Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc. (PSUN)
Q4 2008 Earnings Call Transcript
March 12, 2009 4:45 p.m. ET

Executives

Gar Jackson – Vice President of Investor Relations
Sally Frame Kasaks – Chairwoman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer
Michael L. Henry – Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President & Secretary

Analysts

Paul Lejuez – Credit Suisse
Kimberly Greenberger – Citigroup
Janet Kloppenburg – JJK Research
Adrienne Tennant – FBR Capital Markets
Christine Chen – Needham & Company, LLC
Liz Dunn – Thomas Weisel Partners LLC
Stacy Pak – SP Research
Marni Shapiro – The Retail Tracker
Sean Norton – Piper Jaffray & Co.

Presentation

Operator

Good afternoon. My name is Tangy (ph) and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Q4 2008 earnings conference call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers’ remarks there will be a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press “*” then the number “1” on your telephone keypad. If you have already done so, please press the “#” sign now then press “*1” again to ensure your question is registered. If you would like to withdraw your question, press the “#” key. Thank you. Mr. Jackson, you may begin your conference, sir.

Gar Jackson

Good afternoon and welcome to the Pacific Sunwear of California conference call announcing the company’s fiscal fourth quarter and yearend 2008 financial results. This is Gar Jackson, Vice President of Investor Relations. This call is being recorded and the playback will be available starting today approximately two hours after the call through midnight March 19, 2009. It can be accessed at 800-642-1687 or 706-645-9291, pass code 87718930. The call also will be archived on the PacSun website at www.PacSun.com through midnight May 20, 2009.

Your speakers today are Sally Frame Kasaks, Chief Executive Officer and Mike Henry, Chief Financial Officer. Today’s call will be limited to one hour and questions will be limited to one per participant.

Before I turn the call over to Sally, I’d like to note that during this earnings conference call certain statements and responses to questions may contain forward-looking information including forecasts of future financial performance and estimates of amounts not yet determinable as well as our future prospects and proposed developments or business strategies. Actual results could differ materially from those projected or reflected in our forward-looking statements and reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance. Pacific Sunwear’s future financial condition and results of operations as well as any forward-looking statements are subject to change and to inherent known and unknown risks and uncertainties.

Pacific Sunwear does not intend and undertakes no obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances. All forward-looking statements made in this conference call reflect Pacific Sunwear’s current analysis of existing trends and information and represent Pacific Sunwear’s judgment only as of today. You should not assume later in the quarter or the year that the comments Pacific Sunwear makes today are still valid.

Actual results may differ materially from current expectations based on a number of factors affecting Pacific Sunwear’s businesses including changes in economic conditions generally, changes in consumer spending demands and preferences, lower than anticipated comparable store sales, higher than anticipated markdowns, higher than estimated selling, general and administrative costs, competition from other retailers and other uncertainties generally associated with apparel retailing.

More information on factors that could affect Pacific Sunwear’s business and financial results are included in the annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2008 and other public filings made with the Securities & Exchange Commission. In addition, please note that during this call today additional references may be made to non-GAAP financial results. Investors are encouraged to review these non-GAAP financial measures as well as the reconciliation in our press release of these measures to comparable GAAP.

Our press release is attached to our 8-K filed with the SEC today and a copy of which can be found on our website at www.PacSun.com. This call, the webcast and its replay are the property of Pacific Sunwear. It is not for rebroadcast or use by any other party without the prior written consent of Pacific Sunwear. If you do not agree with these terms please disconnect now. By remaining on the line you agree to be bound by these terms.

With that said, I’ll now turn the call over to Sally.

Sally Frame Kasaks

Good afternoon and thank you for joining us. This is Sally Frame Kasaks, Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Sunwear. With me on the call is Mike Henry, our Chief Financial Officer.

During today’s call, I will review the initiatives we addressed in fiscal 2008 and then identify our priorities and areas of focus for what we expect to be a very challenging 2009. When I conclude my remarks, Mike will discuss the financial results and our earnings guidance for the first quarter. We will then take your questions.