UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A
(Rule 14a-101)

 

Information Required in Proxy Statement

 

Schedule 14A Information

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The Children’s Place, Inc.
(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)
 
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EBITDA ($ in millions) per Cap IQ
   FY2010  FY2011  FY2012  FY2013  FY2014  
The Children’s Place, Inc.  $ 196  $ 174  $ 173  $ 164  $ 141  
                  
Closest Operating Peers                 
Gymboree  $ 220  $ 158  $ 134  $ 94  $ 74  
Justice  163  197  242  196  114  
                  
Other Specialty Retail                 
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.  $ 517  $ 546  $ 595  $ 446  $ 410  
Aéropostale, Inc.  452  195  158  (70) (73 )
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.  481  435  558  356  349  
ANN INC.  221  240  265  277  240  
Ascena Retail Group Inc.  384  433  467  487  418  
The Buckle, Inc.  241  269  292  290  289  
Chico’s FAS Inc.  271  327  400  334  287  
The Gap, Inc.  2,624  2,044  2,494  2,653  2,635  
Tilly’s, Inc.  40  51  56  51  45  
                  
Wholesale/Retail                 
Carter’s, Inc.  $ 275  $ 232  $ 314  $ 371  $ 417  

 

EBITDA CAGR (2010 – 2014)

 

 

 

EBITDA CAGR (2012 – 2014)

 

 

 

Source: Capital IQ, Company filings

Note:  Ascena and Justice figures show LTM data to adjust for mid-year fiscal year end. OshKosh not included as Carter’s disclosure does not allow specific segment EBITDA calculation.
1
EBITDA Margins per Cap IQ
   FY2010  FY2011  FY2012  FY2013  FY2014
The Children’s Place, Inc.   11.7 %   10.2 %   9.6 %   9.3 %   8.0 %
                          
Closest Operating Peers                         
Gymboree   20.4 %   13.3 %   10.5 %   7.5 %   6.1 %
Justice   14.5 %   15.8 %   17.5 %   13.9 %   8.5 %
                          
Other Specialty Retail                         
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.   14.9 %   13.1 %   13.2 %   10.8 %   10.9 %
Aéropostale, Inc.   18.8 %   8.3 %   6.6 %   (3.4)%   (3.9)%
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.   16.3 %   13.9 %   16.1 %   10.8 %   10.6 %
ANN INC.   11.2 %   10.8 %   11.1 %   11.1 %   9.5 %
Ascena Retail Group Inc.   13.5 %   14.1 %   11.4 %   10.1 %   8.7 %
The Buckle, Inc.   25.3 %   25.3 %   26.0 %   25.7 %   25.0 %
Chico’s FAS Inc.   14.2 %   14.9 %   15.5 %   12.9 %   10.7 %
The Gap, Inc.   17.9 %   14.0 %   15.9 %   16.4 %   16.0 %
Tilly’s, Inc.   12.0 %   12.6 %   11.9 %   10.3 %   8.8 %
                          
Wholesale/Retail                         
Carter’s, Inc.   15.7 %   11.0 %   13.2 %   14.0 %   14.4 %

 

EBITDA Margin Change (2010 - 2014)

 

 

 

EBITDA Margin Change (2012 - 2014)

 

 

Source: Capital IQ, Company filings

Note:  Ascena and Justice figures show LTM data to adjust for mid-year fiscal year end. Justice margins do not include any adjustment for corporate expenses that would otherwise be incurred if they were a standalone operating peer. OshKosh not included as Carter’s disclosure does not allow specific segment EBITDA calculation.
2
EBIT ($ in millions) per Cap IQ
   FY2010    FY2011    FY2012    FY2013    FY2014  
The Children’s Place, Inc.   $ 132    $ 108    $ 112    $ 106    $ 91 
                          
Closest Operating Peers                         
OshKosh   $ 19    $ (10)   $ (8)   $ (1)   $ 8 
Gymboree   177    100    76    47    30 
Justice   125    157    195    135    53 
                          
Other Specialty Retail                         
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.   $ 288    $ 313    $ 371    $ 211    $ 183 
Aéropostale, Inc.   394    130    92    (135)   (123)
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.   342    297    433    237    213 
ANN INC.   125    145    167    170    129 
Ascena Retail Group Inc.   298    338    331    317    218 
The Buckle, Inc.   211    236    258    257    257 
Chico’s FAS Inc.   177    228    292    216    164 
The Gap, Inc.   1,976    1,452    1,935    2,117    2,071 
Tilly’s, Inc.   26    35    39    32    24 
                          
Wholesale/Retail                         
Carter’s, Inc.   $ 243    $ 200    $ 275    $ 306    $ 343 

 

EBIT CAGR (2010 - 2014)

 

 

EBIT CAGR (2012 - 2014)

 

 

Source: Capital IQ, Company filings

Note: Ascena and Justice figures show LTM data to adjust for mid-year fiscal year end.

3
Fiscal EBIT Margins per Cap IQ
   FY2010  FY2011  FY2012  FY2013  FY2014
The Children’s Place, Inc.   7.9 %   6.3  %   6.2 %   6.0 %   5.2 %
                          
Closest Operating Peers                         
OshKosh   7.3 %   (3.5)%   (2.8)%   (0.5)%   2.4 %
Gymboree   16.5 %   8.4 %   5.9 %   3.8 %   2.4 %
Justice   11.2 %   12.5 %   14.1 %   9.6 %   3.9 %
                          
Other Specialty Retail                         
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.   8.3 %   7.5 %   8.2 %   5.1 %   4.9 %
Aéropostale, Inc.   16.4 %   5.5 %   3.9 %   (6.4)%   (6.7)%
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.   11.6 %   9.5 %   12.5 %   7.2 %   6.5 %
ANN INC.   6.3 %   6.6 %   7.0 %   6.8 %   5.1 %
Ascena Retail Group Inc.   10.5 %   11.0 %   8.1 %   6.6 %   4.5 %
The Buckle, Inc.   22.2 %   22.2 %   23.0 %   22.8 %   22.3 %
Chico’s FAS Inc.   9.3 %   10.4 %   11.3 %   8.3 %   6.1 %
The Gap, Inc.   13.5 %   10.0 %   12.4 %   13.1 %   12.6 %
Tilly’s, Inc.   7.7 %   8.9 %   8.3 %   6.4 %   4.7 %
                          
Wholesale/Retail                         
Carter’s, Inc.   13.9 %   9.5 %   11.5 %   11.6 %   11.8 %

 

EBIT Margin Change (2010 - 2014)

 

 

EBIT Margin Change (2012 - 2014)

 

 

Source: Capital IQ, Company filings

Note:  Ascena and Justice figures show LTM data to adjust for mid-year fiscal year end. OshKosh and Justice margins do not include any adjustment for corporate expenses that would otherwise be incurred if they were a standalone operating peer.
4
eCommerce Revenue ($ in millions)  CAGR (%)
   FY2010   FY2011   FY2012   FY2013   FY2014   ’10 - ’14  ’12 - ’14
Children’s Place     $ 151      $ 176      $ 215      $ 246      $ 280      16.6 %     14.1 %
                                                  
Closest Operating Peers                                                 
OshKosh     -      $ 18      $ 33      $ 47      $ 60      -      34.6 %
Gymboree     -      -      -      -      -      -      - 
Justice     -      -      -      -      -      -      - 
                                                  
Other Specialty Retail                                                 
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.     $ 405      $ 553      $ 701      $ 778      $ 833      19.7 %     9.0 %
Aéropostale, Inc.     -      -      -      -      -      -      - 
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.     -      -      -      -      -      -      - 
ANN INC.     189      248      -      -      -      -      - 
Ascena Retail Group Inc.     36      104      160      368      450      -      - 
The Buckle, Inc.     62      78      85      89      94      10.9 %     5.6 %
Chico’s FAS Inc.     -      -      -      -      -      -      - 
The Gap, Inc.     1,300      1,600      1,900      2,300      2,500      17.8 %     14.7 %
Tilly’s, Inc.     -      -      -      -      -      -      - 
                                                  
Wholesale/Retail                                                 
Carter’s, Inc.     -      $ 55      $ 110      $ 164      $ 209      -      38.2 %

 

 

eCommerce as % of Total Revenues  ▲ in bps
% of Total Revenue  2010   2011   2012   2013   2014   ’10 - ’14   ’12 - ’14 
Children’s Place   9.0%   10.3%   11.9%   13.9%   15.9%   685  bps    401  bps 
                                          
Closest Operating Peers                                         
OshKosh   -    6.3%   11.7%   16.3%   17.9%      -    622  bps 
Gymboree   -    -    -    -    -       -       - 
Justice   -    -    -    -    -       -       - 
                                          
Other Specialty Retail                                         
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.   11.7%   13.3%   15.5%   18.9%   22.2%   1,056  bps    670  bps 
Aéropostale, Inc.   -    -    -    -    -       -       - 
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.   -    -    -    -    -       -       - 
ANN INC.   9.6%   11.2%   -    -    -       -       - 
Ascena Retail Group Inc.   1.3%   3.4%   3.9%   7.7%   9.4%   808  bps    545  bps 
The Buckle, Inc.   6.6%   7.3%   7.5%   7.9%   8.2%   161  bps    66  bps 
Chico’s FAS Inc.   -    -    -    -    -       -       - 
The Gap, Inc.   8.9%   11.0%   12.1%   14.2%   15.2%   635  bps    307  bps 
Tilly’s, Inc.   -    -    -    -    -       -       - 
                                          
Wholesale/Retail                                         
Carter’s, Inc.   -    2.6%   4.6%   6.2%   7.2%      -    262  bps 

 

Source: Capital IQ, Company filings

Note:   Figures represent each company’s respective FY disclosed e-commerce revenues. (-) noted for companies who do not disclose e-commerce revenue.
 

Safe Harbor Statement Forward Looking Statements This presentation may contain certain forward-looking statements regarding future circumstances. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company’s current expectations and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and performance to differ materially. Some of these risks and uncertainties are described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the “Risk Factors” section of its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2015. Included among the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and performance to differ materially are the risk that the Company will be unsuccessful in gauging fashion trends and changing consumer preferences, the risks resulting from the highly competitive nature of the Company’s business and its dependence on consumer spending patterns, which may be affected by the weakness in the economy that continues to affect the Company’s target customer, the risk that the Company’s strategic initiatives to increase sales and margin are delayed or do not result in anticipated improvements, the risk that the cost of raw materials or energy prices will increase beyond current expectations or that the Company is unable to offset cost increases through value engineering or price increases, and the uncertainty of weather patterns. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. The inclusion of any statement in this release does not constitute an admission by the Company or any other person that the events or circumstances described in such statement are material. Important Additional Information The Children’s Place, Inc. (the “Company”), its directors and certain of its executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Company shareholders in connection with the matters to be considered at the Company’s 2015 Annual Meeting. The Company has filed a definitive proxy statement and form of WHITE proxy card with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in connection with any such solicitation of proxies from Company shareholders. COMPANY SHAREHOLDERS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT AND ACCOMPANYING WHITE PROXY CARD AS THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Information regarding the identity of potential participants, and their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is set forth in the proxy statement and other materials filed by the Company with the SEC. Shareholders will be able to obtain any proxy statement, any amendments or supplements to the proxy statement and other documents filed by the Company with the SEC for no charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies will also be available at no charge at the Company’s website at www.childrensplace.com, by writing to The Children’s Place, Inc. at 500 Plaza Drive, Secaucus, NJ 07094, or by calling the Company’s proxy solicitor, MacKenzie Partners, toll-free at (800) 322-2885. 1