"Compared to most other retailers, our steadfast focus on delivering compelling values has helped to offset some of the impact on our business from the recent slowdown in consumer spending. That said, based on the increasingly difficult macro-economic and retail climate and our expectation of a very promotional holiday season, we believe it is prudent to adopt a more conservative outlook for the fourth quarter."
"As a result, while we hope to do better, for the 13 weeks ending January 31, 2009, we now are projecting comparable store sales to decline 1% to 3% and forecasting earnings per share to be in the range of $.69 to $.75, compared to $.70 in the 2007 fourth quarter. For the 2008 fiscal year ending January 31, 2009, we now are forecasting earnings per share in the range of $2.26 to $2.32, for a projected increase of 19% to 22% over $1.90 in fiscal 2007," Mr. Balmuth concluded.