Stein Mart 2014 Annual Report Download - page 2

The cover of this annual report says it all. 110 years ago, Sam Stein achieved a milestone shared by
millions of other immigrants who crossed Ellis Island and arrived at their Promised Land. We at Stein Mart
are proud of our heritage and strive to uphold the same passion for serving our customers that my
grandfather did every day.
2014 Highlights
2014 will be remembered as the year we began aggressively growing our store base once again.
We completed our greatest store expansion since 2007, opening nine new stores and relocating another
seven, and have even bigger plans for 2015. It was also our third consecutive year of strong comparable
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comparable store sales increase in the fourth quarter which contributed to our strong second half sales
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historical high which leveraged our well-controlled expenses.
Special Dividend
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very carefully and that we are maintaining appropriate liquidity. After paying the dividend, we have a very
comfortable unused borrowing capacity and will continue to invest in our growing business.
2015 and the Future
Looking forward, our goal is to continue to build our sales through superior comp store sales performance
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our customers. At the heart of our success are our designer and national brands. We believe our talented
merchant team has the ability to attract new brands and maintain the best names. We plan to open eleven
new stores in 2015, including three in new markets. We have opportunities in existing and new markets,
so we expect to maintain this rate of growth or more in the future. And our ecommerce business is still
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people and tools in place to make that happen. In short, we are focused on growing our sales to leverage
operating expenses and increase earnings. We are determined to improve every year and are very
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Stein Mart: The Best Department Store
In closing, the year was capped off by the greatest honor we could receive – being voted the
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and our loyal customers for their support. In 2015 and beyond, all of us at Stein Mart will work as hard
as we can to maintain the high standards that earned us this award.
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Jay Stein
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