BEBE RATED A GOOD FIT; RETAILER'S STYLE A HIP, PROFITABLE CHOICE FOR INVESTORS.Byline: Stacy Stacy may refer to: Places:
A major global provider of 24-hour financial news and information including real-time and historic price data, financials data, trading news and analyst coverage, as well as general news and sports. News Bebe Stores bebe stores (pronounced bee-bee) is an American clothing retailer founded in 1976 by the Iranian-born Manny Mashouf, who emigrated to the United States in the early 70s and opened the first bebe store in San Francisco. "Bebe" is the Persian word for "queen. Inc.'s shares have risen threefold since the company went public last June, and Cassandra Ashley is part of the reason why that has happened. The chain of stores selling slim-fitting, body-hugging clothing is a hit with women age 18 to 35, its target group of shoppers. It keeps limited amounts of each style in stock. That gives Bebe's fashions a ``gotta-have'' cachet cachet /ca·chet/ (ka-sha´) a disk-shaped wafer or capsule enclosing a dose of medicine. ca·chet n. An edible wafer capsule used for enclosing an unpleasant-tasting drug. . It's also a hit with investors - since the initial public offering, Bebe's sales and earnings have more than doubled. Same-store sales Same-store sales is a business term which refers to the revenue generated by one of a retail chain's specific outlets during a certain period of time (often a fiscal quarter or a particular shopping season), compared to an identical period in the past, usually in the previous year. , those at stores open at least a year, have risen by double-digit percentages for 10 straight quarters. ``They're giving investors phenomenal earnings growth, far and above what anyone thought when they went public,'' said analyst Rick Snyder of Morgan Morgan, American family of financiers and philanthropists. Junius Spencer Morgan, 1813–90, b. West Springfield, Mass., prospered at investment banking. Keegan & Co. He rates the stock ``outperform Outperform An analyst recommendation meaning a stock is expected to do slightly better than the market return. Notes: Exact definitions vary by brokerage, but in general this rating is better than neutral and worse than buy or strong buy. .'' Customers like Ashley, 22, make frequent trips to Bebe to find those few-of-a-kind fashions. She knows that if she doesn't buy the shirt that caught her eye in the store window, it won't be there when she returns a week later. ``I don't like to shop, but when I find a store that's hit it on the nose like they have, I'm a customer for life,'' said Ashley, a junior accountant at Merial Pharmaceuticals in Edison, N.J. Bebe shares gained $1.125 to $30. The company made its initial public offering at $11 a share, and the shares reached a high of $50 earlier this spring. Late last month, Bebe said its fiscal third-quarter net income rose 69 percent to $5.4 million, or 21 cents a share, from $3.2 million, or 13 cents, a year ago. That beat the average estimate of 19 cents by five analysts polled by First Call Corp. Sales rose to $46 million in the quarter ended March 31, from $33.3 million. ``We're addressing fashion, not just basics, and we're focused on meeting all of our customers' lifestyle needs,'' said Chief Financial Officer Blair Lambert Lambert may refer to
The company also is focusing on the fashion needs of its younger, or ``aspirational,'' shoppers who buy lower-priced Bebe logo items and occasional dresses. Bebe's betting that as these customers get older and more affluent, they will buy its higher-priced merchandise. As Bebe plans to add the latest line of goods to its suits, skirts and jackets, it will also have to add stores, analysts said. The company plans to open 15 new stores annually, eventually operating about 220 stores nationwide. Bebe currently operates 97 stores. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos PHOTO (1--Color) Shoppers stroll past snug-fitting, eye-catching window displays at the Bebe clothing store at Topanga Plaza in Woodland Hills. Andy Holzman/Daily News (2-3--Color) no caption (Two dresses) |
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