MOVIE
STAR 2004 ANNUAL MEETING SPEECH
Good morning.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, management and employees of
Movie
Star, Inc., we appreciate your interest and support in the Company and
we
appreciate your attending our 2004 annual meeting.
Fiscal 2004
was not an easy year; it was both
challenging and filled with opportunity.
Our challenge was sales. Net
sales for the year declined to $53.7 million from $64.9 in the prior
year. This resulted primarily from a
decrease in
orders with our primary customer, Wal-Mart.
Net income decreased to $128,000, or $0.01 per diluted share,
from $3.4
million, or $0.22 per diluted share, reported last year.
The gross margin slipped modestly compared
with last year, from 31.7% to 30 % and selling, general and
administrative
expenses would have been almost the same as the prior year had it not
been for
a special charge of slightly more than $1.0 million taken in the 2004
third
quarter.
In meeting
this challenge of reduced sales, we
were able to maintain a strong balance sheet at the end of our fiscal
year. At
Our challenge
is finding ways to increase sales
in a profitable manner.
During the
year, a number of opportunities were
considered to broaden our product mix and enhance our sales growth
potential.
One of them was Sidney Bernstein & Son Lingerie.
We were delighted to have acquired the assets
and over
$7,000,000
of open customer orders from Sidney Bernstein & Son Lingerie. Their line of ladies’ intimate apparel will
further expand our product offerings, as well as diversify and broaden
our
sales distribution. The acquisition
closed at the beginning of August 2004 and the integration will be
completed by
January 2005. We expect this acquisition
to have a positive impact on our results in fiscal 2005.
We were also
very pleased to announce that the
Company entered into a licensing agreement with Maidenform Inc. Under this agreement we will produce a new
and exciting line of ladies’ sleepwear and robes to be sold under the
Maidenform® name. This
Collection will be available in a few months in leading department
stores,
chains and upscale specialty stores nationally.
We are also introducing a new line of sleepwear, robes and
daywear under
the Maidenform trademarks Sweet Nothings®, Self Expressions®
and Rendezvous® to be available to select mass
merchandisers and
national chains by the fall of 2005.
In addition
to diversifying our product
offerings and the price points of our products, these lines further
expand
business opportunities with existing and new retailers.
Another
opportunity that exists for us is our
flexibility in sourcing our product.
Because we have not owned any manufacturing facilities in quite
a few
years, we have been able to move our production to countries that have
more
advantageous pricing while maintaining our quality standards. For example, recently we have been working
with a manufacturer in
We also
recently incorporated a subsidiary in
These
opportunities
give us the potential for sales growth and increased profitability.
In February
of this year, the
Company’s largest shareholder and his
family sold their stock,
representing approximately 22.7% of our outstanding shares,
to TTG Apparel,
which is managed by Michael Tokarz. Since then, the Company has expanded its Board
of Directors from six to seven members and added three new board
members, two
of whom qualify as independent directors and were recommended to the
Board by
Mr. Tokarz. These additions increased
the total
number of independent directors to four.
These four
independent directors all have diversified and successful business
backgrounds
that,
along with the other directors, senior management
and our new largest shareholder bring a new and revitalized vision to
the
Company that will
contribute to the Company’s further success.
Also, the disciplines in managing a public company today are
significantly more demanding than they were just a few years ago. Our Board recognizes and understands this and
is acting appropriately.
As expected,
the Company reported lower
financial results for the 2005 fiscal first quarter compared with the
same
period last year. Sales for the first
quarter of fiscal 2005 decreased approximately $4.0 million to $12.8
million
due primarily to a shift in orders from the first quarter to the second
quarter. Sales from the Sidney Bernstein
& Son Division contributed approximately $3 million to the first
quarter’s
sales. The gross profit margin percentage
was lower, and generally will be lower, due to the Sidney Bernstein
& Son
division operating at a lower margin then the Movie Star’s core product
line. This lower margin was
expected. Absent the Sidney Bernstein
& Son Division, the Company’s gross margin was almost equal to the
same
period last year. The Company recorded a
net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 2005 of $230,000, or $0.01 per
share.
The balance
sheet at
We are seeing
the foundation for a very strong
Company taking hold. Even though
business challenges and competition remain fierce, we are optimistic
about our
future. We are working hard to
profitably grow our business and we are continuously exploring
strategies and
opportunities that will diversify and
strengthen our
Company as well as enhance shareholder value.We
appreciate your support and thank you for attending.