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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
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FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report:
(Date of earliest event reported)
March 3, 2004
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CONN'S, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
Delaware
(State or other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)
000-50421 06-1672840
(Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification No.)
3295 College Street
Beaumont, Texas 77701
(Address of Principal Executive
Offices and zip code)
(409) 832-1696
(Registrant's telephone
number, including area code)
N/A
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)
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Item 7. Exhibits.
Exhibit 99.1 Press Release, dated March 3, 2004
Item 12. Results of Operations and Financial Condition.
On March 3, 2004, the Company issued a press release announcing product
sales for the quarter and year ended January 31, 2004. A copy of the press
release is furnished herewith as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by
reference.
All of the information contained in Item 7 and Item 12 in this Form 8-K
and the accompanying exhibit shall not be deemed to be "filed" for the purposes
of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and shall not
be incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
CONN'S, INC.
Date: March 3, 2004 By: /s/ C. William Frank
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C. William Frank
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer
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EXHIBIT INDEX
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Exhibit No. Description
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99.1 Press Release, dated March 3, 2004
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EXHIBIT 99.1
Conn's, Inc. Reports Record Sales Results for the Quarter and Year Ended January
31, 2004
BEAUMONT, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 3, 2004--Conn's, Inc
(NASDAQ/NM:CONN), a specialty retailer of home appliances, consumer
electronics, home office products, bedding and lawn and garden
products, today announced its product sales results for the quarter
and year ended January 31, 2004.
Product sales for the quarter ended January 31, 2004 increased
$21.7 million, or 22.6%, from $96.0 million for the 2003 fiscal
quarter to $117.7 million for the 2004 fiscal quarter. Same store
sales (sales recorded in stores operated for the entirety of both
periods) were up 11.7% for the quarter. Product sales for the year
ended January 31, 2004 increased $50.7 million, or 14.6%, from $347.9
million for the 2003 fiscal year to $398.6 million for the 2004 fiscal
year. Same store sales for the full year were up 2.6%.
Thomas J. Frank, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We
finished our year with a strong effort. The holiday selling season was
particularly significant as we experienced good same store sales
growth in all three months of the quarter. The emphasis that we placed
on our track area and taking advantage of the available opportunities
in bedding and lawn and garden product categories appear to have
helped us regain some of the momentum that we had lost earlier in the
year."
The Company expects that more complete financial results for the
fourth quarter and fiscal year ended January 31, 2004, including total
revenues, will be released on or about April 13, 2004, following the
completion of its normal year-end audit. In an attempt to provide
meaningful information prior to future earnings release dates, the
Company intends to release its quarterly product sales results
approximately seven days after each quarter end.
About Conn's, Inc.
The Company is a specialty retailer currently operating 46 retail
locations in Texas and Louisiana. It sells major home appliances,
including refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers and ranges, and a
variety of consumer electronics, including projection, plasma, LCD and
DLP televisions, camcorders, VCRs, DVD players and home theater
products. The Company also sells home office equipment, lawn and
garden products and bedding, and continues to introduce additional
product categories for the home to help increase same store sales and
to respond to our customers' product needs.
Unlike many of its competitors, the Company provides in-house
credit options for its customers. Historically, it has financed over
56% of retail sales. Customer receivables are financed substantially
through an asset-backed securitization facility, from which the
Company derives servicing fee income and interest income from these
assets. The Company transfers receivables, consisting of retail
installment contracts and revolving accounts extended to its
customers, to a qualifying special purpose entity, or the issuer, in
exchange for cash and subordinated securities represented by
asset-backed and variable funding notes issued to third parties.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements
generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology
such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "could," "estimate,"
"should," "anticipate," or "believe," or the negative thereof or
variations thereon or similar terminology. Although the Company
believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking
statements will prove to be correct, the Company can give no assurance
that such expectations will prove to have been correct. The actual
future performance of the Company could differ materially from such
statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences
include, but are not limited to: the Company's growth strategy and
plans regarding opening new stores and entering new markets; the
Company's intention to update or expand existing stores; the Company's
estimated capital expenditures and costs related to the opening of new
stores or the update or expansion of existing stores; the Company's
ability to introduce additional product categories; the Company's cash
flow from operations, growth trends and projected sales in the home
appliance and consumer electronics industry and the Company's ability
to capitalize on such growth; relationships with the Company's key
suppliers; the results of the Company's litigation; weather conditions
in the Company's markets; changes in the Company's stock price; the
actual number of shares of common stock outstanding; and the
completion of the Company's year end audit. Further information on
these risk factors is included in the Company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's current
report on Form 8-K filed on December 11, 2003. You are cautioned not
to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as required by
law, the Company is not obligated to publicly release any revisions to
these forward-looking statements to reflect the events or
circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect the
occurrence of unanticipated events.
CONTACT: Conn's, Inc., Beaumont
Thomas J. Frank, 409-832-1696 Ext. 3218