J.Jill, Inc.
Q4 2020 Earnings Call Transcript

Published: 16 Mar 2021

[Operator:]

Thank you for listening to the J.Jill Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2020 Earnings Commentary. Claire Spofford, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Mark Webb, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will provide further remarks on the company's fiscal fourth quarter and full year ended January 30, 2021, which were announced with the press release dated March 16, 2021. Following today's remarks, there will be no question-and-answer session. I need to remind you that certain comments made during these remarks may constitute forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to and within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 as amended. Such forward-looking statements are subject to both known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. Those risks and uncertainties are described in the press release at J.Jill's SEC filings. The forward-looking statements made on this recording are as of March 16, 2021, and J.Jill does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Finally, J. Jill may refer to certain adjusted or non-GAAP financial measures during these remarks. A reconciliation schedule showing the GAAP versus non-GAAP financial measures is available in the press release issued March 16, 2021.

[Claire Spofford:]

Good morning. I'm pleased to be here for my first J.Jill Earnings call. I know that I'm joining in an interesting time in the retail industry as we continue to face an uncertain macro environment with some lingering questions around when customers will feel more comfortable going out and shopping in stores. That said, I truly believe in the great opportunity we have here at J.Jill. It's what brought me back to the brand after previously serving as Chief Marketing Officer, almost 10 years ago. So while I'm less than 1 month into my new role here, I am well in what makes J.Jill such a special brand and understand the incredible assets we have to leverage, including our brand equity, our strong omni-channel business model, and our incredibly loyal customer base. As we move forward, we'll build on the work the team initiated in 2020 and continue to improve and strengthen our operating model, driving efficiency and effectiveness, while also providing our customers with exciting new product and the experience she deserves wherever and whenever she chooses to shop with us. As Mark will review, the team has taken decisive action over the past year to position us to enter 2021 with enhanced financial stability, a more nimble cost structure and cleaner inventory balances. While there's still much work to be done to continue to drive efficiencies within our operating model, I'm excited to work with our team to realize the potential of the J.Jill brand and business. I will now turn the call over to Mark to review our financial results. Mark?

[Mark Webb:]

Thank you, Claire. I look forward to our partnership as we position J.Jill for long-term profitable growth. Fiscal year 2020 was a challenging year, and I would like to start today by expressing gratitude to the entire J.Jill team, all of our employees in stores, the distribution center and head offices for the resiliency and tenacity they demonstrated during a time of such great uncertainty. Not only were we focused on navigating the challenging COVID environment, we also took actions to enhance the financial stability of the business, operate more efficiently and position J.Jill for future growth. In 2020, we strengthened the balance sheet by extending the maturity on almost 98% of term loan debt by 2 years to 2024 by amending debt covenants with lenders, implementing a minimum liquidity covenant and obtaining a leverage covenant holiday through Q4 of 2021, amongst other changes and issuing a new subordinated term loan. We took initial steps to improve the operating model, which we will continue to refine by focusing the product assortment and streamlining the number of product flows and adjusting the marketing mix and spend to maximize returns.

[Claire Spofford:]

Thank you, Mark, and thank you all for joining us this morning. I also want to thank our teams for all of their hard work throughout this year and for their dedication to J. Jill. We are all focused on driving continued improvement, and we look forward to updating you on our progress on our next earnings call. Thank you.

[Operator:]

Thank you, everyone. This will conclude today's call. You may now disconnect.

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