The Men

123jump.com Staff
20 Mar, 2009
New York City

The men''s apparel retailer total quarterly sales declined 11% to $476.4 million. Net quarterly income plunged 90% to $1.5 million. Earnings per share slumped to 3 cents from 28 cents a year-ago quarter. Sales decreased 6.6% to $1.97 billion for fiscal 2008.

The Men’s Wearhouse, Inc. ((MW))
Q4 2008 Earnings Call Transcript
March 11, 2009 5:00 p.m. ET

Executives

Ken Dennard – DRG&E
Neill P. Davis - Chief Financial Officer, Principal Financial Officer, Executive Vice President & Treasurer
George A. Zimmer - Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer

Analysts

Brian Tunick – JPMorgan
Richard Jaffe – Stifel Nicolaus & Co.
Janet Kloppenburg – JJK Research
David Mann – Johnson Rice & Company, L.L.C.
Betty Chen – Wedbush Morgan Securities
Laura Champine – Cowen & Company
Susan Sansbury - Miller Tabak + Co., LLC

Presentation

Operator

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to The Men’s Wearhouse fourth quarter 2008 earnings conference call. During today’s presentation all parties will be in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation the conference will be open for questions. If you have a question, please press the “*” followed by the “1” on your touchtone phone. Please press “*0” for operator assistance at any time. If you are using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up the handset before making your selection. This conference is being recorded today, Wednesday, March 11th of 2009. At this time, I’d like to turn the conference over to Mr. Ken Dennard with DRG&E. Please go ahead, sir.

Ken Dennard

Thanks Vince. Good afternoon and welcome to The Men''s Wearhouse fiscal 2008 fourth quarter and full year earnings call. As you know we’ll be making a number of forward-looking statements and all such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations and assumptions mentioned today due to a variety of factors that affect the company including the risks specified in the most recently filed Form 10-Q and Form 10-K.

Today’s call is copyrighted material to The Men''s Wearhouse and cannot be rebroadcast without our express written consent. I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Neill Davis, Executive Vice President and CFO of The Men''s Wearhouse. Neill.

Neill P. Davis

Thanks Ken and good afternoon everyone. I will first review our fourth quarter results and then turn the call to George Zimmer for an overview of our strategies as we move into fiscal year 2009. I will then conclude with an overview of our financial guidance before opening the call to your questions. Earlier today we reported GAAP diluted earnings per share for the quarter of $0.03 which significantly exceeded our mid-quarter updated guidance which was at the lower end of the break even to $0.18 loss range.

This favorable variance is a result of better than expected clothing sales and margin results at our Men’s Wearhouse and Moores retail stores, the impact of lower operating costs from initiatives implemented during the quarter, a net gain from non-operating sources realized in the final month of the quarter, and lastly from a lower effective tax rate.

Total company sales performance in the fourth quarter of $476.4 million declined 11% from last year’s fourth quarter of $535 million. Total clothing sales of $406.7 million declined 12.8% from last year’s fourth quarter of $466.2 million while tuxedo rental revenues of $35.8 million increased 3% over last year’s fourth quarter revenues of $34.8 million.

Our initial expectations going into the quarter called for a comparable store sales decline in the mid-single digit to low double digit range for our core Men’s Wearhouse stores which includes the MW Tux stores. Actual results for the quarter of a decline of 9.7% were better than our mid-quarter updated expectations largely due to increased customer traffic from our elevated promotional posture in January.

Comparable store sales expectations for K&G were initially targeted at a high single digit to low double digit decrease. Actual results were a decline of 10.7%. While we continue to be challenged in our men’s category we are maintaining positive trending in our ladies category. In Canada, comparable store sales results were a decline of 10.5%. This was better than expected at our mid-quarter update and is the result of an increase in customer traffic stemming from our promotional cadence during the month of January which was similar to the posture we had taken in our Men’s Wearhouse stores in the US.

Gross margin before occupancy costs decreased 294 basis points from 56.68% to 53.74%. Decreases in our clothing product margins as a percentage of related sales of 396 basis points were driven by a decrease in merchandise margins principally at our Men''s Wearhouse stores.

Our promotional pace accelerated in the quarter based on the positive response we were realizing from increased customer traffic which contributed to our better than expected earnings per share results for the quarter. We ended the quarter with domestic retail apparel inventory below last year by 9.9% which compares to a decline in related sales of 8.6% for the year and 9.4% for the quarter. I highlight this to remind you of the effectiveness of our merchants and managing their investments and inventory to support sales demand.

Occupancy costs decreased on a dollar basis by 1.9%, however, increased as a percentage of total net sales by 141 basis points moving from 13.91% up to 15.32% primarily due to the de-leveraging effect of reduced comparable store sales.

Excluding $1.8 million in non-cash charges associated with an impairment charge for two K&G retail locations and an $8.8 million gain on a sale of a tuxedo distribution center as a result of eminent domain proceedings selling, general and administrative expenses before advertising decreased 9% from the prior year quarter.

We implemented a number of actions during the quarter to adjust our operating costs to the realities and external conditions impacting our business and the domestic economy as a whole. We have streamlined our store field management organization, reduced corporate office personnel, reduced incentive compensation payments, reduced various benefit programs and reduced general administrative spending. These actions clearly impacted fourth quarter results and will also impact fiscal 2009 results as well. While we’re reducing our spending in the areas I just highlighted we are increasing our spending in other areas to further drive increases in market share. We have and will increase our commitments for marketing.

I should highlight that the strengthening US dollar is having a negative impact on reported results due to the translation effects of our Canadian operations. The impact for the quarter is an estimated $0.04 per share and for the year $0.03 per share. The lower than expected effective tax rate for the quarter was primarily due to favorable developments on certain outstanding income tax matters and a true up of a tax provision for the full year. Lastly, I want to highlight that this year’s quarter is being negatively impacted as we anniversary the new uniform program of a major customer of our corporate uniform business of TwinHill. The impact to the quarter is approximately $0.04 per diluted share.

So, to recap the fourth quarter results. Our diluted earnings per share were better than our updated expectations as well as that expected by consensus views on Wall Street driven in part by unusual non-recurring events. Our promotional posture is resonating with customers both new and existing and is positively impacting our gross profit dollars due in large part to effective marketing and merchandising initiatives. Lastly, we are driving reductions in operating costs in response to declining sales trends which has also contributed to our better than expected bottom line performance.

Let me now turn your attention to our liquidity and balance sheet. At quarter end our cash reserves and short term investments were $104.5 million and outstanding debt was $62.9 million. Maturity dates for outstanding debt obligations are $37.9 million coming due in February, 2011 and $25 million coming due in February, 2012. We finished the year with capital expenditures of $88 million which was in line with our last guidance range. Weighted average diluted outstanding shares of 52 million were 1.3% or 700,000 shares less than the fourth quarter of the prior year. We did not repurchase any shares in the quarter and therefore continue to have available approximately $44 million of remaining authorization. That covers the review of the quarter.

Let me now turn the call to George to discuss our operating strategies for the coming year and I will follow up after that to outline our earnings guidance for the first half of the fiscal year. George.

George A. Zimmer

Thanks Neill. As Neill just reported the fourth quarter finished stronger than expected and suit business is strong. In addition to lowering costs we’ve redefined our value proposition at Men''s Wearhouse and Moores stores to mean deep discount sometimes even buy one, get one free. This change was made following evidence that store traffic and suit unit sales rose dramatically when this promotion was advertised.

We believe that this strategy is necessary in the current economic environment and still allows us to offer our customers extraordinary value while maintaining adequate margins. This strategy bear in mind comes from a company that practically invented everyday low pricing. Imagine how difficult it was to change after 25 years.

Willis Harman, a futurist from the Stanford Research Institute once said, “Knowledge is more than the ability to assimilate information, it’s the capacity to hold lightly those ideas we most cherish so new information can change our mind.” To be competitive in this promotional environment we’ve had to adjust and it’s working well and has taught us two things. Number one, shoppers of which there are few want a deal and two, it’s tough predicting the future.

For the first time since the Texas financial meltdown in the early ’80s we’re eliminating people and positions. We are slowing IT growth as well as new store growth. We’re examining all expenses and significantly lowering most beginning with a 20% reduction in my base compensation, a 10% reduction in the Board of Directors’ compensation, and a 5% reduction in other senior executive compensation. The total expense reductions approximate $35 million. These savings however still allow significant corporate events such as holiday parties and training meetings to still take place albeit at a reduced cost.

With approximately 1,200 US stores these gatherings are essential at integrating individual stores and people into the whole organization to continue to provide a quality customer experience nationwide. Partially because of this customer service our tuxedo rental business remains extremely profitable and we are planning on continued growth in 2009.

We are rebranding our tuxedo rental only stores, formerly MW Tux, with our name Men''s Wearhouse and Tux. To accommodate our younger tuxedo rental customer we’re introducing designer jeans, fashion T-shirts and vests along with woven shirts and more complementary shoes and belts into all regular Men''s Wearhouse stores and they will be in all of the standalone Men''s Wearhouse and Tux stores by April.

Although the year has just begun, the three main performance metrics in tux rental are all positive, average wedding size, average paid unit and total sales. At K&G we are just launching a new branding campaign on television and radio. When you see the commercials remember we must first break through the clutter to be heard. In addition, our K&G ladies business as you heard from Neill is growing in importance and we’ve come up with a way to refurbish 80 of the 108 K&G stores with a fresh new look and improved customer navigation for about $3 million all in which is included in Neill’s CapEx estimates. Our marketing spend at K&G will increase both in dollars and more dramatically gross rating points. Because the discount value sector should do better in tough times we’re hopeful K&G has turned the corner

TwinHill, our corporate uniform business and Men''s Wearhouse Cleaners were each profitable last year but still represent less than 3% of our business. Since US Air is one of our fine corporate uniform customers we can only assume that Sully, the Captain who landed in the Hudson River, was wearing our product.

Before I turn this call back to Neill to talk about 2009 guidance let me add that the company is fortunate that our balance sheet affords us the luxury of not sacrificing our values for financial stability. Times like these require making decisions with incomplete information and thinking on one’s feet. Our experienced management team is proactively dealing with and anticipating the challenges we all face. Neill.

Neill P. Davis

Thank you George. As George has outlined our operating strategies for the year are changing. Those modifications coupled with the lack of forward visibility as per the timing and pace of improvements in macroeconomic conditions leads us to a modification of our forward financial guidance practice. Specifically, we are providing guidance for the first half of the fiscal year only at this time which we will reassess at the time we report first quarter results.

Our outlook for the first half is based on observed trending within our various business units over the last four months along with visibility of our tuxedo rental business for the upcoming peak season which is based on the building of advanced rental reservations. We anticipate our comparable store retail apparel sales to be down in the range of 6% to 10%. The lower end of that range is based on realization of trends observed in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. The strong end of the range is predicated on continued success in our merchandising and marketing initiatives that George just briefed you on. Results we have realized in the month of February would support the stronger side of that range across all business units. We anticipate a 7% to 9% increase in our tuxedo rental business for the first half of the year.

We are experiencing increases in the average wedding group size as well as higher average unit rental rates, the former being driven in part by improved customer service and the latter, higher demand for rentals of our designer brand styles.

Gross margins for the first and second quarter are expected to be below the prior year, particularly as we accelerate our promotional activity which will lead to lower merchandise margins. However, the rate of decline in margins are expected to moderate in the back half of the year as we realize the benefits of lower buying costs and anniversary our increased promotional cadence begun in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. We anticipate occupancy costs to decline in the low single digit range for the first half of the year in dollar terms.

Selling, general and administrative expenses before marketing expenses for the first half are expected to decline in the 7% to 9% range on a reported basis. The drivers here include, as I discussed previously a streamlined store of field management organizations, reduced corporate office personnel, significantly reduced merit pay increases, payroll reductions for senior management that George touched on, reduced spending on our various benefit programs and other G&A spending levels.

Our marketing spend however will increase over the prior year first half in support of our merchandising initiatives as well as higher marketing costs associated with our marketing alliance with David’s Bridal. Net interest expense is expected to decline as we increase our cash reserves from continued gains in free cash flow. Our effective tax rate for the first half is expected at 38%, up from the prior year comparable period of 37%.

The last item that impacts the numbers concerns the foreign exchange rate translations. Our current outlook includes a 19% decrease in the exchange rate from the prior year first half. The impact in the first half reduces the reported total sales growth rate over the prior year by up to 200 basis points. The impact to reported profitability for the first half will approximate a drag of up to $0.04 per share.

The outcome of these operating expectations is estimated to result in diluted earnings per share for the first half of the fiscal year in a range of $0.45 to $0.65. We expect first quarter results on a diluted earnings per share basis to be breakeven to a mid-single digit loss and that the second quarter will drive the majority of first half estimated earnings which is due to the seasonality of our tuxedo rental business favoring the second fiscal quarter of the year.

Capital expenditures for the year are targeted in a range of $50 million to $55 million, approximately $33 million store related, $9 million technology related and $11 million distribution center related. 60% of our spending is expected in the first half of the year. We have identified new store growth of up to 10 stores to opportunistically take advantage of industry consolidation.

Depreciation and amortization is estimated at $85 million for the year, $43 million of which for the first half. Taken as a whole these guidelines would result in free cash flow as a percentage of expected earnings for the first half to range from 125% to 135%. That concludes our prepared remarks and we will now open the call to your questions.

Question-And-Answer Session

Operator

Thank you, sir. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. As a reminder, if you have a question, please press the “*” followed by the “1” on your touchtone phone. If you would like to withdraw your question, please press the “*” followed by the “2”. If you are using speaker equipment you will need to lift the handset before making your selection. Please ask one question and one follow up and re-queue for any additional questions. And our first question is from the line of Brian Tunick. Please state your company name followed by your question.

Brian Tunick – JPMorgan

Hi guys. Brian Tunick, JPMorgan. Maybe George share with us your thoughts about what’s the right amount of time that this BOGO event will go on in the first half of the year just so that we understand, and then maybe Neill give us a little more color on the low single digit decrease in the occupancy side, what’s happening there and should we expect that to continue in the back half?

George A. Zimmer

Well, the BOGO event, Brian, is being reconstituted so that it can run indefinitely and what I mean by that is that we’re making 30 second commercials which have a nice story with the BOGO message being just a part of the overall message. So we’re actually planning on running this on a regular basis.

Neill P. Davis

Brian, as to your question on occupancy we do expect a continuation of occupancy dollars to decline in the back half but just remember that as we get into fourth quarter we’ll be beginning to anniversary some of our initiatives to lower that cost.

Brian Tunick – JPMorgan

And so, if you guys become a BOGO everyday kind of business obviously that should have a permanent impairment on the merchandise margins. Is that how we should think about it or are you buying obviously different now?

George A. Zimmer

Well, it’s too early to say I would say. We’re anticipating that there will be some merchandise margin degradation but it’s all a function of volume and right now we’re hopeful.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Richard Jaffe. Please state your company name followed by your question.

Richard Jaffe – Stifel Nicolaus & Co.

Thank you. It’s Richard Jaffe at Stifel Nicolaus. Good evening guys. Good job on expenses. I’m wondering what your visibility is on two levels, one is the guy coming back in to refresh his wardrobe and obviously you’re getting some of that business through the BOGO and then visibility into the second quarter and the wedding reservations, I guess they’d be called, for tuxedos, how you think that business could play out, the tuxedo inventories up significantly, do you expect the tuxedo rentals to be up a commiserate amount?

George A. Zimmer

Well, we are continuing to run tuxedo rental commercials on television. Neill, do you have the exact numbers on advance reservations?

Neill P. Davis

I do but the numbers continue to build week to week, month to month. Richard, what I would suggest for you is that the 7% to 9% increase in our comps for the rentals business for the first half underlying that is some visibility into the number and we feel very confident in that at this junction.

Richard Jaffe – Stifel Nicolaus & Co.

Okay and other than the BOGO any sense of guys needing that new interview suit and coming back in? Any sense of trend since the quarter ended?

George A. Zimmer

No, it’s all give me a deal that’s exceptional and I’ll consider spending some money.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Janet Kloppenburg. Please state your company name followed by your question.

Janet Kloppenburg – JJK Research

Hi. Janet Kloppenburg, JJK Research. Hi, everybody. George, maybe you could help us understand what’s happening on the gross margin line in terms of your negotiation with vendors? I know that you expect the rate of decline of gross margin to moderate as we move to the back half. I’m wondering if given the environment and I think a recent bankruptcy filing by one of your competitors I’m wondering if you’re able to secure lower prices on like product or if you’re changing your mix and you’re selling inexpensive suits but perhaps the quality level is going down.

Maybe we could learn a little bit more about what the expectations for a normalized gross margin rate might be going forward?

George A. Zimmer

Thank you Janet. The quality is not going down. If anything the quality is going up. We’d rather not mention brand names specifically on the call but we have a suit now in our New York stores that we know would be very attractive to people in the financial community and we are always looking for brands and have reason to believe that in difficult business conditions our chances improve to get additional brands. So, we are not moving down in quality. If anything we’re going to move up in quality and try to promote our everyday low price as we’re $100 less than the regular price at a department store and we throw in a second suit for free.

Janet Kloppenburg – JJK Research

Okay and when you do that, your gross margin I guess on a permanent basis will decline but then your SG&A costs are also coming down excluding marketing. Is that how we should think about the business model going forward, George?

George A. Zimmer

I would say so, right. I think that the probability is that that will occur.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question is from the line of David Mann. Please state your company name followed by your question.

David Mann – Johnson Rice & Company, L.L.C.

Yes, thank you, Johnson Rice. In terms of the standalone tux stores, you’re talking about rebranding them and if I remember correctly you ran a test and it sounds like that went well. Can you talk a little bit more about how those stores did in the test and the performance of regular merchandise being sold in those stores?

George A. Zimmer

Well, I would say that the test results were good but not great, better than fair. It was the slowest time of the year for the tuxedo rentals as you heard our fourth quarter total rental business was about $35 million. So, it’s a very small traffic piece, but the average store did about $1,000 a week in retail product which extrapolates depending on the math you use to $50,000 a year or more if you assume that you’ll do more based on busier seasonality. It also was incomplete in merchandise so that we really do believe that the target of $100,000 a store is a realistic target.

David Mann – Johnson Rice & Company, L.L.C.

My follow up would relate to the bankruptcy of S&K. Can you give a sense on how those closings have impacted you if at all and what kind of market share gain, how much of their sales would you expect to capture?

George A. Zimmer

Unfortunately, the stores that they closed were doing individually very little business so it’s very hard in a short period of time to notice a significant difference. Stepping back we don’t know exactly what they’ll end up with in reorganization or if there will be any reorganization but we do believe that between K&G and Men''s Wearhouse we would get more of the S&K business than anybody else, dramatically more.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Betty Chen. Please state your company name followed by your question.

Betty Chen – Wedbush Morgan Securities

Thank you. Good afternoon everyone. Betty Chen with Wedbush Morgan. I was wondering, Neill, if you can give us a sense of how much the marketing budget could increase in the first half and if we should use that as a barometer for the back half of the year? Then in regard to the SG&A cuts it sounds like a lot of these are benefits that we should see throughout the year. Is it fair to think about some of the cuts you’ve alluded to you in the first half for SG&A to be a number that we could carry into the back half as well? Thanks.

Neill P. Davis

On the marketing spend it will be a single digit number. As we move into the first half of the year we’ll be doing a lot of things that are new and the cadence at which we will do those may be different but I think thinking in terms of a single digit number would be appropriate and helpful for you in your modeling. As it relates to back half of the year spending we would realize the same rate of reduction at that timeframe as the first half. I would tell you that it will be less as we begin to anniversary clearly the fourth quarter and quite frankly we’ll assess our results of the business from the first half of the year and then make some decisions as to what might or might not be done on the back half. But clearly where we stand today it will be at a less of a run rate reduction in the back half than the first half and it’s because we begin to anniversary that.

Operator

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, if there are additional questions at this time, please press the “*” followed by the “1”. As a reminder, if you are using speaker equipment you will need to lift the handset before making your selection. And our next question comes from the line of Laura Champine. Please state your company followed by your question.

Laura Champine – Cowen & Company

Hi. It’s Laura Champine from Cowen. I had a question, just wanted to make sure I interpreted this sentence right, Neill, in the press release. You’re talking about SG&A expenses ex ad costs and then you say that the rate of reduction in those expenses will enable expense leverage. Does that mean that you expect to leverage total SG&A expense for the first half?

Neill P. Davis

Yes.

Laura Champine – Cowen & Company

Okay, got it. And then I just had more of a macro question, I’m surprised to see the growth in the tux rental business given the kind of overall environment that we’re in. What do you think is driving that? Is that a massive share gain or is the tuxedo rental industry just really holding up that much better than consumer spending overall?

George A. Zimmer

I would say that it’s probably some of both. I think that the bridal industry does hold up better than the men’s tailored clothing industry but I also think that many of the investments in infrastructure and marketing that we initiated last year are paying increased dividends this year. We’re very optimistic about not just this year but the long term trend here.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question is a follow up from the line of Janet Kloppenburg. Please state your company name followed by your question.

Janet Kloppenburg – JJK Research

George or Neill, a couple of questions, on the tuxedo rental business, the range you gave us, 7% to 9%, is that what you want us to think as the rate of growth for the first half or is that the current rate of growth and could we see an acceleration as we get into the spring season? I know you have a way to monitor that because of the bookings and the forward order. So, I was wondering if you could give us an idea of what timeframe we’re talking about there on that and I was also wondering if you could talk, George, a little bit about the new denim in the stores and how successful your new strategy to target a younger customer has been? Thank you.

George A. Zimmer

Well, let me just comment on that first part. Neill may have more specifics but I think the 7% to 9% range might be the answer you’re looking for. On the denim, denim is something that we’ve dabbled in for many, many years and never taken a significant stand. We didn’t think it was consistent with the rest of our product. Now that we’re in the tux rental business as we are where the customers are predominantly younger people, we feel that denim is a significant opportunity. Without mentioning brands, denim is probably the best part of this new sportswear program. Denim is actually as we all know bought by almost everybody in the country. So the bigger our selection grows the better our denim business seems to get.

Neill P. Davis

Janet, I would add to the first question on the growth rate of tuxedo rentals for the first half, George is correct, 7% to 9% is for the six months but I would also advise you that the second quarter will be toward the higher end of that range and the first quarter towards the lower end of that range. That primarily has to do with the seasonality and particularly the fact that a big part of our business in the first half is prom related and it occurs in the month of May which is in our second quarter.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question is also a follow up from the line of David Mann. Please state your company name followed by your question.

David Mann – Johnson Rice & Company, L.L.C.

Hi, yes, Johnson Rice. George, you said you were more hopeful about K&G that maybe it’s turning the corner. Could you just give a sense on why that would be?

George A. Zimmer

Well, I think there are three reasons. Number one, as we said the sector itself is the sector that’s least negatively impacted by the current reality. But number two, we are extremely pleased with Mary Beth Blake, our new President who’s been with the company not quite a year and so the impact that she’s making is only just being felt at the merchandise level. We’re very optimistic. And I guess number three is, we mentioned it, it is manifesting in positive women’s comps which actually are one of the few positive numbers that we see around here right now. So, I guess those would be the three reasons. We’re hopeful that the marketing campaign which we’ve hired, a New York agency, to manage and produce will work but that’s still a hope.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question is also a follow up from the line of Betty Chen. Please state your company name followed by your question.

Betty Chen – Wedbush Morgan Securities

Thank you. I just had another question about real estate, Neill or George. Are we seeing better leases and rates as I believe you do have a substantial number of stores up for renewal in upcoming years and if there’s any way you can help us quantify the level of savings that we may be able to see, that would be very helpful. Thanks.

Neill P. Davis

Betty, that’s the reason that we gave you the dollar rates of change in the first half and gave the perspective for the back half. Yes, it’s one of our priority areas and we will continue to focus in on it but the best guidance I can give for you at the moment is what we’ve already done for this year. As we get into the first quarter and the middle part of the year, as we get more experience and can look longer term as to what we might be able to do, we can update that perspective for you at that time.

Betty Chen – Wedbush Morgan Securities

In terms of the store opening plans this year, Neill, I know you said that you may open up to 10 stores. Any sense you can give us which concepts you might be more inclined to open stores?

George A. Zimmer

It’s mostly Men''s Wearhouse stores. Because of the tuxedo rental business when we find good economic opportunities in the same shopping centers as David’s Bridal those are locations we want and so of the 10 probably 70% will be Men''s Wearhouse.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question is also a follow up from Richard Jaffe. Please state your company name followed by your question.

Richard Jaffe – Stifel Nicolaus & Co.

Thanks very much. It’s Stifel Nicolaus. Just a follow on, George, if you could comment on the denim opportunity within the soon to be renamed Men''s Wearhouse Tuxedo stores and a sense of one, inventory commitment and then two, when it’s going to start to shift both in terms of signage and also product mix and floor sets?

George A. Zimmer

Right. This is a large scale endeavor that has been underway for some time. We have virtually completed the rebranding, the signs. All 480 stores should have new signs up so you can go look at it in most regional malls in America. We are trying to get the stores set up and the product in the stores in time for prom which is of particular importance in this division because of the locations in regional malls.

The conversion cost is nominal relatively speaking per unit, under $10,000 and I don’t have the dollars of new inventory but it is not insignificant. It involves not just jeans and shirts and vests but involves suits as well so they will participate in our BOGO program, buy one, get one and have inventory for the occasional customer that wants it.

Richard Jaffe – Stifel Nicolaus & Co.

I look forward to seeing it. Thanks.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Susan Sansbury. Please state your company name followed by your question.

Susan Sansbury - Miller Tabak + Co., LLC

It’s Miller Tabak. Thanks very much. Going back to real estate, I think you mentioned that you closed two K&G stores last year. I guess it was in the fourth quarter. Any thoughts about store closures in 2009 and which concept?

George A. Zimmer

I’m not positive, but I think that the two stores you’re referring to were actually impairment charges, not closures. Neill, is that right?

Neill P. Davis

That’s correct, it’s an impairment charge.

George A. Zimmer

Right, so we actually didn’t close the stores. No, there are no significant store closures. There are always some, but the biggest store closure division is going to be the MW Tux, Men''s Wearhouse and Tux division.

Susan Sansbury - Miller Tabak + Co., LLC

Any specifics and why is that?

George A. Zimmer

Just random. We have almost 1,100 between the two stores, Men''s Wearhouse and Men''s Wearhouse and Tux. There are situations where they’re in the same shopping center, things like that.

Operator

Thank you. At this time, we have no further questions in the queue. I’d like to turn it back to Mr. Davis for any closing remarks.

Neill P. Davis

We appreciate everyone’s interest and participation today. George, would you have any comments before we conclude?

George A. Zimmer

Just reiterate what you said, it’s tough times and we appreciate your interest. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, if you’d like to listen to a replay of today’s conference please dial 303-590-3000 using the access code of 11124766 followed by the “#” key. ACT would like to thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.