Market Newsdesk

DENVER, June 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ – SSR Mining Inc. (NASDAQ: SSRM) (TSX: SSRM) (ASX:SSR) (“SSR Mining” or “the Company”) announced today that it has amended its existing undrawn revolving credit facility (the “Facility”) on favorable terms, increasing the Facility size from US$75 million to US$200 million.  The new Facility includes an upsized accordion feature from US$25 million to US$100 million and the term of the Facility has been extended by 4 years to June 8, 2025.

Amounts that are borrowed under the Facility will incur variable interest at London Interbank Offered Rate plus an applicable margin ranging from 2.00% to 3.00%, determined based on the Company’s net leverage ratio and amounts drawn from the Facility. All debts, liabilities and obligations under the Facility are guaranteed by the Company’s material North American subsidiaries and secured by assets of the Company, certain of the material subsidiaries, and the pledges of material subsidiaries. The Facility may be used by the Company for working capital, reclamation bonding and other general corporate purposes.

CIBC acted as the Sole Lead Arranger, Sole Bookrunner and as Administrative Agent in connection with the amended Credit Facility, with Bank of Montreal and The Bank of Nova Scotia acting as Co-Syndication Agents. The other syndicate lenders include Royal Bank of Canada and ING Capital LLC.

About SSR Mining

SSR Mining Inc. is a leading, free cash flow focused gold company with four producing assets located in the USA, Turkey, Canada, and Argentina, combined with a global pipeline of high-quality development and exploration assets in the USA, Turkey, Mexico, Peru, and Canada. In 2020, the four operating assets produced approximately 711,000 gold-equivalent ounces. SSR Mining is listed under the ticker symbol SSRM on the NASDAQ and the TSX, and SSR on the ASX.

SSR Mining Contacts:
F. Edward Farid, Executive Vice President, Chief Corporate Development Officer SSR Mining Inc.
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +1 (888) 338-0046 or +1 (604) 689-3846

To receive SSR Mining’s news releases by e-mail, please register using the SSR Mining website at www.ssrmining.com.

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SOURCE SSR Mining Inc.

NEW YORK, June 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Talkspace, a leading digital and virtual behavioral healthcare company, announced today its proposed public company board of directors, which is expected to be effective as of the closing of its proposed merger with Hudson Executive Investment Corp. (“HEIC”) (NASDAQ: HECCU, HEC, HECCW). Hudson Executive Capital founder Douglas Braunstein is expected to serve as chairman of the diverse nine-director board, which has deep experience in healthcare, technology and finance.

“As Talkspace prepares to become a publicly listed company, we anticipate significant growth across the business,” said Douglas Braunstein, incoming Talkspace board chair. “The post-business combination board brings decades of industry expertise, knowledge and leadership that we believe will further support the acceleration of Talkspace’s growth trajectory and the company’s strides to reach new frontiers in digital therapy. Talkspace’s mission is to make behavioral healthcare accessible to all. I am excited to work towards this goal with such a terrific team.”

“Talkspace has contributed to democratizing access to high quality mental healthcare. Its purpose-built platform is designed to personalize treatment and improve clinical outcomes at scale,” said Oren Frank, Co-founder and CEO of Talkspace. “With its robust network of credentialed health care professionals addressing a wide spectrum of acuities, its scalable technology platform and unique data set, we believe that Talkspace is ideally positioned to address the vast, unmet and growing demand for mental health services in innovative ways.”

Talkspace’s New Board Nominees Are:

Douglas Braunstein, Chairman of the Board

Senior executive with deep background in finance and extensive healthcare industry knowledge; public company director

Douglas Braunstein is the Founder and Managing Partner of Hudson Executive Capital. Mr. Braunstein has over 30 years of industry experience and held a variety of leadership positions during his 20-year tenure at JPMorgan Chase & Co., including Vice Chairman, Chief Financial Officer, Head of Investment Banking in the Americas, Head of Global M&A and Global Industry Coverage and Head of Healthcare Investment Banking, as well as serving on the Investment Bank Management Committee for over a decade.  Mr. Braunstein currently serves on the board of directors of Cantaloupe Inc. (CTLP, formerly USA Technologies), and serves as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Cornell University.  Mr. Braunstein holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University and a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School.

Charles Berg, Non-Executive Director

Senior healthcare industry leader with deep experience building and scaling payer and provider-centric businesses; public company director

Since March 2007, Mr. Berg has served as director of DaVita Inc. (DVA), a publicly listed international dialysis provider, and between 2016 and 2017 he served as the Executive Chair of DaVita Medical Group. He previously served as Executive Chairman of WellCare Health Plans, Inc., a provider of managed care services for government-sponsored health care programs, and held various leadership positions with Oxford Health Plans, Inc., including president and CEO when the plan was acquired by UnitedHealth Group. Mr. Berg currently sits on the board of directors of CareCentrix, Inc, a provider of post-acute home care services. He is also a member of the Operating Council & Senior Advisory Board of Consonance Capital Partners, a private equity firm, and a director of Justworks, Inc. Mr. Berg holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. in political science from Macalester College.

Madhu Pawar, Non-Executive Director

Senior leader at world-class technology company and deep experience with healthcare technology and analytics

Madhu Pawar is a Managing Director at Google and Carnegie Mellon University’s Adjunct Professor of Analytics in Healthcare. At Google, Ms. Pawar manages the sales analytics and solutions organizations that drive the SMB Adwords business globally.  Prior to Google, Ms. Pawar worked at McKinsey & Company for 12 years, where she was a partner in the healthcare systems and services practice. She began her career in software development as part of the Mobile Technologies division of Hewlett Packard’s Research & Development Labs in Singapore. She currently serves on the Carnegie Mellon University Board of Trustees’ Advancement committee and on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy. Ms. Pawar holds a Master’s degree in Information Systems from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor’s in Computer Science from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Curtis Warfield, Non-Executive Director

Experienced senior executive with background in healthcare services and insurance; public company director

Curtis Warfield is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Windham Advisors LLC, a private equity and strategic advisory firm that offers innovative business solutions for companies operating in the technology and healthcare sectors, and other industries. Mr. Warfield previously served as part of the senior leadership team at Anthem, Inc., one of the nation’s largest health insurers, as a senior executive at HCA, a healthcare facilities’ operator, and as the Chief Executive Officer of National Patient Account Services (“NPAS”), a healthcare services company. He currently serves as a board member of Texas Roadhouse (TXRH).  Mr. Warfield holds a B.S. from the University of Louisville, Kentucky and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Jacqueline Yeaney, Non-Executive Director

Seasoned marketing and strategy executive with background in high-growth software companies; public company director

Jacqueline Yeaney is Executive Vice President of Marketing at Tableau, a Salesforce Company, that offers the world’s leading analytics platform. Ms. Yeaney started her career as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, and then as a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group. She subsequently served as Executive Vice President of Strategy and Marketing at Red Hat, a provider of enterprise open source solutions and Chief Marketing Officer at Ellucian Co LP.  Ms. Yeaney holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She currently serves as a board member of Avaya Holdings Corp. (AVYA).

Talkspace’s existing board members who will stand for election in the upcoming shareholder meeting:

• 
  Oren Frank, Executive Director – Talkspace Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
• 
  Roni Frank, Executive Director – Talkspace Co-Founder and Head of Clinical Services 
• 
  Jeffrey Crowe, Non-Executive Director – Managing Partner at Norwest Venture Partners
• 
  Erez Shachar, Non-Executive Director – Managing Partner at Qumra Capital

HEIC Special Meeting to Approve Merger Set for June 17, 2021

Talkspace and HEIC announced their proposed business combination on January 13, 2021. HEIC has scheduled a special meeting of stockholders (the “Special Meeting”) for June 17, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time to approve the proposed business combination and to elect the nominated directors to the board of directors.

The Special Meeting will be held virtually via webcast and can be accessed by visiting https://www.cstproxy.com/hudsoninvestcorp/sm2021. The proxy statement is available in the Investor Resources section of HEIC’s website as well as on www.sec.gov. Stockholders of record as of the close of business on May 19, 2021, the Record Date, will be entitled to vote their shares at the Special Meeting.

After the transaction closes, Talkspace intends to list its common stock and warrants on the NASDAQ under the tickers “TALK” and “TALKW,” respectively.

About Talkspace
Talkspace is a leading virtual behavioral healthcare company enabled by a purpose-built technology platform. As a digital healthcare company, all care is delivered through an easy-to-use and fully encrypted web and mobile platform, consistent with HIPAA and other state regulatory requirements.

Today, the need for care feels more urgent than ever, and when seeking treatment, whether it’s psychiatric, adolescent, or couples therapy, Talkspace offers treatment options for almost every need. With Talkspace, members can send their dedicated therapists text, video, and voice messages anytime, from anywhere, and engage in live video sessions. As of May 2021, over 2 million people have used Talkspace, and over 55 million lives were covered for Talkspace through insurance and employee assistance programs or other network behavioral health paid benefit programs.

For more information about Talkspace commercial relationships, visit https://business.talkspace.com. To learn more about online therapy, please visit https://www.talkspace.com/online-therapy.

About Hudson Executive Investment Corp.

Hudson Executive Investment Corp. is a Special Purpose Acquisition Company formed by Hudson Executive Capital LP (HEC), Douglas L. Braunstein, and Douglas G. Bergeron. Mr. Braunstein is founder and co-managing partner of HEC and the former CFO and vice chairman of JP Morgan. Mr. Bergeron is co-managing partner of HEC and the former chairman and CEO of VeriFone, Inc. For more information, visit: https://hudsoninvestcorp.com/.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

This press release relates to a proposed transaction between Talkspace and HEIC. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or exchange, or the solicitation of an offer to buy or exchange, any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, sale or exchange would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. HEIC has filed a registration statement on Form S-4 with the SEC, which includes a document that serves as a prospectus and proxy statement of HEIC, referred to as a proxy statement/prospectus. A proxy statement/prospectus will be sent to all HEIC shareholders. HEIC also will file other documents regarding the proposed transaction with the SEC. Before making any voting decision, investors and security holders of HEIC are urged to read the registration statement and the related proxy statement/prospectus (including all amendments and supplements thereto) and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction as they become available because they will contain important information about the proposed transaction.

Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the registration statement, the proxy statement/prospectus and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC by HEIC through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov.

The documents filed by HEIC with the SEC also may be obtained free of charge at HEIC’S website at https://hudsoninvestcorp.com/investors or upon written request to Hudson Executive Investment Corp., 570 Lexington Avenue, 35th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

Participants in Solicitation

HEIC and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from HEIC’s shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction. A list of the names of such directors and executive officers and information regarding their interests in the business combination is contained in the proxy statement/prospectus. You may obtain free copies of these documents as described in the preceding paragraph.

Forward Looking Statements‍

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws with respect to the proposed transaction between Talkspace and HEIC, including statements regarding the anticipated benefits of the transaction, the anticipated timing of the transaction, the services offered by Talkspace and the markets in which it operates, and future financial condition and performance of Talkspace and expected financial impacts of the transaction (including future revenue, pro forma enterprise value and cash balance), the satisfaction of closing conditions to the transaction, the PIPE transaction, and the level of redemptions of HEIC’s public shareholders. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: (i) the risk that the transaction may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, which may adversely affect the price of HEIC’s securities, (ii) the risk that the transaction may not be completed by HEIC’s business combination deadline and the potential failure to obtain an extension of the business combination deadline if sought by HEIC, (iii) the failure to satisfy the conditions to the consummation of the transaction, including the approval of the merger agreement by the shareholders of HEIC, the satisfaction of the minimum trust account amount following redemptions by HEIC’s public shareholders and the receipt of certain governmental and regulatory approvals, (iv) the lack of a third party valuation in determining whether or not to pursue the Business Combination, (v) the occurrence of any event, change, or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement, (vi) the effect of the announcement or pendency of the transaction on Talkspace’s business relationships, performance, and business generally, (vii) risks that the proposed transaction disrupts current plans and operations of Talkspace, (viii) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Talkspace or against HEIC related to the merger agreement or the proposed transaction, (ix) the ability to maintain the listing of HEIC’s securities on The Nasdaq Stock Market, (x) the risk that the price of HEIC’s securities may be volatile due to a variety of factors, including changes in the competitive and highly regulated industries in which HEIC plans to operate, variations in performance across competitors, changes in laws and regulations affecting HEIC’s business and changes in the combined capital structure, (xi) the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations after the completion of the proposed Business Combination, and identify and realize additional opportunities, and (xii) the risk of downturns in the highly competitive telehealth and teletherapy markets. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” section of HEIC’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 discussed above and other documents filed by HEIC from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and Talkspace and HEIC assume no obligation and do not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Neither Talkspace nor HEIC gives any assurance that either Talkspace or HEIC will achieve its expectations.

For Media: John Kim | [email protected] | 310.997.5963
For Investors: Bob East / Jordan Kohnstam | [email protected] | 443.213.0500

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SOURCE Talkspace

FORT MYERS, Fla., June 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ —

Comparisons to Q1 2020

• 
  Total Company first quarter sales increased 38.4%
  
• 
  Soma’s extraordinary sales continued and increased 65%
  
• 
  Gross margin improved to 32.7%
  
• 
  SG&A expense remained flat and declined sequentially
  
• 
  Liquidity remains strong with cash and marketable securities of $102.4 million with no additional borrowings
  

Chico’s FAS, Inc. (NYSE: CHS) (the “Company” or “Chico’s FAS”) today announced its financial results for the fiscal 2021 thirteen weeks ended May 1, 2021 (the “first quarter”).

“Our first quarter results underscore the tremendous progress we are making in our turnaround strategy and the power of our three unique brands and being a digital-first, customer-led company,” said Molly Langenstein, Chico’s FAS Chief Executive Officer and President. 

“The strong first quarter performance across all three brands was fueled by our significant improvements in product and marketing, which drove full price selling. Our momentum started in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, stalled by the pandemic, is now back on track to deliver meaningful growth in the years to come. Soma^®, which posted a 65% sales increase over last year’s first quarter, remains on track to be one of the largest intimate apparel brands in the country. At Chico’s^® and White House Black Market^®, elevated styling and quality are leading to faster sell through rates and customer enthusiasm. Operating discipline, strategically planned inventories and the ongoing benefit of cost actions, are further expanding margins and contributing to our return to profitable growth.

“Our progress is measurable and the opportunities planned throughout the coming year will continue driving sales growth, even deeper customer loyalty and market share gains,” Langenstein added.

Business Highlights

The Company’s first quarter highlights include:

• Continued extraordinary sales growth at Soma: Soma posted sales growth of 65% over the thirteen weeks ended May 2, 2020 (“last year’s first quarter”) and a 39% comparable sales growth over the thirteen weeks ended May 4, 2019 (the “first quarter of fiscal 2019”). According to market research firm NPD, Group Inc., for the 12 months ended April 2021, Soma’s growth exceeded that of the U.S. apparel market, was in the top ten brands for non-sport bras and panties, and was in the top five brands in the sleepwear market. We believe this is compelling evidence Soma is well positioned and on track to accelerate market share gains.
• Improving sales performance at Chico’s and White House Black Market (“WHBM”): Chico’s and WHBM are continuing to benefit from improvements in styling and quality. We’ve embraced the comfort culture and developed innovative fabrics and technology to provide comfort features. The bottoms business in both apparel brands was strong. Inventories are lean and demand outpaced supply. Inventory productivity is high, strategically fueling more full price sales.
• Enhanced marketing continued to drive traffic as well as new customers: Chico’s FAS continues to elevate its marketing efforts with digital storytelling, social influencers and organic social efforts. Enhanced marketing initiatives are driving new customer acquisition across all three brands, with new and reactivated customers growing on a monthly basis in the first quarter. The average age of new customers continues to drop, reinforcing the runway for all three brands.
• Strong balance sheet: The Company ended the first quarter with more than $102 million in cash and marketable securities. Borrowings on the $300 million credit facility remain unchanged at $149 million.
• Improved gross margin: Gross margin rate improved to 32.7% in the first quarter, exceeding each quarter’s performance in fiscal 2020.
• Continued cost discipline: Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses were essentially flat year-over-year and declined to a 34.6% rate for the first quarter, an improvement over the fourth quarter fiscal 2020 rate of 35.3%, reflecting continued cost discipline and the ongoing benefit of cost savings realized last year.
• Obtained additional meaningful rent reductions: In the first quarter of fiscal 2021, Chico’s FAS obtained additional rent reduction commitments from landlords of $10 million; this is in addition to the $65 million of reductions and abatements negotiated during fiscal 2020.
• Shop-in-shops: Soma shop-in-shops successfully opened inside Chico’s stores and are exceeding expectations. 47 shop-in-shops will be open by mid-June 2021.

Overview of Financial Results

For the first quarter, the Company reported a net loss of $8.9 million, or $0.08 loss per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $178.3 million, or $1.55 loss per diluted share, for last year’s first quarter. Last year’s first quarter net loss included $134.8 million, or $1.17 per share, in significant after-tax non-cash charges as presented in the accompanying Summary of Significant Non-Cash Charges table.

Sales

For the first quarter, net sales were $388.0 million compared to $280.3 million in last year’s first quarter. This 38.4% increase primarily reflects the impact of temporary store closures during last year’s first quarter, partially offset by 39 net permanent store closures since last year’s first quarter. Total Company comparable sales for the first quarter compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2019 were down 21.7%, Soma was up 39.3%, and the apparel brands were down 32.9%. Total Company on-hand inventories at the end of the first quarter were down 21.0%, Soma was up 12.9%, and the apparel brands were down 35.3%; correlating sales and on-hand inventory.   

Gross Margin

For the first quarter, gross margin was $126.8 million, or 32.7% of net sales, compared to $(11.1) million, or (4.0)% of net sales, in last year’s first quarter. The year-over-year improvement in gross margin rate primarily reflects the impact of significant non-cash charges in last year’s first quarter, as reflected in the accompanying Summary of Significant Non-Cash Charges table, improved leverage of occupancy costs with rising sales and margin expansion as a result of less promotional activity.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

For the first quarter, SG&A expenses were $134.3 million, or 34.6% of net sales, compared to $130.2 million, or 46.4% of net sales, for last year’s first quarter, primarily reflecting continued cost savings initiatives and sales leverage. The first quarter SG&A expense rate of 34.6% improved over the 35.9% rate in the first quarter of fiscal 2019, reflecting the impact of cost savings initiatives which more than offset sales deleverage.

Income Taxes

For the first quarter, the effective tax rate was 3.3% compared to 30.0% for last year’s first quarter. The 3.3% effective tax rate for the first quarter primarily reflects a change in the valuation allowance and favorable state audit settlements, offset by share-based compensation expense and a provision for state income and foreign withholding taxes. The 30.0% effective tax rate for last year’s first quarter primarily reflects benefits provided by the enactment of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, partially offset by the unfavorable impact of the Company’s book goodwill impairment and share-based compensation expense incurred during last year’s first quarter.

Cash, Marketable Securities and Debt

At the end of the first quarter, cash and marketable securities totaled $102.4 million compared to $117.6 million at the end of last year’s first quarter. Debt at the end of the first quarter totaled $149.0 million, remaining unchanged from the end of last year’s first quarter.

At the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, cash and marketable securities totaled $109.4 million. The $7.0 million decrease in cash and marketable securities primarily reflects rent and other liability settlements as well as acceleration of vendor payments, partially offset by an improvement in other cash flow components.

Inventories

At the end of the first quarter, inventories totaled $209.7 million compared to $273.1 million at the end of last year’s first quarter. This $63.5 million, or 23.2%, decrease primarily reflects conservative inventory management to better align inventory and assortments with consumer demand.

Fiscal 2021 Outlook

Given the ongoing market volatility and related uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company is not providing specific fiscal 2021 guidance at this time.

The Company is, however, providing information on its planning expectations for the fiscal 2021 full year. At this time, the Company expects:

• Consolidated year-over-year net sales improvement between 28% to 34%;
• Gross margin rate improvement of 18 to 20 percentage points over last fiscal year;
• SG&A as a percent of net sales to improve 500 to 600 basis points year-over-year; and
• Income tax expense of approximately $0.5 million.

Conference Call Information

The Company is hosting a live conference call on Tuesday, June 8, 2021 beginning at 8:00 a.m. ET to review the operating results for the first quarter. The conference call is being webcast live over the Internet, which you may access in the Investors section of the Company’s corporate website, www.chicosfas.com. A replay of the webcast will remain available online for one year at http://chicosfas.com/investors/events-and-presentations.

The phone number for the call is 1-877-883-0383. International callers should use 1-412-902-6506. The Elite Entry number, 9636050, is required to join the conference call. Interested participants should call 10-15 minutes prior to the 8:00 a.m. start to be placed in queue.

ABOUT CHICO’S FAS, INC.

Chico’s FAS is a Florida-based fashion company founded in 1983 on Sanibel Island, Fla. The Company reinvented the fashion retail experience by creating fashion communities anchored by service, which put the customer at the center of everything we do. As one of the leading fashion retailers in North America, Chico’s FAS is a company of three unique brands – Chico’s, WHBM and Soma – each thriving in their own white space, founded by women, led by women, providing solutions that millions of women say give them confidence and joy.

Our Company has a passion for fashion, and each day, we provide clothing, shoes and accessories, intimate apparel and expert styling in our brick-and-mortar boutiques, digital online boutiques and through Style Connect, the Company’s proprietary digital styling tool that enables customers to conveniently shop wherever, whenever and however they prefer.

As of May 1, 2021, the Company operated 1,293 stores in the U.S. and sold merchandise through 66 international franchise locations in Mexico and 2 domestic franchise airport locations. The Company’s merchandise is also available at www.chicos.com, www.chicosofftherack.com, www.whbm.com and www.soma.com as well as through third-party channels.

To learn more about Chico’s FAS, please visit our corporate website at www.chicosfas.com. The information on our corporate website is not, and shall not be deemed to be, a part of this press release or incorporated into our federal securities law filings.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995

This press release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The statements, including without limitation the quote from Ms. Langenstein and the sections captioned “Business Highlights” and “Fiscal 2021 Outlook,” relate to expectations and projections regarding the Company’s future performance and may include the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “will,” “plan,” “outlook,” “project,” “should,” “strategy,” “potential,” “confident” and similar terms. These forward-looking statements are based largely on information currently available to our management and on our current expectations, assumptions, plans, estimates, judgments and projections about our business and our industry, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although we believe our expectations are based on reasonable estimates and assumptions, there is no assurance that our expectations will, in fact, occur or that our estimates or assumptions will be correct, and we caution investors and all others not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to: the effects of the pandemic and uncertainties about its depth and duration, new variants of COVID-19 that have emerged, and the speed, efficacy and availability of vaccine and treatment developments, as well as the impacts to general economic conditions and the economic slowdown affecting consumer behavior and discretionary spending (before and after the pandemic) and any ongoing temporary store restrictions (including reduced hours or capacity) due to government mandates; the effectiveness of store reopenings, cost reduction initiatives (including our ability to effectively restructure our lease portfolio to obtain future rent relief), the extent, availability and effectiveness of any pandemic stimulus packages or loan programs, including the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the ability of our third-party business partners, including our suppliers, logistics providers, vendors and landlords, to meet their obligations to us in light of financial stress, staffing shortages, liquidity challenges, bankruptcy filings by other industry participants and other disruptions due to the pandemic, the impact of the pandemic on our manufacturing operations in China, and trends in consumer behavior and spending during and after the end of the pandemic; our ability to successfully implement any alternatives that we pursue including our ability to achieve the cost savings described in this release; government actions and policies; increases in unemployment rates and taxes; local, regional, national and international economic conditions; changes in the general economic and business environment; changes in the general or specialty retail or apparel industries, including the extent of the market demand and overall level of spending for women’s private branded clothing and related accessories; future permanent store closures; the effectiveness of our brand strategies, awareness and marketing programs; the ability to successfully execute and achieve the expected results of our business strategies and particular strategic initiatives (including, but not limited to, the Company’s organizational restructure and five fiscal 2021 operating priorities which are: continuing our ongoing digital transformation; further refining product through fit, quality, fabric and innovation; driving increased customer engagement through marketing; maintaining our operating and cost discipline; and further enhancing the productivity of our real estate portfolio; cyber security or other data or security breaches; sales initiatives and multi-channel strategies; customer traffic; our ability to appropriately manage our inventory and allocation processes; our ability to leverage inventory management and targeted promotions; the successful recruitment of leadership and the successful transition of members of our senior management team; uncertainties regarding future unsolicited offers to buy the Company and our ability to respond effectively to them as well as to actions of activist shareholders and others; changes in the political environment that create consumer uncertainty; the risk that our investments in merchandise or marketing initiatives may not deliver the results we anticipate; significant changes to product import and distribution costs (such as unexpected consolidation in the freight carrier industry, and the ability to remain competitive with customer shipping terms and costs pertaining to product deliveries and returns); new or increased taxes or tariffs that could impact, among other things, our sourcing from foreign suppliers; the risk that future legislation may prohibit certain imports from China; and significant shifts in consumer behavior. Other risk factors are detailed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and, from time to time, the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These factors should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements contained herein. There can be no assurance that the actual future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements will occur. The Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes make it clear that projected results expressed or implied in such statements will not be realized.

(Financial Tables Follow)

Investor Relations Contact:

Tom Filandro

ICR, Inc.
(646) 277-1235
[email protected]

Chico’s FAS, Inc. • 11215 Metro Parkway • Fort Myers, Florida 33966 • (239) 277-6200