Ross 2011 Annual Report Download - page 6

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4
Our recent stock split and ongoing stock
repurchase and dividend programs reflect our
commitment to enhancing stockholder returns.
They also demonstrate confidence in our
continued ability to achieve our growth targets
while generating significant amounts of excess
cash after self-funding the capital needs of
our business.
Flexible Business Model Enhances
Long-Term Profitability
We are extremely pleased with our record level of
sales, profitability, and returns in 2011. Looking
ahead, we believe that our steadfast focus on
successfully executing our strategies will enable
us to continue to deliver compelling bargains
to our customers and solid results in 2012
and beyond.
Our top priority is to continue to strengthen our
ability to acquire terrific name brand bargains for
our stores. To achieve this, we are making further
investments in our merchandise organization. This
is key to both maximizing our access to the best
opportunities for product and further expanding
our very large vendor base.
We also believe there is room for additional
reductions in selling store inventories. Average
in-store inventories today are almost 40% lower
than just four years ago, and we are targeting an
additional mid-single-digit percentage decrease
for 2012. Operating with less product in our stores
has benefited merchandise margins through
fewer markdowns. Turning our merchandise
faster has also enhanced sales by increasing
the percentage of fresh product in front of
our customers.
Our improved planning and allocation systems
and processes have been in place for two full
years and are helping us do a better job of getting
the right merchandise to the right store at the
right time. Planning and allocating at a much more
detailed level is more important than ever today,
especially with less merchandise in our stores.
Our performance has also benefited from a
number of operational initiatives. These include
our shortage control program, which has
resulted in record low levels of shrink, along
with the numerous productivity enhancements
and efficiencies we have put in place to drive
down costs in our distribution centers, stores
organization, and back office functions.