About Francesca's (adapted from Francesca's prospectus):
Francesca's collections® is one of the fastest growing specialty retailers in the United States. Their retail locations are designed and merchandised to feel like independently owned, upscale boutiques and provide customers with an inviting, intimate and differentiated shopping experience. A diverse and uniquely balanced mix of high-quality, trend-right apparel, jewelry, accessories and gifts at attractive prices are Francesca's compelling offering to their customers. Francesca's product is tailored to appeal to their core 18-35 year-old, fashion conscious, female customers. They carry a broad selection but limited quantities of individual styles and introduce new merchandise to their boutiques five days a week to create a sense of scarcity and newness, which helps drive customer shopping frequency and loyalty.
Their goal is to increase their 249 locations in 38 states (as of April 30, 2011) to approximately 900 boutiques in the United States over the next seven to ten years. Their merchandise is also available through their website at: www.francescascollections.com.
For the thirteen weeks ended April 30, 2011, their net sales were $41.3 million, an increase of 62.4%, from $25.4 million for the thirteen weeks ended May 1, 2010. Income from operations increased from $2.6 million for the thirteen weeks ended May 1, 2010 to $8.4 million for the thirteen weeks ended April 30, 2011. Their comparable boutique sales increased by 14.7% for the thirteen weeks ended April 30, 2011. For the same period in the prior year, comparable boutique sales increased by 14.5%. Between fiscal year 2008 and 2010, their net sales increased from $52.3 million to $135.2 million, representing a compound annual growth rate of 60.8%.
This description is adapted from Francesca's prospectus. This description is not intended to be a recommendation to buy stock from this company. We do not claim that all of the statements above were researched and found to be true. We present them as a general description based on what the company has said about itself at the time that they submitted their prospectus for an IPO offering. To see the company's full description, view their prospectus.. 
