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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

 

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): November 1, 2021

 

THE CHILDREN’S PLACE, INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
 
Delaware
 (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)

 

0-23071 31-1241495
(Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification No.)
   
500 Plaza Drive, Secaucus, New Jersey 07094
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

 

(201) 558-2400
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
 
Not Applicable
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

 

  ¨ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
  ¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
  ¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
  ¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12-b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company  ¨

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

 

Title of each class

 

Trading

Symbol(s)

 

Name of each exchange on which registered

Common Stock, $0.10 par value PLCE NASDAQ Global Select Market

 

 

 

 

 

Item 5.02Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

 

On November 1, 2021, the Company appointed Katherine Kountze to the Company’s Board of Directors and to the Audit Committee. Ms. Kountze will hold office until the annual meeting of stockholders of the Company to be held in 2022. Ms. Kountze is an independent director under applicable SEC and Nasdaq rules.

 

Ms. Kountze is currently the Executive Vice President & Chief Information Officer of DentaQuest, a purpose-driven oral health care company and has held that position since April 2021. Prior to DentaQuest, from 2010, Ms. Kountze was the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Eversource Energy, a business and residential energy provider serving the Northeastern United States. From 2001 to 2010Ms. Kountze served in various senior information and data security positions at The United Illuminating Company, culminating in her role as Vice President and Chief Information Officer in 2007. In these positions, Ms. Kountze’s expertise extended to all aspects of information technology, including cybersecurity and digital transformation matters.

 

Ms. Kountze currently serves on the board of directors and audit committee of Bombardier Recreation Products and is a member of several advisory councils and industry organizations, including the Massachusetts Cybersecurity Strategy Council, the Boston CIO Leadership Advisory Council, the AT&T Executive Customer Advisory Committee, and the Advisory Board for Apprenti, a technology apprenticeship program. Ms. Kountze received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Actuarial Math & Science from the University of Connecticut, a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of New Haven, and a Certificate for Finance Accounting from Harvard Business Online.

 

There is no arrangement or understanding between Ms. Kountze and any other person pursuant to which Ms. Kountze was appointed as a director of the Company. Ms. Kountze will be eligible to participate in all non-management director compensation plans and arrangements available to the Company’s other independent directors. Accordingly, on the date of her appointment as a director, Ms. Kountze was granted time-based restricted stock units under the Company’s 2011 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) representing 380 shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.10 per share, which shares are deliverable to Ms. Kountze on the first anniversary of the date of grant, subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

 

A copy of the press release announcing the appointment of Ms. Kountze as a director of the Company is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 99.1

 

  Item 9.01 Financial Statement and Exhibits

 

(d)       Exhibits

 

Exhibit 99.1 Press Release dated November 1, 2021
Exhibit 104 Cover Pages Interactive Data File – the cover page XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document

 

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Forward Looking Statements

 

This Current Report on Form 8-K, including Exhibit 99.1, contains or may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to statements relating to the Company’s strategic initiatives and adjusted net income per diluted share. Forward-looking statements typically are identified by use of terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “plan,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate” and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's current expectations and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and performance to differ materially. Some of these risks and uncertainties are described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the “Risk Factors” section of its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 30, 2021. Included among the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and performance to differ materially are the risk that the Company will be unsuccessful in gauging fashion trends and changing consumer preferences, the risks resulting from the highly competitive nature of the Company’s business and its dependence on consumer spending patterns, which may be affected by changes in economic conditions, the risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business or the economy in general (including decreased customer traffic, schools adopting remote and hybrid learning models, closures of businesses and other activities causing decreased demand for our products and negative impacts on our customers’ spending patterns due to decreased income or actual or perceived wealth, and the impact of the CARES Act and other legislation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and any changes to the CARES Act or such other legislation), the risk that the Company’s strategic initiatives to increase sales and margin are delayed or do not result in anticipated improvements, the risk of delays, interruptions and disruptions in the Company’s global supply chain, including resulting from COVID-19 or other disease outbreaks, or foreign sources of supply in less developed countries, more politically unstable countries, or countries where vendors fail to comply with industry standards or ethical business practices, including the use of forced, indentured or child labor, the risk that the cost of raw materials or energy prices will increase beyond current expectations or that the Company is unable to offset cost increases through value engineering or price increases, various types of litigation, including class action litigations brought under consumer protection, employment, and privacy and information security laws and regulations, the imposition of regulations affecting the importation of foreign-produced merchandise, including duties and tariffs, and the uncertainty of weather patterns. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

 

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Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

Date: November 1, 2021 

 

  THE CHILDREN’S PLACE, INC.
   
  By:  /s/ Jane Elfers
  Name: Jane Elfers
  Title: President and Chief Executive Officer

 

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Exhibit 99.1

 

 

 

THE CHILDREN’S PLACE APPOINTS KATHERINE KOUNTZE

TO ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

Ms. Kountze Will Also Serve on the Audit Committee

 

Secaucus, New Jersey – November 1, 2021 – The Children’s Place, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCE), the largest pure-play children’s specialty apparel retailer in North America, today announced that on November 1, 2021, the Company appointed Katherine Kountze to the Company’s Board of Directors and as a member of the Audit Committee.  Ms. Kountze will hold office until the annual meeting of stockholders of the Company to be held in 2022.  Ms. Kountze is an independent director under applicable SEC and Nasdaq rules.

 

Ms. Kountze is currently the Executive Vice President & Chief Information Officer of DentaQuest, a purpose-driven oral health care company and has held that position since April 2021. Prior to DentaQuest, from 2010, Ms. Kountze was the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Eversource Energy, a business and residential energy provider serving the Northeastern United States. From 2001 to 2010Ms. Kountze served in various senior information and data security positions at The United Illuminating Company, culminating in her role as Vice President and Chief Information Officer in 2007. Ms. Kountze currently serves on the board of directors and audit committee of Bombardier Recreation Products and is a member of several advisory councils and industry organizations, including the Massachusetts Cybersecurity Strategy Council, the Boston CIO Leadership Advisory Council, the AT&T Executive Customer Advisory Committee, and the Advisory Board for Apprenti, a technology apprenticeship program. Ms. Kountze received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Actuarial Math & Science from the University of Connecticut, a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of New Haven, and a Certificate for Finance Accounting from Harvard Business Online. 

 

Norman Matthews, Chairman of the Board said, “Kathy is an expert in cybersecurity, and she is an experienced and accomplished C-suite information technology executive, skilled at aligning technology with the needs of the business. Kathy is an important addition to our Board, and will be a key liaison between the Board and the management team as the Company continues to successfully deliver on its accelerated digital transformation.” 

 

About The Children’s Place

The Children’s Place is the largest pure-play children’s specialty apparel retailer in North America. The Company designs, contracts to manufacture, sells at retail and wholesale, and licenses to sell fashionable, high-quality merchandise predominantly at value prices, primarily under the proprietary “The Children’s Place”, “Place”, “Baby Place”, and “Gymboree” brand names. As of July 31, 2021, the Company had 708 stores in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, online stores at www.childrensplace.com and www.gymboree.com, and the Company’s eight international franchise partners had 208 international points of distribution in 17 countries.

 

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Forward Looking Statements

 

This press release, contains or may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to statements relating to the Company’s strategic initiatives and adjusted net income per diluted share. Forward-looking statements typically are identified by use of terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “plan,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate” and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's current expectations and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and performance to differ materially. Some of these risks and uncertainties are described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the “Risk Factors” section of its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 30, 2021. Included among the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and performance to differ materially are the risk that the Company will be unsuccessful in gauging fashion trends and changing consumer preferences, the risks resulting from the highly competitive nature of the Company’s business and its dependence on consumer spending patterns, which may be affected by changes in economic conditions, the risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business or the economy in general (including decreased customer traffic, schools adopting remote and hybrid learning models, closures of businesses and other activities causing decreased demand for our products and negative impacts on our customers’ spending patterns due to decreased income or actual or perceived wealth, and the impact of the CARES Act and other legislation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and any changes to the CARES Act or such other legislation), the risk that the Company’s strategic initiatives to increase sales and margin are delayed or do not result in anticipated improvements, the risk of delays, interruptions and disruptions in the Company’s global supply chain, including resulting from COVID-19 or other disease outbreaks, or foreign sources of supply in less developed countries, more politically unstable countries, or countries where vendors fail to comply with industry standards or ethical business practices, including the use of forced, indentured or child labor, the risk that the cost of raw materials or energy prices will increase beyond current expectations or that the Company is unable to offset cost increases through value engineering or price increases, various types of litigation, including class action litigations brought under consumer protection, employment, and privacy and information security laws and regulations, the imposition of regulations affecting the importation of foreign-produced merchandise, including duties and tariffs, and the uncertainty of weather patterns. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

 

Contact:  Investor Relations, (201) 558-2440 ext. 14500

 

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