The Children’s Place, Inc. and subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”) is the largest pure-play children’s specialty apparel retailer in North America. The Company provides apparel, footwear, accessories, and other items for children and ‘tweens.’ The Company designs, contracts to manufacture, sells at retail and wholesale, and licenses to sell trend right, high-quality merchandise predominantly at value prices, primarily under the Company’s proprietary “The Children’s Place”, “Place”, “Baby Place”, “Gymboree”, “Sugar & Jade”, and “PJ Place” brand names.

The Company classifies its business into two segments: The Children’s Place U.S. and The Children’s Place International. Included in The Children’s Place U.S. segment are the Company’s U.S. and Puerto Rico-based stores and revenue from its U.S.-based wholesale business. Included in The Children’s Place International segment are its Canadian-based stores, revenue from the Company’s Canadian-based wholesale business, as well as revenue from international franchisees. Each segment includes an e-commerce business located at www.childrensplace.com, www.gymboree.com, www.sugarandjade.com, and www.pjplace.com.

The consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. Intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. As of January 28, 2023 and January 29, 2022, the Company did not have any investments in unconsolidated affiliates. FASB ASC 810—Consolidation is considered when determining whether an entity is subject to consolidation.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and amounts of revenues and expenses reported during the period. Actual results could differ from the assumptions used and estimates made by management, which could have a material impact on the Company’s financial position or results of operations. Critical accounting estimates inherent in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements include impairment of long-lived assets, impairment of indefinite-lived intangible assets, income taxes, stock-based compensation, and inventory valuation.

Accounts receivable consists of credit and debit card receivables, franchisee and wholesale receivables, and other miscellaneous items. Credit and debit card receivables represent credit and debit card sales, inclusive of private label credit card sales, for which the respective third-party service company has yet to remit the cash. The unremitted balance approximates the last few days of related credit and debit card sales for each reporting period. Franchisee and wholesale receivables represent product sales and sales royalties in which cash has not yet been remitted by our partners. Bad debt associated with all sales has not been material.

Inventories, which consist primarily of finished goods, are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value, with cost determined on an average cost basis. The Company capitalizes certain buying, design, and supply chain costs in inventory, and these costs are reflected within Cost of sales as the inventories are sold. Inventory shrinkage is estimated in interim periods based upon the historical results of physical inventory counts in the context of current year facts and circumstances.

The Company capitalizes costs directly associated with acquiring third-party financing. Deferred financing costs for the asset-based revolving credit facility are included in Other assets and are amortized as Interest expense over the term of the related indebtedness. As of January 28, 2023 and January 29, 2022, unamortized deferred financing costs amounted to $2.3 million and $2.9 million, respectively, of which $2.0 million and $2.6 million, respectively, related to the Company’s asset-based revolving credit facility.

Property and equipment are stated at cost. Leasehold improvements are depreciated on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the life of the lease or the estimated useful life of the asset. All other property and equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis based upon estimated useful lives, with furniture and fixtures and equipment generally ranging from 3 to 10 years and buildings and improvements generally ranging from 20 to 25 years. Repairs and maintenance are expensed as incurred.

The Company accounts for internally developed software intended for internal use in accordance with provisions of FASB ASC 350—Intangibles-Goodwill and Other. The Company capitalizes development-stage costs such as direct external costs and direct payroll related costs. When development is substantially complete and the software is ready for its intended use, the Company amortizes the cost of the software on a straight-line basis over the expected life of the software, which is generally 3 to 10 years. Preliminary project costs and post-implementation costs such as training, maintenance, and support are expensed as incurred.

The Company’s intangible assets include both indefinite-lived and finite-lived assets. Intangible assets with indefinite lives consist primarily of trademarks and acquired tradenames, which are tested for impairment annually at the end of December or whenever circumstances indicate that a decline in value may have occurred. The Company estimates the fair value of these intangible assets based on an income approach using the relief-from-royalty method. The Company’s finite-lived intangible assets consist primarily of customer lists and other acquisition-related assets. Finite-lived intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful economic lives and are reviewed for impairment when factors indicate that an impairment may have occurred. The Company recognizes an impairment charge when the estimated fair value of the intangible asset is less than the carrying value.

The Company periodically reviews its long-lived assets for impairment when events indicate that their carrying value may not be recoverable. Such events include historical trends or projected trends of cash flow losses or a future expectation that the Company will sell or dispose of an asset significantly before the end of its previously estimated useful life. In reviewing for

The Company reviews all stores that have reached comparable sales status for impairment on at least an annual basis, or sooner if circumstances so dictate. The Company believes waiting this period of time allows a store to reach a maturity level where a more comprehensive analysis of financial performance can be performed. For each store that shows indications of impairment, the Company performs a recoverability test comparing estimated undiscounted future cash flows to the carrying value of the related long-lived assets. If the undiscounted cash flows are less than the related net book value of the long-lived assets, they are written down to their fair market value. The Company primarily uses discounted future cash flows directly associated with those assets, which consist principally of property and equipment and right-of-use (“ROU”) assets, to determine their fair market values. In evaluating future cash flows, the Company considers external and internal factors. External factors comprise the local environment in which the store resides, including mall traffic, competition, and their effect on sales trends, as well as macroeconomic factors, such as the global COVID-19 pandemic. Internal factors include the Company’s ability to gauge the fashion taste of its customers, control variable costs such as cost of sales and payroll, and in certain cases, its ability to renegotiate lease costs. In addition, the Company utilizes market-corroborated inputs, including sales per square foot and cost of occupancy rates, in its calculation of the fair value of its ROU assets and any necessary discounting required for rent rates based on macroeconomic conditions or local mall conditions.

The Company self-insures and purchases insurance policies to provide for workers’ compensation, general liability and property losses, cyber-security coverage, as well as director and officers’ liability, vehicle liability, and employee medical benefits. The Company estimates risks and records a liability based on historical claim experience, insurance deductibles, severity factors, and other actuarial assumptions. The Company records the current portions of employee medical benefits, workers compensation, and general liability reserves within Accrued expenses and other current liabilities.

The Company has operating leases for retail stores, corporate offices, distribution facilities, and certain equipment. The Company’s leases have remaining lease terms ranging from less than one year up to ten years, some of which include options to extend the leases for up to five years, and some of which include options to terminate the lease early.

The lease liability is initially and subsequently measured at the present value of the unpaid lease payments at the lease commencement date. For operating leases, the ROU asset is initially and subsequently measured throughout the lease term at the carrying amount of the lease liability, plus initial direct costs, less any accrued lease payments and unamortized lease incentives. For finance leases, the ROU asset is initially measured at cost and subsequently amortized using the straight-line method, generally from the lease commencement date to the earlier of the end of its useful life or the end of the lease term.

The discount rate is the rate implicit in the lease, unless that rate cannot be readily determined. In that case, the Company is required to use its incremental borrowing rate. The discount rate for a lease is determined based on the information available at lease commencement. The Company accounts for the underlying leased asset and applies a discount rate at the lease level. However, there are certain non-real estate leases for which the Company utilizes the portfolio method by aggregating similar leased assets based on the underlying lease term.

The Company has made an accounting policy election by class of underlying asset to not apply the recognition requirements of FASB ASC 842—Leases (“Topic 842”) to leases with an initial term of 12 months or less. Leases with an initial lease term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet. The Company recognizes lease expense for these leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

The Company has certain lease agreements structured with both fixed base rent and contingent rent based on a percentage of sales over contractual levels, others with only contingent rent based on a percentage of sales, and some with a fixed base rent adjusted periodically for inflation or changes in fair market value of the underlying real estate. Contingent rent is

In April 2020, the FASB staff released guidance regarding rent concessions related to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to allow for a temporary practical expedient (the “COVID-19 expedient”) to account for rent concessions as though enforceable rights and obligations for those concessions existed in the lease agreements. The election is available for concessions related to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that result in the total payments required by the modified contract being substantially the same as or less than total payments required by the original contract.

Upon the temporary closure of the Company’s store fleet in March 2020, the Company began negotiating for concessions of certain rent payments for the time the stores were impacted. These discussions and negotiations were substantially completed at the end of the second quarter of Fiscal 2021. For the lease concessions that have been agreed upon and executed, the Company did not reassess each existing contract to determine whether enforceable rights and obligations for concessions existed and elected not to apply the lease modification guidance in ASC 842 to those contracts that shared similar characteristics. Rather, the Company accounts for COVID-19 lease concessions as reductions to variable lease cost.

Treasury stock is recorded at acquisition cost. Gains and losses on disposition are recorded as increases or decreases to Additional paid-in capital with losses in excess of previously recorded gains charged directly to Retained earnings. When treasury shares are retired and returned to authorized but unissued status, the carrying value in excess of par is allocated to Additional paid-in capital and Retained earnings on a pro rata basis.

The Company utilizes the liability method of accounting for income taxes as set forth in FASB ASC 740—Income Taxes. Under the liability method, deferred taxes are determined based on the temporary differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities, as well as for net operating losses and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using currently enacted tax rates applied to taxable income in effect for the years in which the basis differences and tax assets are expected to be realized. A valuation allowance is recorded when it is more likely than not that any of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. In determining the need for valuation allowances, the Company considers projected future taxable income, the availability of tax planning strategies, taxable income in prior carryback years, and future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences. If, in the future, the Company determines that it would not be able to realize recorded deferred tax assets, an increase in the valuation allowance would decrease earnings in the period in which such determination is made.

The Company assesses income tax positions and records tax benefits for all years subject to examination based upon the Company’s evaluation of the facts, circumstances, and information available at the reporting date. For those tax positions where it is more likely than not that a tax benefit will be sustained, the Company has recorded the largest amount of tax benefit with a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement with a taxing authority that has full knowledge of all relevant information. For those income tax positions where it is not more likely than not that a tax benefit will be sustained, no tax benefit has been recognized in the consolidated financial statements. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties for our unrecognized tax benefits as a component of tax expense.

The Company has a deferred compensation plan (the “Deferred Compensation Plan”), which is a nonqualified, unfunded plan, for eligible senior level employees. Under the Deferred Compensation Plan, a participant may elect to defer up to 80% of his or her base salary and/or up to 100% of his or her bonus to be earned for the year following the year in which the deferral election is made. The Deferred Compensation Plan also permits members of the Board of Directors to elect to defer payment of all or a portion of their retainer and other fees to be earned for the year following the year in which a deferral election is made, and they may elect to defer payment of any shares of Company stock that are earned with respect to deferred stock awards.

Directors may elect to have all or a portion of their fees earned for their service on the Board invested in shares of the Company’s common stock. The Company is not required to contribute to the Deferred Compensation Plan, but at its sole discretion, can make additional contributions on behalf of the participants. Deferred amounts are not subject to forfeiture and are deemed invested among investment funds offered under the Deferred Compensation Plan, as directed by each participant. Payments of deferred amounts (as adjusted for earnings and losses) are payable following separation from service or at a date or dates elected by the participant at the time the deferral is elected. Payments of deferred amounts are generally made in either a lump sum or in annual installments over a period not exceeding 15 years. During fiscal 2010, the Deferred Compensation Plan was amended to allow for cash deferrals made by members of the Board of Directors to be invested in shares of the Company’s common stock. Such elections are irrevocable and will be settled in shares of common stock. All deferred amounts are payable in the form in which they were made, except for Board of Directors fees invested in shares of the Company’s common stock, which are settled in shares of Company common stock. Earlier distributions are not permitted, except in the case of an unforeseen hardship. During Fiscal 2022, the Deferred Compensation Plan was amended to no longer allow for the deferral of the Company’s common stock by employee participants.

The Company has established a rabbi trust that serves as an investment to shadow the Deferred Compensation Plan liability. The assets of the rabbi trust are general assets of the Company and, as such, would be subject to the claims of creditors in the event of bankruptcy or insolvency. Investments of the rabbi trust consist of mutual funds and Company common stock. The Deferred Compensation Plan liability, excluding Company common stock, is included within Other long-term liabilities, and changes in the balance, except those relating to payments, are recognized as compensation expense within Selling, general, and administrative expenses. The value of the mutual funds in the rabbi trust is included in Other assets and related earnings and losses are recognized as investment income or loss, within Selling, general, and administrative expenses. Company stock deferrals are included within the equity section of the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets as Treasury stock and as Deferred compensation. Deferred stock is recorded at fair market value at the time of deferral, and any subsequent changes in fair market value are not recognized.

The Company has determined that the local currencies of its Canadian and Asian subsidiaries are their functional currencies. In accordance with FASB ASC 830—Foreign Currency Matters, the assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at the current rates of exchange existing at period-end, and revenues and expenses are translated at average monthly exchange rates. Related translation adjustments are reported as a separate component of stockholders’ equity. The Company also transacts certain business in foreign denominated currencies primarily with its Canadian subsidiary purchasing inventory in U.S. dollars, and there are intercompany charges between various subsidiaries.

This topic defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date and establishes a three-level hierarchy, which encourages an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. The three levels of the hierarchy are defined as follows:

The Company’s cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, investments in the rabbi trust, accounts payable, and revolving loan are all short-term in nature. As such, their carrying amounts approximate fair value and fall within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy. The Company stock included in the Deferred Compensation Plan is not subject to fair value measurement.

The Company’s assets measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis include long-lived assets, such as intangible assets, fixed assets, and ROU assets. The Company reviews the carrying amounts of such assets when events indicate that their carrying amounts may not be recoverable. Any resulting asset impairment would require that the asset be recorded at its fair value. The resulting fair value measurements of the assets are considered to fall within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy.

The Company recognizes revenue, including shipping and handling fees billed to customers, upon purchase at the Company’s retail stores or when received by the customer if the product was purchased via e-commerce, net of coupon redemptions and anticipated sales returns. The Company deferred sales of $2.9 million and $3.6 million within Accrued expenses and other current liabilities as of January 28, 2023 and January 29, 2022, respectively, based upon estimated time of delivery, at which point control passes to the customer. Sales tax collected from customers is excluded from revenue.

For the sale of goods with a right of return, the Company recognizes revenue for the consideration it expects to be entitled to and calculates an allowance for estimated sales returns based upon the Company’s sales return experience. Adjustments to the allowance for estimated sales returns in subsequent periods have not been material based on historical data, thereby reducing the uncertainty inherent in such estimates. The allowance for estimated sales returns, which is recorded in Accrued expenses and other current liabilities, was $1.0 million as of January 28, 2023 and January 29, 2022.

The Company’s private label credit card is issued to customers for use exclusively at The Children’s Place stores and online at www.childrensplace.com, www.gymboree.com, www.sugarandjade.com, and www.pjplace.com, and credit is extended to such customers by a third-party financial institution on a non-recourse basis to the Company. The private label credit card includes multiple performance obligations for the Company, including marketing, promoting the program on behalf of the bank and the operation of a loyalty rewards program. Included in the agreement with the third-party financial institution was an upfront bonus paid to the Company. The upfront bonus is recognized as revenue and allocated between brand and reward obligations. As the license of the Company’s brand is the predominant item in the performance obligation, the amount allocated to the brand obligation is recognized on a straight-line basis over the initial term. The amount allocated to the reward obligation is recognized on a point-in-time basis as redemptions under the loyalty program occur.

In measuring revenue and determining the consideration the Company is entitled to as part of a contract with a customer, the Company takes into account the related elements of variable consideration, such as additional bonuses, including profit-sharing, over the life of the private label credit card program. Similar to the upfront bonus, the usage-based royalties and bonuses are recognized as revenue and allocated between the brand and reward obligations. The amount allocated to the brand obligation is recognized on a straight-line basis over the initial term. The amount allocated to the reward obligation is recognized on a point-in-time basis as redemptions under the loyalty program occur. In addition, the annual profit-sharing amount is estimated and recognized quarterly within an annual period when earned. The additional bonuses are amortized over the contract term based on anticipated progress against future targets and level of risk associated with achieving the targets.

The Company has a points-based customer loyalty program in which customers earn points based on purchases and other promotional activities. These points can be redeemed for coupons to discount future purchases. A contract liability is estimated based on the standalone selling price of benefits earned by customers through the program and the related redemption experience under the program. The value of each point earned is recorded as deferred revenue and is included within Accrued expenses and other current liabilities. The total contract liabilities related to this program were $2.6 million and $5.0 million as of January 28, 2023 and January 29, 2022, respectively.

The Company’s policy with respect to gift cards is to record revenue as and when the gift cards are redeemed for merchandise. The Company recognizes gift card breakage income in proportion to the pattern of rights exercised by the customer when the Company expects to be entitled to breakage and the Company determines that it does not have a legal obligation to remit the value of the unredeemed gift card to the relevant jurisdiction as unclaimed or abandoned property. Gift card breakage is recorded within Net sales. Prior to their redemption, gift cards are recorded as a liability within Accrued expenses and other current liabilities. The liability is estimated based on expected breakage that considers historical patterns of redemption. The gift card liability balance was $11.1 million and $12.1 million as of January 28, 2023 and January 29, 2022,

The Company has an international program of territorial agreements with franchisees. The Company generates revenues from the franchisees from the sale of product and, in certain cases, sales royalties. The Company recognizes revenue on the sale of product to franchisees when the franchisee takes ownership of the product. The Company records net sales for royalties when the applicable franchisee sells the product to customers. Under certain agreements, the Company receives a fee from each franchisee for exclusive territorial rights and based on the opening of new stores. The Company records these territorial fees as deferred revenue and amortizes the fee into Net sales over the life of the territorial agreement.

In addition to the cost of inventory sold, the Company includes certain buying, design, and distribution expenses, shipping and handling costs on merchandise sold directly to customers, and letter of credit fees in Cost of sales. The Company records all occupancy costs in Cost of sales, except for administrative office buildings, which are recorded in Selling, general, and administrative expenses. All depreciation is reported on a separate line in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations.

The Company’s stock-based compensation plans are administered by the Human Capital & Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. The Human Capital & Compensation Committee is comprised of independent members of the Board of Directors. Effective May 20, 2011, the shareholders approved the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Equity Plan”). The Equity Plan allows the Human Capital & Compensation Committee to grant multiple forms of stock-based compensation, such as stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards, deferred stock awards, and performance stock awards.

The Company accounts for stock-based compensation in accordance with the provisions of FASB ASC 718— Compensation—Stock Compensation. These provisions require, among other things: (a) the fair value at grant date of all stock awards be expensed over their respective vesting periods; (b) the amount of cumulative compensation cost recognized at any date must at least be equal to the portion of the grant-date value of the award that is vested at that date; and (c) that compensation expense include a forfeiture estimate for those shares not expected to vest. The fair value of all stock awards is based on the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the grant date. Also, in accordance with these provisions, for those awards with multiple vest dates, the Company recognizes compensation cost on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period for the entire award. The expense recognized for Performance Awards throughout the service period and the number of shares that are projected to ultimately vest, are based on the estimated degree to which the related performance metrics are expected to be achieved.

The Company defers costs associated with the production of advertising until the first time the advertising takes place. Costs associated with communicating advertising that has been produced are expensed when the advertising event takes place. Advertising and other marketing costs are recorded in Selling, general, and administrative expenses and amounted to $55.5 million, $44.3 million, and $31.1 million in Fiscal 2022, Fiscal 2021, and Fiscal 2020, respectively. Deferred advertising, marketing, and promotional costs, which principally relate to advertisements that have not yet been exhibited or services that have not yet been received, were $1.4 million at January 28, 2023 and January 29, 2022, and were recorded within Prepaid expenses and other current assets in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The Company reports its earnings per share in accordance with FASB ASC 260—Earnings Per Share, which requires the presentation of both basic and diluted earnings per share on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The diluted weighted average common shares include adjustments for the potential effects of outstanding stock options, Deferred Awards, and Performance Awards (as both terms are used in “Note 11. Stock-Based Compensation” to these consolidated financial statements), but only in the periods in which such effect is dilutive under the treasury stock method. Included in basic and diluted weighted average common shares are those shares, due to participants in the Deferred Compensation Plan, which are held in treasury stock. Anti-dilutive stock awards are comprised of unvested deferred, restricted, and performance shares which would have been anti-dilutive in the application of the treasury stock method in accordance with FASB ASC 260—Earnings Per Share.


	Fiscal Years Ended
	January 28, 2023	January 29, 2022	January 30, 2021



	(in thousands)
Basic weighted average common shares outstanding	13,041	14,597	14,631
Dilutive effect of stock awards	—	273	—
Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding	13,041	14,870	14,631

Anti-dilutive shares excluded from diluted earnings (loss) per common share calculation	184	—	48