May Dept Stores (NYSE:MAY)
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The May Department Stores Company Reviews Strategies And
Initiatives at Annual Meeting
ST. LOUIS, May 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The May Department Stores Company
reviewed with shareowners its strategic objectives and announced preliminary
proxy results at its annual meeting held today in Richmond, Va.
In remarks for the meeting, Gene Kahn, May's chairman and chief executive
officer, expressed his thanks to associates. "We appreciate all that our
associates accomplished in 2003 and are excited and optimistic about May's
potential in 2004 and beyond," he said.
Mr. Kahn also stated that May is focusing on offering distinctive and
authoritative merchandise assortments and executing five sales-getting
initiatives that are becoming more visible to the customer on the sales floor:
-- Delivering newness and fashion faster. After several years of
choosing basic merchandise, consumers are showing their desire for
more fashion and style. This provides tremendous opportunity to grow
sales by being at the forefront of identifying and delivering newness
and trend-right merchandise.
-- Identifying new traffic generators and reinforcing May's position as a
gift headquarters. Nonapparel giftables led the way to improved
results in the fourth quarter of last year, and May is on the offense
to deliver even more excitement and fun to every location in 2004.
-- Growing proprietary product sales. May continues to evolve and grow
its proprietary brands to provide the style and fashion that attract a
broader customer base and to make its selling floors stand out from
the competition.
-- Pursuing better segments of the business. May is making assortments
more distinctive by aggressively pursuing higher price lines. The
customer is definitely responding to luxury, and fashion is showing
little price resistance. This is revitalizing department stores, and
May's goal is to attract this customer to capture a larger share of
the better business.
-- Editing merchandise selections. Unnecessary duplication is being
eliminated to ensure greater clarity of offering. May is making the
shopping experience easier and more satisfying by editing assortments
to offer the customer the best selection within each merchandise
category.
Mr. Kahn told shareowners that May is focused on serving a broader customer
base and meeting those customer's needs for all of life's occasions, styles,
and stages. In 2003, May continued to pursue the young adult consumer,
particularly the younger female customer, while still serving the needs of the
core baby-boomer segment.
In addition, he noted that May stepped up the repositioning of Lord & Taylor to
return the icon franchise to its strength as an upscale retailer. Lord & Taylor
is creating a more dynamic merchandising presence by offering the newest
fashion looks, trend-forward styles, and unique brands not found in mainstream
stores. May also narrowed Lord & Taylor's focus to its best- performing core
markets, announcing plans last year to divest 32 stores.
Mr. Kahn said that May is strengthening the in-store presentation to better
showcase fashion and newness and to demonstrate how ideas work together. May
is reallocating selling floor space to ensure new products move to prominent
positions, improving clarity of signage, and continuing to make the shopping
experience more pleasant with wider aisles, brighter lighting, and
easier-to-shop floor configurations.
May's Bridal Group, the nation's largest retailer of bridal apparel, continued
to build its national presence by expanding its geographic reach in 2003. Last
year's acquisition of 225 tuxedo stores positioned our tuxedo business in major
new markets in the West and Midwest and doubled the number of our tuxedo stores
in the United States.
The Bridal Group, said Mr. Kahn, provides a platform for sales growth - more
than 20% of the wedding registrations in May's full-line department stores are
by David's Bridal customers. Wedding registries often give engaged couples a
unique introduction to May's department stores' strong selection of merchandise
for the home.
Mr. Kahn concluded his remarks by emphasizing the significance of May's
continuing commitment to lower operating costs, increase cash flow, and grow
operating earnings. May ended the year with $300 million less inventory, while
still meeting customers' expectations for both quality and selection.
Mr. Kahn also stressed May's commitment to offering distinctive, fashionable
merchandise and fresh, exciting ideas in every product category, in every
store. He said, "Bringing this commitment to life on our selling floors --
supported with improved inventory management and strong operating disciplines
-- positions us for continued sales and earnings growth."
In 2004, May's $600 million capital expenditure plan includes opening eight new
department stores and remodeling or expanding 12 stores. The Bridal Group
plans to open 30 David's Bridal stores, 20 After Hours stores, and two
Priscilla of Boston stores. To date this year, one department store, five
David's Bridal stores, and four After Hours stores have opened.
Earlier this year, May increased the annual dividend rate to 97 cents per
share, its 29th consecutive year of increased dividends, and its 93rd year of
uninterrupted dividends.
Shareowners elected five directors: Eugene S. Kahn, chairman and chief
executive officer of May; Helene Kaplan, of counsel to the law firm of Skadden,
Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; James M. Kilts, chairman of the board and
chief executive officer of The Gillette Company; Russell E. Palmer, chairman
and chief executive officer of The Palmer Group; and William P. Stiritz,
chairman of the boards of Energizer Holdings, Inc, and Ralcorp Holdings, Inc.
Board members whose terms continue are: John L. Dunham, president of May;
Marsha J. Evans, president and chief executive officer of the American Red
Cross; Michael R. Quinlan, chairman emeritus of McDonald's Corporation; Joyce
M. Roche, president and chief executive officer of Girls Incorporated; Edward
E. Whitacre Jr., chairman of the board and chief executive officer of SBC
Communications, Inc.; and R. Dean Wolfe, executive vice president of
acquisitions and real estate for May.
Shareowners also ratified the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as
independent accountants, approved amendments to an incentive compensation plan
and to a stock option plan, and approved a shareowner recommendation concerning
a classified board.
The May Department Stores Company currently operates 439 department stores
under the names of Lord & Taylor, Famous-Barr, Filene's, Foley's, Hecht's,
Kaufmann's, L.S. Ayres, Meier & Frank, Robinsons-May, Strawbridge's, and The
Jones Store, as well as 215 David's Bridal stores, 458 After Hours Formalwear
stores, and 10 Priscilla of Boston stores. May operates in 46 states, the
District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
For more information, contact Sharon Bateman at (314) 342-6494.
This release also contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. While this release reflects all
available information and management's judgment and estimates of current and
anticipated conditions and circumstances and is prepared with the assistance of
specialists within and outside the company, there are many factors outside of
our control that have an impact on our operations. Such factors include but
are not limited to competitive changes, general and regional economic
conditions, consumer preferences and spending patterns, availability of
adequate locations for building or acquiring new stores, and our ability to
hire and retain qualified associates. Because of these factors, actual
performance could differ materially from that described in forward-looking
statements.
DATASOURCE: The May Department Stores Company
CONTACT: Sharon Bateman, +1-314-342-6494, for The May Department Stores
Company