Five Below Founder Ending Tenure With The Retailer
The co-founder and executive chair of Five Below, Tom Vellios, will transition into an advisory role with the retailer, choosing not to stand for re-election to the board.
His role as executive chair will conclude following the company’s annual shareholders meeting on June 12. His advisory role will run through the end of the current calendar year.
It is expected that Mike Devine, a 12-year member of the company’s board of directors, will be appointed the board’s non-executive chair.
“I co-founded Five Below in 2002 with one goal — to become the destination for pre-teens and teens by delivering trend-right, high-quality products at extreme value in a fun shopping experience,” Vellios said. “Nearly 23 years later, with a maniacal focus on working back from the customer and the efforts from extraordinary teams, we’ve become an iconic, leading value retailer with over 1,800 stores and growing.”
While the company’s business in recent years has worked to overcome some challenges and refocus its efforts on Vellios’ original mission for the retailer, he credited CEO Winnie Park with the company’s turnaround.
“She has intensified the reinvigoration of the business, helping drive the strong first quarter performance,” he said. “As I transition to an advisory role, I am excited about Five Below’s next chapter under Winnie’s leadership and with Mike’s steady hand and deep knowledge of Five Below as the incoming chair.”
Park, who was named CEO in December of 2024, said, “Tom’s unwavering commitment to the customer and delivering trend-right product at extreme value are our North Star. It is our core mission, and the Five Below team is energized to deliver that mission with even greater focus and clarity.”
Additionally, the retailer is raising its guidance for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 ending May 3. The Company will discuss its first quarter results and outlook on its earnings call in early June, the details of which will be announced separately.
- Net sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 are expected to be approximately $967 million versus the prior guidance of $905 million to $925 million.
- The company expects to open 55 new stores in the first quarter, compared to the prior guidance of approximately 50 new stores.
- Comparable sales are expected to increase approximately 6.7% versus the prior guidance of an approximate flat to 2% increase.
