocation systems, as well as provide robust analytical capabilities that extend visibility to granular levels of the business.  We understand the competitive advantage data provides and will strive to leverage newer technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning as enablers for executing business operations.  We will revisit next steps for this project later in 2020. 

 

Aligned with our systems transformation project, we were also engaged in a point-of-sale replacement project which included new hardware, software and payment systems for our stores.  The project was expected to improve our store operational processes, increase transactional efficiencies and provide enhanced visibility to the business.  As an organization focused on being fashionable, friendly, fresh, fair and fun, we understand that our customer experience is paramount to our success and a new point-of-sale solution will provide the foundation to enhance our customer engagement journey.  This project has also been temporarily suspended due to the uncertainty stemming from COVID-19.        

 

Growth Strategy

 

Drive Comparable Store Sales Growth.  We have a number of strategies in place that are focused on continuing to increase our comparable store sales, including the following:

 

Increase Store Base.  We believe that our store potential for the existing concept is up to 800 stores.  This concept, which has historically done well in predominantly African-American markets, has proven to be portable across much of the country.  In fact, of the 20 Citi Trends stores with the highest level of profit, 14 different metropolitan statistical areas are represented.  Also, only six of our stores were not profitable on a four-wall basis in fiscal 2019.    

We opened 16 new stores in fiscal 2019.  We opened three new stores in fiscal 2020 before suspending our new store initiatives due to the negative economic effects of COVID-19.

 

Competition

 

The markets we serve are highly competitive. The principal methods of competition in the retail business are fashion, assortment, pricing and presentation. We believe we have a competitive advantage in our offering of fashionable merchandise at everyday low prices. We compete against a diverse group of retailers, including national off-price retailers, mass merchants, smaller specialty retailers and dollar stores. The off-price retail companies with which we compete include TJX Companies, Inc. (“TJX Companies”), Ross Stores, Inc. (“Ross Stores”), The Cato Corporation (“Cato”), and Burlington Stores, Inc. (“Burlington”).  In particular, Ross Stores’ “dd’s DISCOUNTS” stores, and Cato’s “It’s Fashion Metro” stores target lower and moderate income consumers. We believe our strategy of appealing to African-American consumers allows us to compete successfully with these retailers. We also believe we offer a more inviting store format than the traditional off-price retailers, including our use of carpeted floors and more prominently displayed brands. In addition, we compete with a group of smaller specialty retailers that sell only women’s products, such as Rainbow, as well as value-oriented retailers, such as Forman Mills and Variety Wholesalers. Our mass merchant competitors include Wal-Mart, Target and Kohl’s. These chains do not focus on fashion apparel and, within their apparel offering, lack the specialized focus on fashionable mix that appeals to our core customers. Similarly, while some of the dollar store chains offer apparel, they typically offer a more limited selection focused on basic apparel needs. As a result, we believe there is significant demand for a value-priced retailer that addresses the market of low and moderate income consumers generally and, particularly, African-American and other consumers who seek extreme value for fashion apparel, accessories and home goods. See Item 1A. Risk Factors in this Report for additional information regarding competition in our markets.

 

Intellectual Property

 

We regard our trademarks and service marks as having significant value and as being important to our marketing efforts. We have registered “Citi Trends” as a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on the Principal Register for retail department store services. We have also registered the following trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on the Principal Register for various apparel: “Citi Steps,” “Citi Trends Fashion for Less,” “Lil Ms Hollywood,” “Red Ape,” and “Vintage Harlem.” Our policy is to pursue registration of our marks and to oppose vigorously infringement of our marks.

 

Employees

 

As of February 1, 2020, we had approximately 3,000 full-time and approximately 2,700 part-time employees. Of these employees, approximately 4,700 are employed in our stores and the remainder are employed in our distribution centers, buying offices and corporate office. We are not a party to any collective bargaining agreements, and none of our employees are represented by a labor union.

 

ITEM 1A.RISK FACTORS

 

You should carefully consider the following risk factors, together with the other information contained or incorporated by reference into this Report. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face.  Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we deem to be currently immaterial also may impair our business operations. The occurrence of any of the following risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Our financial and operating performance may be materially and adversely affected by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”).

 

The recent outbreak of COVID-19 in the U.S. has had an unfavorable impact on our business operations. Mandatory closures of businesses imposed by the federal, state and local governments to control the spread of the virus is disrupting the operations of our management, business and finance teams. In response to COVID-19, the Company temporarily closed all of its retail stores and distribution facilities as of March 20, 2020 and temporarily closed its corporate and buying offices with associates working remotely where possible. We cannot foresee whether the outbreak of COVID-19 will be effectively contained, nor can we predict the severity and duration of its impact on our business and our consolidated financial results. The prolonged closure of some or all of our retail stores and distribution facilities, disruptions in our supply chain and with our transportation providers, the slowdown in consumer spending and other factors resulting from the pandemic are expected to have an adverse impact on the financial condition, results of operations and liquidity of the Company in fiscal 2020.  The extent to which COVID-19 will impact our business and our consolidated financial results will depend on future developments which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted.

 

Our success depends on our ability to anticipate, identify and respond rapidly to changes in consumers’ fashion tastes, and our failure to adequately evaluate fashion trends could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

The apparel industry in general and our core customer market in particular are subject to rapidly evolving fashion trends and shifting consumer demands. Accordingly, our success is heavily dependent on our ability to anticipate, identify and capitalize on emerging fashion trends, including products, styles and materials that will appeal to our target consumers. A failure on our part to anticipate, identify or react appropriately and timely to changes in styles, trends, brand preferences or desired image preferences is likely to lead to lower demand for our merchandise, which could cause, among other things, sales declines, excess inventories and higher markdowns.

 

If we are unsuccessful in competing with our retail apparel competitors, our market share could decline or our growth could be impaired and, as a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be negatively impacted.

 

The retail apparel and home fashion businesses are highly competitive with few barriers to entry. We compete against a diverse group of retailers, including national off-price apparel chains such as TJX Companies, Ross Stores, Cato, and Burlington; mass merchants such as Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart; smaller discount retail chains that sell only women’s products, such as Rainbow; and general merchandise discount stores and dollar stores, which offer a variety of products, including apparel, home fashions and other merchandise we sell, for the value-conscious consumer. We also compete against local off-price and specialty retail stores, regional retail chains, traditional department stores, web-based retail stores and other direct retailers.

 

The level of competition we face from these retailers varies depending on the product segment, as many of our competitors do not offer apparel for the entire family. Our greatest competition is generally in women’s apparel. Many of our competitors are larger than we are and have substantially greater resources than we do and, as a result, may be able to adapt better to changing market conditions, exploit new opportunities and exert greater pricing pressures on suppliers than we can. Many of these retailers have better name recognition among consumers than we do and purchase significantly more merchandise from vendors. These retailers may be able to purchase merchandise that we cannot purchase because of their name recognition and relationships with suppliers, or they may be able to purchase merchandise with better pricing concessions than we can. Our local and regional competitors have extensive knowledge of the consumer base and may be able to garner more loyalty from customers than we can. If the consumer base we serve is satisfied with the selection, quality and price of our competitors’ products, consumers may decide not to shop in our stores. Additionally, if our existing competitors or other retailers decide to focus more on our core customers, we may have greater difficulty in competing effectively.  As a result of this competition, we may experience pricing pressures, increased marketing expenditures, increased costs to open new stores, as well as loss of market share, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Our ability to attract consumers to our stores depends on the success of the strip shopping centers where our stores are located.

 

We locate our stores primarily in strip shopping centers where we believe our consumers and potential consumers shop. The success of an individual store can depend on favorable placement within a given strip shopping center and from the volume of traffic generated by the other destination retailers and the anchor stores in the strip shopping centers where our stores are located. We cannot control the development of alternative shopping destinations near our existing stores or the availability or cost of real estate within existing or new shopping destinations. If our store locations fail to attract sufficient consumer traffic or we are unable to locate replacement locations on terms acceptable to us, our business could suffer. If one or more of the destination retailers or anchor stores located in the strip shopping centers where our stores are located close or leave, or if there is significant deterioration of the surrounding areas in which our stores are located, our business may be adversely affected.

 

We may not be able to sustain our growth plans or successfully implement our long-term strategic goals.

 

Our growth strategy includes successfully opening and operating new stores and expanding our value-priced model within our current markets and into new geographic regions, as well as shifting our merchandise mix more towards non-apparel merchandise and potentially branching out into some new store concepts. There are significant risks associated with our ability to continue to expand successfully and manage the implementation of this growth effectively. If any aspect of our expansion strategy does not achieve the success we expect, in whole or in part, we may fail to meet our financial performance expectations, slow our planned growth or close stores or operations. The success of opening new stores is dependent upon, among other things, the current retail environment, the identification of suitable markets and the availability of real estate that meets our criteria for traffic, square footage, co-tenancies, lease economics, demographics, and other factors, the negotiation of acceptable lease terms, construction costs, the hiring, training and retention of competent sales personnel, and the effective management of inventory to meet the needs of new and existing stores on a timely basis. We may not be able to execute our growth strategies successfully, on a timely basis, or at all.  The extent of the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and

financial results could also impact our growth plans and long-term strategic goals.  If we fail to implement these strategies successfully, or if these strategies do not yield the desired outcomes, our financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected.

 

We could experience a reduction in sales if we are unable to fulfill our current and future merchandising needs.

 

We depend on our suppliers for the continued availability and satisfactory quality of our merchandise. Most of our suppliers could discontinue selling to us at any time. Additionally, if the manufacturers or other owners of brands or trademarks terminate the license agreements under which some of our suppliers sell our products, we may be unable to obtain replacement merchandise of comparable fashion appeal or quality, in the same quantities or at the same prices. In addition, a number of our suppliers are smaller, less capitalized companies and are more likely to be impacted by unfavorable general economic and market conditions, including economic downturns caused by natural disasters, acts of terror, or public health pandemics (including COVID-19), than larger and better capitalized companies. These smaller suppliers may not have sufficient liquidity during economic downturns to properly fund their businesses, and their ability to supply their products to us could be negatively impacted. If we lose the services of one or more of our significant suppliers or one or more of them fail to meet our merchandising needs, we may be unable to timely or adequately replace the merchandise we currently source with merchandise provided elsewhere, which could negatively impact our sales and results of operations.

 

Failure to properly manage and allocate our inventory could have an adverse effect on our business, sales, margins, financial condition, and results of operations.

 

In order to better serve our customers and maximize sales, we must properly execute our inventory management strategies by appropriately allocating merchandise among our stores, timely and efficiently distributing inventory to such locations, maintaining an appropriate mix and level of inventory in such locations, appropriately changing the allocation of floor space of stores among product categories to respond to customer demand, and effectively managing pricing and markdowns, and there is no assurance we will be able to do so.  In addition, as we implement new inventory allocation initiatives, there could be disruptions in inventory flow and placement.  Failure to effectively execute our opportunistic inventory buying and inventory management strategies could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

If we are unable to provide frequent replenishment of fresh, quality, attractively priced merchandise in our stores, it could adversely affect traffic to our stores as well as our sales and margins. We base our purchases of inventory, in part, on our sales forecasts. If our sales forecasts do not match customer demand, we may experience higher inventory levels and need to markdown excess or slow-moving inventory, leading to decreased profit margins, or we may have insufficient inventory to meet customer demand, leading to lost sales, either of which could adversely affect our financial performance. We need to purchase inventory sufficiently below conventional retail to maintain our pricing differential to regular department and specialty store prices, and to attract customers and sustain our margins, which we may not achieve at various times and which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Our sales could decline as a result of general economic and other factors outside of our control, such as changes in consumer spending patterns and declines in employment levels.

 

Downturns, or the expectation of a downturn, in general economic conditions, including the effects of unemployment levels, salaries and wage rates, interest rates, levels of consumer debt, inflation in food and energy prices, taxation (including delays in the distribution of tax refunds), government stimulus, consumer confidence, and other macroeconomic factors, could adversely affect consumer spending patterns, our sales and our results of operations. Consumer confidence may also be affected by domestic and international political unrest, acts of war or terrorism, natural disasters, public health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic, or other significant events outside of our control, any of which could lead to a decrease in spending by consumers. Because apparel generally is a discretionary purchase, declines in consumer spending patterns may have a more negative effect on apparel retailers than some other retailers. In addition, since many of our stores are located in the southeastern United States, our operations are more susceptible to regional factors than the operations of our more geographically diversified competitors. Therefore, any adverse economic conditions that have a disproportionate effect on the southeastern United States could have a greater negative effect on our sales and results of operations than on retailers with a more geographically diversified store base.

 

We depend upon strong cash flows from our operations to supply capital to fund our operations, growth, stock repurchases and dividends and interest and debt repayment.

 

Our business depends upon our operations to continue to generate strong cash flow to supply capital to support our general operating activities, to fund our growth and our return of cash to stockholders through our stock repurchase programs and dividends, and to pay our interest and debt repayments. For example, as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we temporarily closed our stores beginning in March 2020. We also suspended both our share repurchase program and the payment of our quarterly cash dividends. Our inability to continue to generate sufficient cash flows to support these activities could adversely affect our growth plans, capital expenditures, operating expenses and financial performance, including our earnings per share. Changes in the capital and credit markets, including market disruptions, limited liquidity, and interest rate fluctuations may increase the cost of financing or restrict our access to these potential sources of liquidity. Our continued access to these liquidity sources on favorable terms depends on multiple factors, including our operating performance and maintaining strong credit ratings. In March 2020, we borrowed $43.7 million from our revolving credit facility to add to our cash balances in order to provide enhanced financial flexibility due to uncertain market conditions arising from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. If our access to capital is restricted or our borrowing costs increase, our operations and financial condition could be adversely impacted.

 

We do not sell our products through the internet. As the retail industry experiences an increase in online sales, our sales could be adversely affected.

 

The retail landscape is changing with consumers’ shopping habits shifting away from the traditional brick-and-mortar stores to online retailers. Internet sales have been obtaining an increasing percentage of retail sales over the past few years and this trend is expected to continue. Although we have tested the sale of products through the internet, we no longer have any items available on our company’s website.  The continued growth of online sales could have a negative impact on our sales, as our customers may decide to make purchases through online retailers.

 

Adverse trade restrictions may disrupt our supply of merchandise. We also face various risks because much of our merchandise is imported from abroad.

 

We do not own or operate any manufacturing or production facilities. We purchase the products we sell directly from approximately 1,700 vendors, and a substantial portion of this merchandise is manufactured outside of the United States and imported by our vendors from countries such as China and other areas of the Far East. The countries in which our merchandise currently is manufactured or may be manufactured in the future could become subject to new trade restrictions imposed by the United States or other foreign governments. There is increased uncertainty with respect to trade relations between the United States and other countries, especially China. Trade restrictions, including increased customs restrictions and tariffs or quotas against apparel or home items, as well as United States or foreign labor strikes, work stoppages or boycotts, could increase the cost or reduce the supply or impede the timely delivery of merchandise available to us and have an adverse effect on our business. In addition, our merchandise supply could be impacted if our vendors’ imports become subject to existing or future duties and quotas, or if our vendors face increased competition from other companies for production facilities, import quota capacity and shipping capacity.

 

We also face a variety of other risks generally associated with relying on vendors that do business in foreign markets and import merchandise from abroad, such as:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We rely on numerous third parties in the supply chain to produce and deliver the products that we sell, and our business may be negatively impacted by their failure to comply with applicable law.

 

Merchandise we sell in our stores is subject to regulatory standards set by various governmental authorities with respect to quality and safety. Regulations in this area may change from time to time. We rely on numerous third parties to supply quality merchandise that complies with applicable product safety laws and other applicable laws, but they may not comply with their obligations to do so. Violations of law by our importers, suppliers, manufacturers or distributors could result in delays in shipments and receipt of goods or damage our reputation, thus causing our sales to decline. Although our arrangements with our vendors frequently provide for indemnification for product liabilities, the vendors may fail to honor those obligations to an extent we consider sufficient or at all. Issues with the quality and safety of merchandise we sell in our stores, regardless of our fault, or customer concerns about such issues, could result in damage to our reputation, lost sales, uninsured product liability claims or losses, merchandise recalls, increased costs, and regulatory, civil or criminal fines or penalties, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial results. Further, we are susceptible to the receipt of counterfeit brands, infringing products or unlicensed goods. We could incur liability with manufacturers or other owners of the brands or trademarked products if we receive and sell counterfeit brands, infringing products or unlicensed goods, even inadvertently, and, therefore, it is important that we establish relationships with reputable vendors to reduce the risk that we may inadvertently receive counterfeit brands, infringing products or unlicensed goods. Although we are careful in selecting our vendors, we may receive products that we are prohibited from selling or incur liability for selling counterfeit brands, infringing products or unlicensed goods, which could adversely impact our results of operations.

 

A significant disruption to our distribution process or southeastern retail locations could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Our ability to distribute our merchandise to our store locations in a timely manner is essential to the efficient and profitable operation of our business. We have distribution centers located in Darlington, South Carolina and Roland, Oklahoma. Any natural disaster or other disruption to the operation of either of these facilities due to fire, accidents, public health emergency such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, weather conditions or any other cause could damage a significant portion of our inventory, impair our ability to stock our stores adequately and may result in increased supply chain costs or lost sales.

 

In addition, the southeastern United States, where the Darlington distribution center and many of our stores are located, is vulnerable to significant damage or destruction from hurricanes and tropical storms. Although we maintain insurance on our stores and other facilities, the economic effects of a natural disaster that affects our distribution centers and/or a significant number of our stores could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

We rely upon third-party land-based and air freight carriers for merchandise shipments to our distribution centers and our retail stores. Accordingly, we are subject to the risks, including labor disputes, union organizing activity, inclement weather, public health emergencies, and increased transportation costs, associated with such carriers’ ability to provide delivery services to meet outbound shipping needs. In addition, if the cost of fuel rises, the cost to deliver merchandise to our distribution centers and our retail stores may rise and such costs could have an adverse impact on our profitability. Failure to deliver merchandise to our distribution centers and our retail stores in a timely, effective and economically viable manner could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

If we fail to protect our name and brand in the marketplace, there could be a negative effect on our business and limitations on our ability to penetrate new markets.

 

We believe that our “Citi Trends” trademark is integral to our store design and our success in building consumer loyalty to our brand. We have registered this trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. We have also registered, or applied for registration of, additional trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that we believe are important to our business. We cannot assure you that these registrations will prevent imitation of our name, merchandising concept, store design or private label merchandise or the infringement of our other intellectual property rights by others. Imitation of our name, concept, store design or merchandise in a manner that projects lesser quality or carries a negative connotation of our brand image could have an adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

In addition, we cannot assure you that others will not try to block the manufacture or sale of our private label merchandise by claiming that our merchandise violates their trademarks or other proprietary rights since other entities may have rights to trademarks that contain the word “Citi” or may have rights in similar or competing marks for apparel and/or accessories. Although we cannot currently estimate the likelihood of success of any such lawsuit or ultimate resolution of such a conflict, such a controversy could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

If we fail to implement and maintain effective internal controls in our business, there could be an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and stock price.

 

Section 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 requires annual management assessments of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting and an audit of such controls by our independent registered public accounting firm. If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, we may be unable to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal controls over financial reporting. Moreover, effective internal controls, particularly those related to revenue recognition and accounting for inventory/cost of sales, are necessary for us to produce reliable financial reports and are important in our effort to prevent financial fraud. If we cannot produce reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be harmed, investors could lose confidence in our reported financial information, the market price of our stock could decline significantly and we may be unable to obtain additional financing to operate and expand our business.

 

Failure to attract, train, assimilate and retain skilled personnel could have an adverse effect on our financial condition.

 

Like most retailers, we experience significant employee turnover rates, particularly among store sales associates and managers. We therefore must continually attract, hire and train new personnel to meet our staffing needs. We constantly compete for qualified personnel with companies in our industry and in other industries. A significant increase in the turnover rate among our store sales associates and managers would increase our recruiting and training costs and could cause us to be unable to service our customers effectively, thus reducing our ability to operate our stores as profitably as we have in the past.

 

In addition, we rely heavily on the experience and expertise of our senior management team and other key management associates, and accordingly, the loss of their services could have a material adverse effect on our business strategy and results of operations. 

 

Our business could be negatively affected as a result of a proxy fight and the actions of activist shareholders.

 

If we become engaged in a proxy contest with activist shareholders in the future, our business could be adversely affected because:

 

     Responding to proxy contests, litigation and other actions by activist stockholders can be costly and time-consuming, disrupt our operations and divert the attention of management and our employees.

     Perceived uncertainties as to our future direction may result in the loss of potential business opportunities and harm our ability to attract new investors and to retain and attract experienced executives and employees.

     If individuals are elected to our board of directors with a specific agenda, it may adversely affect our ability to retain and attract experienced directors, executives and employees, to effectively and timely implement our business strategy and create additional value for stockholders.

     We may experience a significant increase in legal fees, administrative, advisor and associated costs incurred in connection with responding to a proxy contest or related action. For example, we incurred $2.5 million in expenses as a result of the proxy contest in connection with our 2017 annual meeting and $1.0 million in expense as a result of the proxy contest in connection with our 2019 annual meeting.

These factors could adversely impact our results of operations and could also cause our stock price to experience periods of volatility or stagnation.

Increases in the minimum wage could have an adverse effect on our operating costs, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Wage rates for many of our employees are slightly above the federal minimum wage. As federal and/or state minimum wage rates increase, we may need to increase not only our employees’ wage rates that are under the new minimum, but also the wages paid to our other hourly employees. Any increase in the cost of our labor could have a material adverse effect on our operating costs, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Failure to comply with legal requirements could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

Compliance risks in our business include areas such as employment law, taxation, securities laws, consumer protection laws, licensing, intellectual property, customer relations and personal injury claims, among others.  If we fail to comply with these laws, rules and regulations, we may be subject to judgments, fines or other costs or penalties, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

Changes in government regulations could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

Our business is subject to numerous federal, state and local laws and regulations. New legal requirements in any number of areas could result in higher compliance costs. Changes in areas, such as workplace-regulation and other labor or employment benefits laws, supply chain, privacy and information security, or environmental regulation may require extensive structural and organizational changes that could be difficult to implement, disrupt our business, cause reputational harm and materially adversely affect our operations and financial results.  Additionally, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic state and local governments have implemented measures to slow the spread of the virus, which resulted in the Company temporarily closing its stores on March 20, 2020. Extended closures required by law or additional restrictions on our operations may have adverse effects on our financial condition.

 

Any failure of our management information systems or the inability of third parties to continue to upgrade and maintain our systems could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

We depend on the accuracy, reliability and proper functioning of our management information systems, including the systems used to track our sales and facilitate inventory management. We also rely on our management information systems for point-of-sale, merchandise planning and allocation, replenishment and markdowns, as well as other key business functions. These functions enhance our ability to process and optimize sales while limiting markdowns and reducing inventory risk through properly marking down slow-selling styles, reordering existing styles and effectively distributing new inventory to our stores. We do not currently have redundant systems for all functions performed by our management information systems. Any interruption in these systems could impair our ability to manage our inventory effectively, which could have an adverse effect on our business.

 

We depend on third-party suppliers to maintain and periodically upgrade our management information systems.  Due to ever-evolving cybersecurity threats, we and our third-party service providers and vendors must continually evaluate and adapt our respective systems and processes and overall security environment. If any of these suppliers is unable to continue to maintain and upgrade these software programs and/or if we are unable to convert to alternate systems in an efficient and timely manner, it could result in an adverse effect on our business.

 

Failure to maintain the security of employee, customer or vendor information could expose us to litigation, government enforcement actions and materially impact our reputation and business operations.  

 

Over the normal course of business operations, we obtain certain private or confidential information of our employees, customers, and vendors.  This information may be stored within our internal information technology environments or hosted by third party service providers.  We have implemented security procedures and technology that are intended to safeguard this information from cybersecurity attacks and data breaches.  These safeguards include, but are not limited to, routine penetration and vulnerability testing, network segmentation, strong encryption protocols, virus and malware protection, email security scanning, simulation training, vendor assessments, and on-going monitoring and patching activities.  There is no guarantee that these measures will be adequate to safeguard against all data security breaches, system compromises or misuses of data.

 

As we accept debit and credit card payments in our stores, we are subject to the Payment Card Industry’s Data Security Standards (“PCI DSS”) to which we attest compliance annually.  For the protection of our customer’s payment information, we utilize chip enabled pin pads with point-to-point encryption technology.  In addition, we do not retain the customer’s encrypted, hashed, or tokenized payment information within our internal systems.  However, even as we comply with PCI DSS and employ point-to-point encryption technology, we may not be able to prevent or detect a compromise of cardholder data.  In addition, as the regulatory environment related to information security, data collection and use, and privacy becomes increasingly rigorous, with new and constantly changing requirements, compliance with those requirements could also result in additional costs. 

 

Cyberattacks continue to evolve and there can be no assurance that an attacker would be unable to gain access to the information we collect.  These attacks can come in many forms, including computer hacking, acts of vandalism or theft, malware, computer viruses or other malicious codes, phishing, employee error or malfeasance, catastrophes, unforeseen events or other cyber-attacks.  Additionally, a failure of a third party service provider to monitor and secure their environment could lead to unauthorized access of our private or confidential information.  Any cyberattack or a breach of our data could expose us to costly fines, private litigation and response measures, credit card

brand assessments, government enforcement actions, disruption of business operations, negative publicity, erode customer confidence in the effectiveness of our data security measures, and decrease our current or potential customers’ willingness to shop in our stores which could adversely affect our business and financial conditions.  Furthermore, there can be no assurance that any limitations of liability in our contracts would be enforceable or adequate or would otherwise protect us from any such liabilities or damages with respect to any particular claim. Our existing general liability insurance coverage and coverage for errors and omissions may not continue to be available on acceptable terms or may not be available in sufficient amounts to cover one or more large claims, or our insurers may deny coverage as to any future claim. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that exceeds available insurance coverage, or the occurrence of changes in our insurance policies, including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements, could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

 

We may be unable to negotiate future leases or renegotiate current leases on the same favorable terms as we had in the past.

 

Our strategic growth plan depends in part on our ability to renew current leases and enter into new leases for future stores. We currently lease all of our store locations and are subject to the risks associated with leasing real estate. If we decide to close stores, we may be required to continue to perform obligations under the applicable leases, including, among other things, paying rent and operating expenses for the balance of the lease term, or paying to exercise rights to terminate, and the performance of any of these obligations may be expensive. When the current lease terms for our stores expire, we may be unable to negotiate renewals which could lead to the closing or relocating stores on less favorable terms or in a less favorable location.

 

Our sales, inventory levels and earnings fluctuate on a seasonal basis, which makes our business more susceptible to adverse events that occur during the first and fourth quarters.

 

Our sales and earnings are significantly higher during the first and fourth quarters each year due to the importance of the spring selling season, which includes Easter, and the fall selling season, which includes Christmas. Factors negatively affecting us during the first and fourth quarters, including adverse weather, public health pandemics like COVID-19, unfavorable economic conditions, reduced governmental assistance, and tax refund patterns for our customers, will have a greater adverse effect on our financial condition than if our business was less seasonal.

 

Seasonal fluctuations also affect our inventory levels. In order to prepare for the spring and fall selling seasons, we must order and keep in stock significantly more merchandise than during other parts of the year. Merchandise must be ordered well in advance of the applicable selling season and before trends are confirmed by sales. If we are not able to accurately predict customers’ preferences for our fashion items, we may have too much inventory which may result in increased markdowns. If we are unable to accurately predict demand for our merchandise during these periods, we could also end up with inventory shortages resulting in missed sales. In either event, our sales may be lower and our cost of sales may be higher than historical levels, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

If we fail to successfully implement our various marketing efforts or if our competitors are more effective with their programs than we are, our revenue or results of operations may be adversely affected.

 

Customer traffic and demand for our merchandise may be influenced by our marketing efforts. Although we use marketing to drive customer traffic through various media including radio, print, digital/social media and e-mail, some of our competitors expend more for their marketing programs than we do, or use different approaches than we do, which may provide them with a competitive advantage. Further, we may not effectively implement strategies with respect to rapidly evolving Internet-based and other digital or mobile communication channels, including social media. Our programs may not be or remain effective or could require increased expenditures, which could have a significant adverse effect on our revenue and results of operations.

 

We experience fluctuations and variability in our comparable store sales and quarterly results of operations and, as a result, the market price of our common stock may fluctuate substantially.

 

Our comparable store sales and quarterly results have fluctuated significantly in the past based on a number of economic, seasonal and competitive factors, as well as changes in our merchandise mix, and we expect them to continue to fluctuate in the future. Since the beginning of fiscal 2014, our quarter-to-quarter comparable store sales have ranged from a decrease of 7.0% to an increase of 13.9%.  This variability could cause our comparable store sales and quarterly results to fall below the expectations of securities analysts or investors, which could result in a decline in the market price of our common stock.

 

Our stock price is subject to volatility.

 

Our stock price has been volatile in the past and may be influenced in the future by a number of factors, including:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition, the stock markets have experienced significant price and trading volume fluctuations from time to time, and the market prices of the equity securities of retailers have been extremely volatile and have recently experienced sharp price and trading volume changes. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

 

We cannot provide any guaranty of future cash dividend payments or that we will continue to actively repurchase our common stock pursuant to a share repurchase program.

 

Any determination to declare and pay cash dividends on our common stock in the future (quarterly or otherwise) will be based, among other things, upon our financial condition, results of operations, business and cash requirements and our board of directors’ conclusion in each instance that the declaration and payment of a cash dividend is in the best interest of our stockholders and is in compliance with all laws and agreements applicable to the dividend.  As part of the actions the Company has taken to increase its cash position and preserve financial flexibility in light of current uncertainties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company suspended the payment of dividends for the near-term. On March 13, 2020, the Company announced a share repurchase program, however, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic downturn, no repurchases have been made under such program and the Company has suspended any future purchases and plans to continue to monitor the situation based on business conditions and regard for its financial liquidity needs. There can be no assurance that our existing share repurchase authorization will be completed or that our board of directors will approve another repurchase program in the future.

 

Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and by-laws and Delaware law may delay or prevent our acquisition by a third party.

 

Our third amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our third amended and restated by-laws contain several provisions that may make it more difficult for a third party to acquire control of us without the approval of our board of directors. These provisions include, among other things, advance notice for raising business or making nominations at stockholder meetings and “blank check” preferred stock. Blank check preferred stock enables our board of directors, without stockholder approval, to designate and issue additional series of preferred stock with such dividend, liquidation, conversion, voting or other rights, including convertible securities with no limitations on conversion, as our board of directors may determine, including rights to dividends and proceeds in a liquidation that are senior to the common stock.  Additionally, we are in the process of phasing out our classified board of directors, so only five directors will be up for election at the next annual meeting.

 

We are also subject to several provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law that could delay, prevent or deter a merger, acquisition, tender offer, proxy contest or other transaction that might otherwise result in our stockholders receiving a premium over the market price for their common stock or may otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders.

 

ITEM 1B.UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

 

None.

 

ITEM 2.PROPERTIES

 

Store Locations

 

As of February 1, 2020, we operated 571 stores located in 33 states. Our stores average approximately 11,000 square feet of selling space and are typically located in neighborhood strip shopping centers that are convenient to low and moderate income customers.

 

We have no franchising relationships, and all of the stores are company operated.  All existing 571 stores, totaling 7.7 million total square feet and 6.3 million selling square feet, are leased under operating leases. The typical store lease is for five years with options to extend the lease term for three additional five-year periods. Nearly all store leases provide us the right to cancel following an initial three-year period in the event the store does not meet pre-determined sales levels. The table below sets forth the number of stores in each of the 33 states in which we operated as of February 1, 2020:

 

Alabama—31

Arkansas—15

California—8

Connecticut—4

Delaware—2

Florida—52

Georgia—63

Illinois—21

Indiana—17

Iowa—2

Kansas—1

Kentucky—7

Louisiana—34

Maryland—6

Massachusetts—3

Michigan—23

Minnesota—2

Mississippi—27

Missouri—7

Nebraska—1

Nevada—2

New Jersey—1

New York—9

North Carolina—48

Ohio—29

Oklahoma—7

Pennsylvania—8

Rhode Island—2

South Carolina—42

Tennessee—18

Texas—53

Virginia—20

Wisconsin—6

 

Support Center Facilities

 

We own a facility in Savannah, Georgia totaling approximately 70,000 square feet, which serves as our headquarters and, to a lesser extent, as a storage facility. We also own an approximately 550,000 square-foot distribution center in Darlington, South Carolina and a 565,000 square-foot distribution center in Roland, Oklahoma.  In addition, we currently lease a 12,300 square-foot office in New York City which is used for buyer operations and meetings with vendors.

 

ITEM 3.LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

 

We are from time to time involved in various legal proceedings incidental to the conduct of our business, including claims by customers, employees or former employees. Once it becomes probable that we will incur costs in connection with a legal proceeding and such costs can be reasonably estimated, we establish appropriate reserves. While legal proceedings are subject to uncertainties and the outcome of any such matter is not predictable, we are not aware of any legal proceedings pending or threatened against us that we expect to have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

 

ITEM 4.MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

 

Not applicable.

 

PART II

 

ITEM 5.       MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

 

Our common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol “CTRN.”  On April 14, 2020, there were 37 holders of record and approximately 2,700 beneficial holders of our common stock.

 

In 2019, we paid a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per common share on March 19, 2019, June 18, 2019, September 17, 2019 and December 24, 2019.

 

On February 18, 2020, the Company’s board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per common share, which was paid on March 17, 2020 to stockholders of record as of March 3, 2020. 

 

On March 20, 2020, as part of the actions the Company has taken to increase our cash position and preserve financial flexibility in light of current uncertainties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic as described further below, the Company drew down $43.7 million under its revolving credit facility. Pursuant to the terms of the revolving credit facility, the Company is restricted from paying cash dividends if there were any borrowings outstanding in the 30 days prior to the dividend payment or any borrowings are expected in the 30 days subsequent to the payment. The Company announced on April 28, 2020, the suspension of future cash dividends.  

 

Determinations to declare and pay cash dividends on our common stock in the future (quarterly or otherwise) will be based, among other things, upon our financial condition, results of operations, business and cash requirements and our board of directors’ conclusion in each instance that the declaration and payment of a cash dividend is in the best interest of our stockholders and is in compliance with all laws and agreements applicable to the dividend.

 

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.

 

None.

 

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers.

 

The number of shares of common stock that we repurchased during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 and the average price paid per share are as follows:

(1)    Includes commissions for the shares repurchased under the stock repurchase program.

(2)    On November 22, 2019, the Company’s board of directors approved a $25.0 million stock repurchase program, under which approximately $6.2 million of shares remained available as of February 1, 2020.    This repurchase program was completed in February 2020. 

 

On March 13, 2020, the Company announced that its board of directors approved a $30.0 million stock repurchase program.  Due to the current economic uncertainty stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company has temporarily suspended any repurchases as of March 23, 2020 and plans to continue to monitor the situation based on business conditions and regard for its financial liquidity needs.

 

Equity Compensation Plan Information.

 

See Item 12 of this Report.

 

Stock Performance Graph

 

Set forth below is a line graph comparing the last five years’ percentage change in the cumulative total stockholder return on shares of our common stock against (i) the cumulative total return of the Russell 2000 Index, (ii) the cumulative total return of companies listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market and (iii) the cumulative total return of the NASDAQ Retail Trade Index. We have elected to replace the NASDAQ Composite Index with the Russell 2000 Index because we believe that it is a more appropriate comparison.  In this transition year, the stock performance graph below includes the comparative performance of the new index and the previously reported index.  This graph assumes that $100 was invested on January 31, 2015 in our common stock and in each of the market index and the industry index, and that all cash distributions were reinvested. Our common stock price performance shown on the graph is not indicative of future price performance.

 

COMPARISON OF 5 YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN*

Among Citi Trends, Inc., the Russell 2000 Index, the NASDAQ Composite Index and the NASDAQ Retail Trade Index

*$100 invested on 1/31/15 in stock or index, including reinvestment of dividends.

Fiscal year ending on or about January 31.

 

 

 

 

ITEM 6.SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

 

Selected Financial and Operating Data

 

The following table provides selected consolidated financial and operating data for each of the fiscal years in the five-year period ended February 1, 2020. The selected consolidated financial and operating data set forth below should be read in conjunction with, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, the section entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included in Item 7 of this Report and our consolidated financial statements and related notes set forth in the financial pages of this Report. Historical results are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any future period.

 

 

 

 

ITEM 7.MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the section entitled “Selected Financial and Operating Data” and our audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, such as those set forth under the section entitled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Report, our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements.

 

Overview

 

We are a value-priced retailer of fashion apparel, accessories and home goods for the entire family. Our merchandise offerings are designed to appeal to the preferences of fashion conscious consumers, particularly African-Americans. As of February 1, 2020, we operated 571 stores in both urban and rural markets in 33 states.

 

Current Material Development

 

In December 2019, a novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) emerged and has subsequently spread worldwide. The World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 a pandemic resulting in federal, state and local governments and private entities mandating various restrictions, including travel restrictions, restrictions on public gatherings, stay at home orders and advisories and quarantining of people who may have been exposed to the virus. After closely monitoring and taking into consideration the guidance from federal, state and local governments, in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, along with other retailers, we initially temporarily closed all of our retail store locations effective March 20, 2020 through April 3, 2020. However, this closure was further extended on March 26 for an indefinite period as a result of federal, state and local level requirements and recommendations. We also closed our buying and corporate offices, and our distribution centers, and we instituted “work from home” measures for certain of our associates. The Company continues to monitor developments, including government requirements and recommendations at the federal, state and local level to evaluate when we will reopen our stores, offices and facilities. We expect the cadence of store reopenings to vary by state and locality in the U.S. On April 28, 2020, the Company announced that it has started to re-open stores in some markets in accordance with state and local guidelines.  The temporary closure of our stores is having a significant negative impact on the Company’s financial performance.

 

We have taken several proactive measures to increase our cash position and preserve financial flexibility in light of current uncertainties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 20, 2020, we borrowed $43.7 million in principal amount under our revolving credit facility. We also implemented a number of other measures to help mitigate the operating and financial impact of the pandemic, including (i) furloughing substantially all of our store and distribution center personnel, as well as about 40% of our corporate staff, starting April 3, 2020; (ii) implementing temporary tiered salary reductions for management level corporate employees, including executive officers; (iii) temporarily reducing the cash portion of the fees payable to our non-employee board members; (iv) extending payment terms with vendors and suppliers; (v) abating payments of rent as appropriate; (vi) deferring certain merit based awards; (vii) suspending the 401(k) company matching program; (viii) executing substantial reductions in operating expenses, store occupancy costs, capital expenditures and other costs, including through reduced inventory purchases; (ix) suspending any repurchases of shares under our stock repurchase program; and (x) suspending the payment of dividends.  On May 12, 2020, we entered into an amendment to our revolving credit facility to, among other things, extend the maturity date (which had been set to expire August 18, 2020) to August 18, 2021. For discussion of our revolving credit facility, see “Liquidity Sources and Requirements and Contractual Cash Requirements and Commitments.”

 

Due to the developing situation, the results of the first quarter ending May 2, 2020 and the full fiscal year ending January 30, 2021 could be impacted in ways we are not able to predict today. As a result, we withdrew our first quarter and full year fiscal 2020 financial guidance issued on March 13, 2020.

 

Given the unprecedented uncertainty of this situation and the unknown impact on consumer demand, the Company cannot reasonably estimate the full impact of this pandemic on its business.  However, the Company expects the impact from the pandemic and the related economic disruption will have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, results of operations and liquidity in fiscal 2020.

 

Basis of Presentation

 

Net sales consist of store sales and layaway fees, net of returns by customers. Cost of sales consists of the cost of products we sell and associated freight costs. Depreciation is not considered a component of cost of sales and is included as a separate line item in the consolidated statements of operations. Selling, general and administrative expenses are comprised of store costs, including payroll and occupancy costs, corporate and distribution center costs and advertising costs. We operate on a 52- or 53-week fiscal year, which ends on the Saturday closest to January 31. Each of our fiscal quarters consists of four 13-week periods, with an extra week added to the fourth

quarter every five to six years.  The years ended February 1, 2020,  February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018 are referred to as fiscal 2019,  2018 and 2017, respectively. Fiscal years 2019 and 2018 are each comprised of 52 weeks, while fiscal 2017 is comprised of 53 weeks.

 

Results of Operations

 

The following discussion of our financial performance is based on the consolidated financial statements set forth in the financial pages of this Report. The nature of our business is seasonal. Historically, sales in the first and fourth quarters of the fiscal year have been higher than sales achieved in the second and third quarters of the fiscal year. Expenses and, to a greater extent, operating income, vary by quarter. Results of a period shorter than a full year may not be indicative of results expected for the entire year. Furthermore, the seasonal nature of our business may affect comparisons between periods.

 

Net Sales and Additional Operating Data

 

The following table provides selected consolidated statement of operations data expressed both in dollars and as a percentage of net sales:

 

 

The following table provides information about the number of total stores open at the beginning of each year, stores opened and closed during each year, total stores open at the end of each year and the change in comparable store sales for each year:

 

Key Operating Statistics

 

We measure performance using key operating statistics. One of the main performance measures we use is comparable store sales growth. We define a comparable store as a store that has been open for an entire fiscal year. Therefore, a store will not be considered a comparable store until its 13th month of operation at the earliest or until its 24th month at the latest. As an example, stores opened in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2019 were not considered comparable stores in fiscal 2019. Relocated and expanded stores are included in the comparable store sales results. We also use other operating statistics, most notably average sales per store, to measure our performance. As we typically occupy existing space in established shopping centers rather than sites built specifically for our stores, store square footage (and therefore sales per square foot) varies by store. We focus on overall store sales volume as the critical driver of profitability.

 

In addition to sales, we measure cost of sales as a percentage of sales and store operating expenses, with a particular focus on labor, as a percentage of sales. These results translate into store level contribution, which we use to evaluate overall performance of each individual store. Finally, we monitor corporate expenses against budgeted amounts.  All of the statistics discussed above are critical components of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) and Adjusted EBITDA (comprised of EBITDA, excluding non-cash asset impairment expenses, interim CEO related expenses and expenses related to proxy contests), which are considered our most important operating statistics.  We believe that excluding these expenses from our financial results reflects operating results that are more indicative of our ongoing operating performance while improving comparability to other periods, and as such, provides an enhanced understanding of our past financial performance and prospects for the future.

 

Although non-GAAP measures such as EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA provide useful information on an operating cash flow basis, they are limited measures in that they exclude the impact of cash requirements for capital expenditures, income taxes and interest expense and should not be regarded as comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.  Therefore, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should be used as supplements to results of operations and cash flows as reported under generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and should not be used as the only measures of operating performance or as a substitute for GAAP results.

 

Provided below is a reconciliation of net income to EBITDA and to Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal years ended February 1, 2020,  February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018:

 

Provided below is a reconciliation of net income (the closest comparable GAAP measure) to (i) net income adjusted for non-cash asset impairment expenses, interim CEO related expenses, proxy contest expenses and the effect of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Adjusted net income”) and (ii) diluted Adjusted net income per common share.  We believe that excluding these expenses and their related tax effects and the effect of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act from our financial results reflects operating results that are more indicative of our ongoing operating performance while improving comparability to prior periods, and as such, may provide investors with an enhanced understanding of our past financial performance and prospects for the future.  These non-GAAP measures should be used as a supplement to net income and diluted net income per common share as reported under GAAP and should not be used as the only measures of operating performance or as a substitute for GAAP results.

 

 

Fiscal 2019 Compared to Fiscal 2018

 

Net Sales. Net sales increased $12.3 million, or 1.6%, to $781.9 million in fiscal 2019 from $769.6 million in fiscal 2018.  The increase in net sales was due primarily to 16 new store openings in 2019 and 19 new store openings in 2018 for which there was not a full year of sales in 2018.  These sales increases were partially offset by the closing of seven stores in 2019 and six stores in 2018, and a 0.1% decrease in comparable store sales.  The decrease in comparable store sales was reflected in a 1.2% decrease in customer transactions, partially offset by a 1.1% increase in the average ticket size.  Comparable store sales changes, by major merchandise class, were as follows:  Home +10%; Accessories +6%; Men’s -3%; Children’s -4%; and Ladies’ -5%.

 

Store opening and closing activity resulted in a net increase of $13.2 million in sales in fiscal 2019, while the 0.1%  decrease in comparable store sales in the 536 comparable stores caused sales to decrease  $0.9 million.

 

Cost of Sales (exclusive of depreciation). Cost of sales (exclusive of depreciation) increased $8.4 million, or 1.8%, to $484.7 million in fiscal 2019 from $476.3 million in fiscal 2018 due to the effect of the increase in sales discussed above and an increase in cost of sales as a percentage of sales to 62.0% in 2019 from 61.9% in 2018.  The increase in cost of sales as a percentage of sales was due primarily to a 20 basis points increase in freight costs as a result of pressures in the trucking industry, partially offset by a 10 basis points increase in the core merchandise margin (initial mark-up, net of markdowns).

 

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses.  Selling, general and administrative expenses increased $11.7 million, or 4.7% to $259.6 million in fiscal 2019 from $247.9 million in fiscal 2018 due to the opening of 16 new stores in 2019 and 19 stores in 2018, along with normal inflationary pressure on expenses such as payroll and rent, $2.1 million in costs associated with the CEO transition and changes to the Company’s board of directors, and $1.0 million of expenses incurred in connection with a proxy contest in 2019.  These factors that caused the increase in selling, general and administrative expenses were partially offset by a $1.3 million decrease in incentive compensation expense resulting from unfavorable operating results in relation to budget, as well as a $1.2 million gain on insurance claims received in fiscal 2019.  Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of sales increased to 33.2% in 2019 from 32.2% in 2018.

 

Depreciation. Depreciation expense decreased $0.4 million to $18.5 million in 2019 from $18.9 million in fiscal 2018 due to the slowing of our store opening pace in relation to previous years.

 

Asset Impairment. Impairment charges related to an underperforming store totaled $0.5 million in fiscal 2019, comprised of $0.3 million for leasehold improvements and fixtures and equipment, and $0.2 million for an operating lease right-of-use asset.  In fiscal 2018, impairment charges related to underperforming stores totaled $1.3 million, comprised of leasehold improvements and fixtures and equipment.

 

Income Tax Expense.  Income tax expense decreased $1.5 million to $3.5 million in fiscal 2019 from $5.0 million in fiscal 2018 due primarily to pretax income decreasing $6.4 million.

 

Net Income.  Net income decreased $4.9 million to $16.5 million in fiscal 2019 compared to $21.4 million in fiscal 2018, due to the factors discussed above.

 

Fiscal 2018 Compared to Fiscal 2017

 

Net Sales. Net sales increased $14.4 million, or 1.9%, to $769.6 million in the 52-week fiscal 2018 from $755.2 million in the 53-week fiscal 2017. The increase in net sales was due primarily to nineteen new store openings in 2018 and twenty new store openings in 2017 for which there was not a full year of sales in 2017, together with a 1.6% increase in comparable store sales on a 52-week versus 52-week basis. These sales increases were partially offset by the closing of six stores in 2018 and four stores in 2017, along with the extra week in fiscal 2017 which contributed $10.9 million in sales. The increase in comparable store sales on a 52-week basis was reflected in a  2.5% increase in the average ticket size, partially offset by a 0.9% decrease in the number of customer transactions. Comparable store sales changes on a 52-week basis, by major merchandise class, were as follows: Home +13%; Accessories +4%; Men’s +1%; Children’s less than +1%; and Ladies’ -2%.

 

Store opening and closing activity resulted in a net increase of $13.8 million in sales in fiscal 2018, and the 1.6% comparable store sales increase in the 523 comparable stores totaled $11.5 million, while the aforementioned extra week last year accounted for a decrease of $10.9 million in sales.

 

Cost of Sales (exclusive of depreciation). Cost of sales (exclusive of depreciation) increased $10.3 million, or 2.2%, to $476.3 million in fiscal 2018 from $466.0 million in fiscal 2017 due to the effect of the increase in sales discussed above and an increase in cost of sales as a percentage of sales to 61.9% in 2018 from 61.7% in 2017. The increase in cost of sales as a percentage of sales was due primarily to a 40 basis points increase in freight costs as a result of pressures in the trucking industry and higher fuel surcharges. The core merchandise margin (initial mark-up, net of markdowns) for the year was flat with last year, while shrinkage was 20 basis points lower.

 

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased $0.8 million, or 0.4%, to $247.9 million in fiscal 2018 from $247.1 million in fiscal 2017 due to the opening of nineteen new stores in 2018 and twenty stores in 2017, along with normal inflationary pressure on expenses such as payroll and rent. These factors that caused the increase in selling, general and administrative expenses were partially offset by a $3.9 million decrease in incentive compensation expense resulting from unfavorable operating results in relation to budget, together with $3.5 million to $4.0 million of expenses attributable to the extra week in fiscal 2017 and $2.5 million of expenses incurred in connection with a proxy contest in 2017. Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of sales decreased to 32.2% in 2018 from 32.7% in 2017 due primarily to the leveraging effect resulting from higher comparable store sales and the 2017 proxy contest.

 

Depreciation. Depreciation expense of $18.9 million in fiscal 2018 was unchanged from fiscal 2017, attributable to the acceleration of our store opening pace in relation to previous years being entirely offset by distribution center additions and expansions in prior years becoming fully depreciated during 2018.

 

Asset Impairment. Impairment charges related to property and equipment at underperforming stores totaled $1.3 million and $0.5million in fiscal 2018 and 2017, respectively.

 

Income Tax Expense.    Income tax expense decreased $3.9 million to $5.0 million in fiscal 2018 from $8.9 million in fiscal 2017 as the impact of a $2.8 million increase in pretax income was more than offset by a decrease in the effective income tax rate to 18.8% from 38.0%. The decrease in the effective tax rate was due primarily to the full-year impact of the reduction in the federal income tax rate from 35% to 21% in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tax reform legislation (“TCJA”) which was enacted in December 2017, as well as last year’s $1.9 million write-down of net deferred tax assets resulting from the revaluation of deferred tax assets and liabilities to reflect the TCJA’s reduced federal income tax rate.

 

Net Income.  Net income increased $6.8 million to $21.4 million in fiscal 2018 compared to $14.6 million in fiscal 2017, due to the factors discussed above.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Our cash requirements are primarily for working capital and for capital expenditures for our stores, distribution infrastructure and information systems. We also use cash to repurchase stock under our stock repurchase program and to pay dividends.  Historically, we have met these cash requirements using cash flow from operations and short-term trade credit.  As further noted below, due to the COVID-19

pandemic and related economic disruptions, and with the temporary closure of all store locations for an extended period of time, we anticipate that we will be required to rely far more heavily on our existing balances of cash and investment securities and borrowings under our revolving credit facility (described below), and we expect to carefully monitor and manage our cash position in light of ongoing conditions and results of operations.

 

Cash Flows

 

Fiscal 2019 Compared to Fiscal 2018

 

As of February 1, 2020, we had total cash and cash equivalents of $19.9 million, compared with $17.9 million as of February 2, 2019.  Additionally, we had $27.6 million and $15.7 million of short-term and long-term investment securities, respectively, as of February 1, 2020, compared with $50.4 million and $8.9 million, respectively, as of February 2, 2019.  These securities are comprised of bank certificates of deposit and obligations of the U.S. Treasury, states and municipalities.

 

Inventory represented 30.1% of our total assets as of February 1, 2020, compared with 46.9% as of February 2, 2019.  Management’s ability to manage our inventory can have a significant impact on our cash flows from operations during a given interim period or fiscal year.  In addition, inventory purchases can be seasonal in nature, such as the purchase of warm-weather or Christmas-related merchandise.

 

Cash Flows Provided by Operating Activities.  Net cash provided by operating activities was $42.6 million in fiscal 2019 compared with $30.4 million in fiscal 2018.  Net income, adjusted for non-cash expenses such as depreciation, non-cash operating lease costs, asset impairment, loss on disposal of property and equipment, insurance proceeds from operating activities, deferred income taxes and stock-based compensation expense, provided cash of $84.0 million in fiscal 2019 (compared with $44.0 million in fiscal 2018).  Other significant sources of cash in fiscal 2019 included (1) a $5.6 million increase in account payable (compared to a $2.8 million decrease in fiscal 2018) due to improved inventory turns in the fourth quarter of 2019 as reflected in higher sales and lower inventory, which resulted in more merchandise purchases in January 2020; since this higher level of purchases occurred in the last month of the fiscal year, all such purchases were still in accounts payable at the end of the fiscal year; and (2) a $1.2 million decrease in inventory (compared to a $2.3 million increase in fiscal 2018) due to efforts to improve inventory turns and maintain as much inventory liquidity as possible in order to take advantage of opportunistic deals and trend changes.

 

Significant uses of cash from operating activities in fiscal 2019 included (1) a $1.6 million change in the income tax payable/receivable (compared to a $1.5 million change in fiscal 2018) due to estimated tax payments made during the year; and (2) a $1.6 million increase in prepaid and other current assets (compared to a $2.1 million increase in fiscal 2018) due primarily to increases in tenant improvement allowances for new stores that opened in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019.

 

Cash Flows Used in Investing Activities.  Cash used in investing activities was $7.6 million in fiscal 2019 compared with $15.3 million in fiscal 2018.  Cash used for the purchase of property and equipment was $24.2 million in fiscal 2019 and $13.3 million in fiscal 2018, with the increase due primarily to (1) purchases of equipment for our point-of-sale replacement project, (2) capital expenditures to complete major remodels in 20 of our stores; and (3) purchases of store fixtures needed to facilitate a shift towards more home merchandise and enhanced holiday merchandise presentation.  Sales/redemptions of investment securities, net of purchases, provided cash of $16.0 million in fiscal 2019 and used cash of $2.3 million in fiscal 2018.

 

Cash Flows Used in Financing Activities. Cash used in financing activities was $32.9 million in fiscal 2019 compared with $45.7 million in fiscal 2018. Cash used for the repurchase of common stock totaled $28.4 million in fiscal 2019 and $40.4 million in fiscal 2018.  Dividends paid to stockholders used cash of $3.8 million in fiscal 2019 and $4.2 million in fiscal 2018.

 

Until required for other purposes, we maintain cash and cash equivalents in deposit or money market accounts.

 

Fiscal 2018 Compared to Fiscal 2017

 

As of February 2, 2019, we had total cash and cash equivalents of $17.9 million, compared with $48.5 million as of February 3, 2018.  Additionally, we had $50.3 million and $8.9 million of short-term and long-term investment securities, respectively, as of February 2, 2019, compared with $31.5 million and $25.5 million, respectively, as of February 3, 2018.  These securities are comprised of bank certificates of deposit and obligations of the U.S. Treasury, states and municipalities.

 

Inventory represented 46.9% of our total assets as of February 2, 2019, compared with 42.1% as of February 3, 2018.  Management’s ability to manage our inventory can have a significant impact on our cash flows from operations during a given interim period or fiscal year.  In addition, inventory purchases can be seasonal in nature, such as the purchase of warm-weather or Christmas-related merchandise.

 

Cash Flows Provided by Operating Activities.  Net cash provided by operating activities was $30.4 million in fiscal 2018 compared with $42.3 million in fiscal 2017.  Net income, adjusted for non-cash expenses such as depreciation, asset impairment, loss on disposal of property and equipment, insurance proceeds from operating activities, deferred income taxes and stock-based compensation expense, provided cash of $44.0 million in fiscal 2018 (compared with $39.8 million in fiscal 2017).  Significant uses of cash included (1) a $4.3 million decrease in accrued compensation (compared with an $8.1 million increase in fiscal 2017) primarily as a result of lower incentive compensation accruals due to unfavorable financial performance relative to budget in fiscal 2018; (2) a $2.8 million decrease in accounts payable (compared with a $0.2 million increase in fiscal 2017) due to significant sales increases in the fourth quarter of 2017 which required an increase in merchandise purchases in January 2018; since this higher level of purchases occurred in the last month of the fiscal year, all such purchases were still in accounts payable as of February 3, 2018; (3) a $2.3 million increase in inventory (compared with a $3.9 million increase in fiscal 2017) due primarily to having thirteen more stores than at the previous year end; (4) a $2.1 million increase in prepaid and other current assets (compared with a $2.4 million increase in fiscal 2017) due primarily to increases in tenant improvement allowances for new and expanded stores that opened in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 and prepaid insurance as the renewal of the Company's insurance policies on December 1, 2018 included higher property insurance premiums; and (5) a $1.5 million decrease in income tax payable (compared with a $3.6 million increase in fiscal 2017) due to higher prepayments of estimated taxes during 2018.

 

Cash Flows Used in Investing Activities.  Cash used in investing activities was $15.3 million in fiscal 2018 compared with $12.8 million in fiscal 2017.  Cash used for the purchase of property and equipment was $13.3 million in fiscal 2018 and $21.0 million in fiscal 2017, with the decrease resulting primarily from capital expenditures made in fiscal 2017 for store fixtures needed to facilitate a shift towards more home merchandise, together with the completion of the Roland distribution center expansion in fiscal 2017 and opening one fewer store and relocating two fewer stores in fiscal 2018.  Sales/redemptions of investment securities, net of purchases, used cash of $2.3 million in fiscal 2018 and provided cash of $7.8 million in fiscal 2017.

 

Cash Flows Used in Financing Activities. Cash used in financing activities was $45.7 million in fiscal 2018 compared with $30.3 million in fiscal 2017. Cash used for the repurchase of common stock totaled $40.4 million in fiscal 2018 and $25.0 million in fiscal 2017.  Dividends paid to stockholders used cash of $4.2 million in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2017.

 

Until required for other purposes, we maintain cash and cash equivalents in deposit or money market accounts.

 

Liquidity Sources and Requirements and Contractual Cash Requirements and Commitments

 

Our principal sources of liquidity consist of: (i) cash and cash equivalents (which equaled $19.9 million as of February 1, 2020); (ii) short-term and long-term investment securities (which equaled $27.5 million and $15.7 million, respectively, as of February 1, 2020); (iii) short-term trade credit; (iv) cash generated from operations on an ongoing basis as we sell our merchandise inventory; and (v) a $50 million revolving credit facility.  Trade credit represents a significant source of financing for inventory purchases and arises from customary payment terms and trade practices with our vendors.  Historically, our principal liquidity requirements have been for working capital and capital expenditure needs.

 

As part of the actions we have taken to increase our cash position and preserve financial flexibility in light of current uncertainties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, as described above in “Current Material Developments,” on March 20, 2020, we borrowed $43.7 million in principal amount under our revolving credit facility.  In addition, on May 12, 2020, we entered into an amendment to our revolving credit facility to, among other things, extend the maturity date to August 18, 2021.  See “Indebtedness”  below for more information.

 

In addition to the drawdown on our credit facility, we have reduced our operating expenses, capital expenditure plans and inventory receipts, as appropriate. Additionally, we previously announced a share repurchase program on March 13, 2020, but no repurchases have been made under such program as of the date of this filing and the Company does not intend to repurchase any shares for the time being.  The Company has also suspended the payment of quarterly dividends. 

 

We believe that our existing sources of liquidity will be sufficient to fund our operations for at least the next 12 months.  Should the reopening of our stores and recovery of our sales fall materially below our expectations, we may be required to take other actions that could include material changes in our operations and seeking additional debt or equity capital.  We plan to continue to monitor the rapidly developing situation and to take further action to reduce our expenses and preserve our financial flexibility, as necessary

 

The following table discloses aggregate information about our contractual obligations as of February 1, 2020 and the periods in which payments are due:

 

 

Indebtedness. On October 27, 2011, we entered into a five-year, $50 million credit facility with Bank of America.  The facility was amended on August 18, 2015, extending the maturity date to August 18, 2020.  On March 20, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we borrowed $43.7 million on our revolving credit facility to enhance our liquidity position.  Such borrowings accrued interest ranging from 1.625% to 3.5%.

 

On May 12, 2020, the Company entered into a Second Amendment to Credit Agreement and Waiver (the “Second Amendment”) with Bank of America and the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Citi Trends Marketing Solutions, Inc., as guarantor (the “Second Amendment”) to amend the credit facility (as amended, the “Revolving Credit Facility”) as described below.

 

The Revolving Credit Facility provides a $50 million credit commitment and a $25 million uncommitted “accordion” feature that under certain circumstances could allow us to increase the size of the facility to $75 million.  The Revolving Credit Facility is secured by our inventory, accounts receivable and related assets, but not our real estate, fixtures and equipment, and it contains one financial covenant, a fixed charge coverage ratio, which is applicable and tested only in certain circumstances.  The facility has an unused commitment fee of 0.25% and permits the payment of cash dividends subject to certain limitations, including a requirement that there were no borrowings outstanding in the 30 days prior to the dividend payment and no borrowings are expected in the 30 days subsequent to the payment. 

 

The Second Amendment amends the Revolving Credit Facility to, among other things, extend the maturity date (which had been set to expire August 18, 2020) to August 18, 2021, increase the pricing for the loans and modify certain covenant and reporting terms. Following the effective date of the Second Amendment, borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility will bear interest (a) for Eurodollar Loans, at a rate equal to LIBOR plus either 2.25% or 2.5%, or (b) for Base Rate Loans, at a rate equal to the highest of (i) the prime rate, (ii) the Federal Funds Rate plus 0.5%, or (iii) LIBOR for a period of one month plus 1.0%, plus, in each case either 1.25% or 1.5%, based in any such case on the average daily availability for borrowings under the facility.

 

Operating Leases. We lease our stores under operating leases, which generally have an initial term of five years with renewal options. The typical store lease requires a combination of both fixed monthly rents and contingent rents computed as a percentage of net sales after a certain sales threshold has been met. For fiscal 2019, rent expense was $58.1 million compared with $55.3 million in fiscal 2018 (including contingent rent of $0.3 million and $0.5 million in fiscal 2019 and 2018, respectively).

 

Purchase Obligations. As of February 1, 2020, we had purchase obligations of $114.0 million, all of which were for less than one year. These purchase obligations consist of outstanding merchandise orders.

 

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

 

The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. We believe the following critical accounting policies describe the more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements.

 

Inventory

 

Inventory is stated at the lower of cost (first-in, first-out basis) or net realizable value as determined by the retail inventory method for store inventory and the average cost method for distribution center inventory. Under the retail inventory method, the cost of inventory is determined by calculating a cost-to-retail ratio and applying it to the retail value of inventory. Inherent in the retail inventory calculation are