Specialist
Former executive at Burlington Stores Inc
Agenda
- Trends and developments in the off-price industry, focusing on Burlington (NYSE: BURL)
- Merchandising trends and demand outlook focusing on key categories such as apparel and home
- Footprint rationalisation considering unit growth and new store economics
- Medium-to-long-term outlook
Questions
1.
Could you share 2-3 key trends or developments you’ve been following in the off-price industry?
2.
At what pace has the off-price market been growing, and how much do you expect it to grow in 2022? What might 2023 look like and what is your 3-5-year growth outlook?
3.
You mentioned the differences in performance in Q1 2022 across TJ Maxx, Ross and Burlington, which seems rare. What caused that different performance?
4.
What are your views on Burlington’s product portfolio, including the main categories and your outlook for its performance?
5.
Where do you think the value gaps are today for off-price players vs department stores, highlighting by category?
6.
What is your assessment of the current supply chain challenges impacting Burlington’s own supply chain?
7.
It seems there’s an implied increase in some of the trends, specifically in Q3 and Q4 2022, and maybe there’s this optimistic view that the inventory in-store should be getting better. You provided this history of relationships with your vendors. Is there anything else that gives you confidence, maybe a historical comparison, that this is going to play out and Burlington will get that in that Q3-Q4 timeline, and is that relationship with vendors the key factor there?
8.
You mentioned there’s an effort to build up Burlington’s home business, and that’s been perhaps more impacted by the supply chain and product availability. Do you have views across categories of product availability, which have been more or less impacted, and if you’ve seen a shift in the market share within the Burlington stores as a result of the product availability and supply chain constraints?
9.
What are the main inflationary pressures that have been impacting Burlington’s business model?
10.
You referenced the smaller store formats, that transition and what it means for merchandise. What are your views on the new store format and Burlington’s longer-term penetration opportunity?
11.
Do you have a realistic timeline for Burlington opening 2,000 stores, how long it would take to move to the smaller-footprint format and any execution risks that you would highlight?
12.
How should we think about Burlington’s potential growth and profitability profile over the next few years?
13.
Are there any key markets that you would highlight that are missing from Burlington’s portfolio, and any areas that the company will be focusing on?
14.
As Burlington focuses on growth west of the Mississippi, do you expect it will be able to close the margin in store performance gap relative to peers?
15.
What is the best- and worst-case scenario for Burlington over the next 12-18 months?
