J.Jill, Inc. Reaffirms Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Guidance Ahead of the 27th Annual ICR Conference

Rhea-AI Summary

J.Jill (NYSE:JILL) has reaffirmed its guidance for Q4 and full year 2024. For Q4 FY2024, the company expects:

- Net sales down 4-6% vs 14-week Q4 FY2023
- Total company comparable sales up 1-3% vs 13-week prior year
- Adjusted EBITDA of $12.0-14.0 million

For full year FY2024, projections include:

- Net sales flat to up 1% vs FY2023
- Total company comparable sales up 1-2%
- Adjusted EBITDA of $105.0-107.0 million

The guidance accounts for the loss of the 53rd week in FY2023 ($7.9M in net sales, $2.2M in EBITDA) and $2.0M in operating expenses for the Order Management System project. Excluding these factors, FY2024 expectations show net sales growth of 1-2% and Adjusted EBITDA decline of 2-4% compared to prior year.

Positive

• Comparable sales expected to grow 1-3% in Q4 FY2024
• Full year comparable sales projected to increase 1-2%
• Full year net sales expected to grow 1-2% (excluding 53rd week impact)

Negative

• Q4 FY2024 net sales projected to decline 4-6%
• Adjusted EBITDA expected to decline 2-4% in FY2024 (excluding special factors)
• $2.0M additional operating expenses for OMS project implementation

Insights

Financial Analyst

J.Jill's guidance reaffirmation presents a mixed financial outlook. The projected Q4 net sales decline of 4-6% is primarily attributed to the comparison against a 14-week quarter in 2023, while the underlying business shows modest growth with comparable sales expected up 1-3%. The full-year forecast of $105-107 million in Adjusted EBITDA and flat to 1% net sales growth reflects operational resilience despite challenging retail conditions.

The core business metrics paint a clearer picture when excluding the 53rd week impact: A projected 1-2% net sales growth and 2-4% EBITDA decline (excluding OMS investment) suggests the company is maintaining stable operations while investing in infrastructure. The $2 million OMS project investment signals a strategic focus on digital capabilities, important for omnichannel retail success.

The modest comparable sales growth forecast of 1-2% for FY2024 indicates the company is holding market share in a competitive specialty retail environment, though not experiencing significant expansion. This conservative outlook aligns with broader industry trends where maintaining profitability takes precedence over aggressive growth.

Retail Market Analyst

The guidance reveals J.Jill's strategic positioning in the specialty apparel sector. Despite apparent topline pressure, the company's positive comparable sales trajectory demonstrates effective customer retention and merchandise strategies. The investment in Order Management Systems indicates a forward-looking approach to enhance operational efficiency and customer experience.

The normalized growth metrics (excluding calendar shifts) suggest J.Jill is executing well in its niche market of premium women's apparel. The slight EBITDA compression reflects a common industry pattern where retailers are absorbing higher operational costs to maintain market position. The company's ability to sustain positive comp sales in a challenging retail environment speaks to the strength of its brand proposition and customer loyalty program effectiveness.

QUINCY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- J.Jill, Inc. (NYSE:JILL) today reaffirmed its fourth quarter and full year 2024 guidance in advance of its fireside chat and investor meetings at the 27th Annual ICR Conference.

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, the Company continues to expect net sales to be down 4% to 6% compared to the 14-week fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, total company comparable sales to be up 1% to 3% compared to the comparable 13-week period in the prior fiscal year and for Adjusted EBITDA* to be in the range of $12.0 million to $14.0 million.

For fiscal 2024, the Company continues to expect net sales to be about flat to up 1% compared to fiscal 2023, total company comparable sales to be up 1% to 2% and for Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $105.0 million to $107.0 million. This net sales and Adjusted EBITDA guidance reflects the negative impact from the loss of the 53rd week in fiscal 2023 of $7.9 million in net sales and $2.2 million in Adjusted EBITDA as well as investments to support profitable sales growth, including approximately $2.0 million in operating expenses related to the Company’s Order Management System (“OMS”) project.

Excluding the impact of the 53rd week as well as the operating expense investment in the OMS project, the Company continues to expect fiscal 2024 net sales to grow in the range of 1% to 2% and Adjusted EBITDA to decline in the range of 2% to 4% compared to the prior year.

The Company is scheduled to participate in a fireside chat at the 27th Annual ICR Conference, held at the Grande Lakes Orlando in Orlando, FL, on Monday, January 13, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The audio portion of the fireside chat will be webcast live over the Internet and can be accessed on the Company’s Investor Relations website, http://investors.jjill.com/Investors-Relations/News-Events/events. An online archive will be available on that site following the fireside chat.

About J.Jill, Inc.

J.Jill is a national lifestyle brand that provides apparel, footwear and accessories designed to help its customers move through a full life with ease. The brand represents an easy, thoughtful, and inspired style that celebrates the totality of all women and designs its products with its core brand ethos in mind: keep it simple and make it matter. J.Jill offers a high touch customer experience through over 200 stores nationwide and a robust ecommerce platform. J.Jill is headquartered outside Boston. For more information, please visit www.jjill.com or http://investors.jjill.com. The information included on our websites is not incorporated by reference herein.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company has not provided a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA outlook for the fourth quarter and full year of fiscal 2024 to GAAP net income, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure due to the inherent difficulty, without unreasonable efforts, to predict with reasonable certainty the amount or timing of non-GAAP adjustments that are used to calculate Adjusted EBITDA, including but not limited to: (a) tax-related items, (b) lease expenses for retail stores given ongoing negotiations, and (c) other non-recurring items not indicative of ongoing operating performance. These adjustments are uncertain, depend on various factors that are beyond our control and could have a material impact on net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024.

To supplement our unaudited consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), we use the following non-GAAP measures of financial performance:

Adjusted EBITDA, which represents net income plus depreciation and amortization, income tax provision, interest expense, interest expense - related party, interest income, equity-based compensation expense, write-off of property and equipment, amortization of cloud-based software implementation costs, loss on extinguishment of debt, loss on debt refinancing, adjustment for exited retail stores, impairment of long-lived assets, loss due to hurricane, and other non-recurring items primarily consisting of outside legal and professional fees associated with certain non-recurring transactions and events. We present Adjusted EBITDA on a consolidated basis because management uses it as a supplemental measure in assessing our operating performance, and we believe that it is helpful to investors, securities analysts and other interested parties as a measure of our comparative operating performance from period to period. We also use Adjusted EBITDA as one of the primary methods for planning and forecasting overall expected performance of our business and for evaluating on a quarterly and annual basis actual results against such expectations. Further, we recognize Adjusted EBITDA as a commonly used measure in determining business value and as such, use it internally to report results. We also use Adjusted EBITDA margin which represents, for any period, Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of net sales.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains, and oral statements made from time to time by our representatives may contain, “forward-looking statements.” All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenue, projected costs, prospects, plans, objectives of management, expected market growth and any activities, events or developments that we intend, expect or believe may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Such statements are often identified by words such as “could,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “seeks,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “continues,” “projects,” “goal,” “target” (although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words) and similar references to future periods, or by the inclusion of forecasts or projections. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding capital market conditions, our business, the economy and other future conditions and are not guarantees of future performance. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, by their nature, they are inherently subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, potentially inaccurate assumptions and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. As a result, our actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements include regional, national or global political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory conditions, including risks regarding: (1) our sensitivity to changes in economic conditions and discretionary consumer spending; (2) the material adverse impact of pandemics, other health crises or natural disasters on our operations, business and financial results; (3) our ability to anticipate and respond to changing customer preferences, shifts in fashion and industry trends in a timely manner; (4) our ability to maintain our brand image, engage new and existing customers and gain market share; (5) the impact of operating in a highly competitive industry with increased competition; (6) our ability to successfully optimize our omnichannel operations, including our ability to enhance our marketing efforts and successfully realize the benefits from our investments in new technology, for example our recently implemented point-of-sale system and the forthcoming upgrade to our order management system; (7) our ability to use effective marketing strategies and increase existing and new customer traffic; (8) any interruptions in our foreign sourcing operations and the relationships with our suppliers and agents; (9) any increases in the demand for, or the price of, raw materials used to manufacture our merchandise and other fluctuations in sourcing and distribution costs; (10) any material damage or interruptions to our information systems; (11) our ability to protect our trademarks and other intellectual property rights; (12) our indebtedness restricting our operational and financial flexibility; (13) our ability to manage our inventory levels, size assortments and merchandise mix; (14) the fact that we are no longer a controlled company; (15) the impact of any new or increased tariffs; (16) our management succession plan; and (17) other factors that may be described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the factors set forth under “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 3, 2024 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended August 28, 2024. You are encouraged to read our filings with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov, for a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. We caution investors, potential investors and others not to place considerable reliance on the forward-looking statements in this press release and in the oral statements made by our representatives. Any such forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. J.Jill undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250113935437/en/

Investor Relations:

Caitlin Churchill

ICR, Inc.

investors@jjill.com

203-682-8200



Business and Financial Media:

Ariel Kouvaras

Sloane & Company

akouvaras@sloanepr.com

973-897-6241

Source: J.Jill, Inc.

FAQ

What is J.Jill's (JILL) projected net sales growth for Q4 2024?

J.Jill expects net sales to decline 4-6% compared to the 14-week fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.

What is JILL's expected Adjusted EBITDA range for full year 2024?

The company expects Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $105.0 million to $107.0 million for fiscal 2024.

How much will JILL invest in its Order Management System project in 2024?

J.Jill plans to invest approximately $2.0 million in operating expenses related to the Order Management System project.

What is JILL's comparable sales guidance for Q4 2024?

J.Jill expects total company comparable sales to be up 1% to 3% compared to the comparable 13-week period in the prior fiscal year.

How will the loss of the 53rd week impact JILL's 2024 financial results?

The loss of the 53rd week will negatively impact net sales by $7.9 million and Adjusted EBITDA by $2.2 million.