NOTE 10 - EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

12 Months Ended

Jan. 31, 2016

Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 10 – EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

Employee Savings Plans

We sponsor a tax-qualified 401(k) retirement plan covering substantially all employees.  This plan assists employees in meeting their savings and retirement planning goals through employee salary deferrals and discretionary employer matching contributions.  Our contributions to the plan amounted to $666,000 in fiscal 2016, $605,000 in fiscal 2015, and $593,000 in fiscal 2014.

Executive Benefits

We provide supplemental executive retirement benefits to certain management employees under a supplemental retirement income plan (“SRIP”).  The SRIP provides monthly payments to participants or their designated beneficiaries based on a participant’s “final average monthly earnings” and “specified percentage” participation level as defined in the plan, subject to a vesting schedule that may vary for each participant.  The benefit is payable for a 15-year period following the participant’s termination of employment due to retirement, disability or death.  In addition, the monthly retirement benefit for each participant, regardless of age, becomes fully vested and the present value of that benefit is paid to each participant in a lump sum upon a change in control of the Company as defined in the plan.  The SRIP is unfunded and all benefits are payable solely from our general assets. The plan liability is based on the aggregate actuarial present value of the vested benefits to which participating employees are currently entitled, but based on the employees’ expected dates of separation or retirement. No employees have been added to the plan since 2008 and we do not expect to add additional employees in the future, due to changes in our compensation philosophy, which emphasizes more performance-based compensation measures in total management compensation.

Summarized plan information as of each fiscal year-end (the measurement date) is as follows:

	Fifty-Two			Fifty-Two
	Weeks Ended			Weeks Ended
	January 31,			February 1,
	2016			2015
Change in benefit obligation:
Beginning projected benefit obligation	$	8,385		$	7,662
Service cost		406			102
Interest cost		289			339
Benefits paid		(354	)		(354	)
Actuarial (gain) loss		(573	)		636
Ending projected benefit obligation (funded status)	$	8,153		$	8,385
Accumulated benefit obligation	$	7,446		$	7,373
Discount rate used to value the ending benefit obligations:		4.25	%		3.5	%
Amount recognized in the consolidated balance sheets:
Current liabilities (Accrued salaries, wages and benefits line)	$	354		$	354
Non-current liabilities (Deferred compensation line*)		7,799			8,031
Total	$	8,153		$	8,385

*Total Deferred Compensation in the Long-Term Liabilities section of our Consolidated Balance Sheets is $8.4 million at January 31, 2016 and $8.3 million at February 1, 2015. These totals include the SRIP amounts shown in the table above, as well as additional long-term compensation-related items unrelated to our SRIP.

	Fifty-Two			Fifty-Two			Fifty-Two
	Weeks Ended			Weeks Ended			Weeks Ended
	January 31,			February 1,			February 2,
	2016			2015			2014
Net periodic benefit cost
Service cost	$	406		$	102		$	256
Interest cost		289			339			292
Net  loss (gain)		178			(51	)		(106	)
Net periodic benefit cost	$	873		$	390		$	442
Other changes recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income
Net (gain) loss arising during period		(574	)		636			57
(Loss) gain		(178	)		51			106
Total recognized in other comprehensive  (income) loss		(752	)		687			163
Total recognized in net periodic benefit cost and       accumulated other comprehensive income	$	121		$	1,077		$	605
Assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost:
Discount rate (Moody's Composite Bond Rate)		3.5	%		4.5	%		4.0	%
Increase in future compensation levels		4.0	%		4.0	%		4.0	%

Estimated Future Benefit Payments:
Fiscal 2017	$	354
Fiscal 2018		530
Fiscal 2019		530
Fiscal 2020		795
Fiscal 2021		795
Fiscal 2022 through Fiscal 2026		4,376

The decrease in the net loss recognized in other accumulated comprehensive income was primarily due to an increase in the discount rate from 3.5% at February 1, 2015 to 4.25% at January 31, 2016. The discount rate utilized in each period was the Annualized Moody’s Composite Bond Rate rounded to the nearest 0.25%.

Increasing the SRIP discount rate by 1% would decrease the projected benefit obligation at January 31, 2016 by approximately $610,000. Similarly, decreasing the discount rate by 1% would increase the projected benefit obligation at January 31, 2016 by $688,000.

At January 31, 2016, the actuarial gains related to this plan amounted to $139,000, net of tax of ($79,000). At February 1, 2015, the actuarial losses related to this plan amounted to ($335,000), net of tax of $198,000. The estimated prior service (cost) credit and actuarial gain (loss) that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive income into net periodic benefit cost over fiscal 2017 are $0 and $73,000, respectively.

We also provide a life insurance program for certain executives.  The life insurance program provides death benefit protection for these executives during employment up to age 65.  Coverage under the program declines when a participating executive attains age 60 and automatically terminates when the executive attains age 65 or terminates employment with us for any reason, other than death, whichever occurs first.  The life insurance policies funding this program are owned by the Company with a specified portion of the death benefits payable under those policies endorsed to the insured executives’ designated beneficiaries.

Performance Grants

The Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors annually awards performance grants to certain senior executives under the Company’s Stock Incentive Plan. Payments under these awards are based on our achieving specified performance targets during a designated performance period. Generally, each executive must remain continuously employed with the Company through the end of the performance period. Typically, performance grants can be paid in cash, shares of the Company’s common stock, or both, at the discretion of the Compensation Committee at the time payment is made.

Outstanding performance grants are classified as liabilities since the (i) settlement amount for each grant is not known until after the applicable performance period is completed and (ii) settlement of the grants may be made in common stock, cash or a combination of both. The estimated cost of each grant is recorded as compensation expense over its performance period when it becomes probable that the applicable performance targets will be achieved.  The expected cost of the performance grants is revalued each reporting period.  As assumptions change regarding the expected achievement of performance targets, a cumulative adjustment is recorded and future compensation expense will increase or decrease based on the currently projected performance levels.  If we determine that it is not probable that the minimum performance thresholds for outstanding performance grants will be met, no further compensation cost will be recognized and any previously recognized compensation cost will be reversed.
 

During fiscal 2013, the Compensation Committee awarded performance grants for the 2014 fiscal year. The 2014 awards had a three-year performance period that ended on January 15, 2016. The performance criteria for these awards were met and were paid in April 2016. During fiscal 2015 and fiscal 2016, the Compensation Committee awarded performance grants for the 2015 and 2016 fiscal years that have three-year performance periods ending on January 29, 2017 and January 28, 2018. The following amounts were accrued in our consolidated balance sheets as of the fiscal period-end dates indicated:

	January 31,		February 1,
	2016		2015
Performance grants
Fiscal 2013 grant (Current liabilities, Accrued wages, salaries and benefits)	$	-	$	689
Fiscal 2014 grant (Current liabilities, Accrued wages, salaries and benefits)		619		195
Fiscal 2015 grant (Non-current liabilities, Deferred compensation)		429		86
Fiscal 2016 grant (Non-current liabilities, Deferred compensation)		129		-
Total performance grants accrued	$	1,177	$	970