JACKSON, Tenn. March 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kirkland's, Inc. announced today that pursuant to guidelines specified by Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and Kirkland's policies with respect to insider sales, Carl Kirkland, the Company's founder and a current director, has adopted a prearranged stock trading plan as part of his individual long-term strategy for asset diversification and liquidity.
Rule 10b5-1 permits corporate officers and directors of public companies to adopt written, prearranged stock trading plans for selling specified amounts of stock. The plans may be adopted only when the director or officer is not in possession of material non-public information, and may be used to gradually diversify investment portfolios and to minimize the market effect of stock sales by spreading them out over an extended period of time.
Under the 10b5-1 plan, Mr. Kirkland may sell up to 1,400,000 shares, subject to certain predetermined minimum price conditions, over a period of two years. The transactions under this plan will commence no earlier than April 24, 2009, and will be disclosed publicly through Form 144 and Form 4 filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Form 4 filings will also be posted on the Investor Relations page of the Company's website.
Prior to any stock sales under the plan, Mr. Kirkland and related family trusts collectively own 6,189,727 shares of Kirkland's, Inc. common stock. Mr. Kirkland intends to continue to hold significant ownership in the Company and keep an active presence on the Company's Board of Directors.
Kirkland's, Inc. was founded in 1966 and is a specialty retailer of home decor in the United States. Although originally focused in the Southeast, the Company has grown beyond that region and currently operates 295 stores in 34 states. The Company's stores present a broad selection of distinctive merchandise, including framed art, mirrors, candles, lamps, picture frames, accent rugs, garden accessories and artificial floral products. The Company's stores also offer an extensive assortment of gifts, as well as seasonal merchandise. More information can be found at http://www.kirklands.com/.
Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this release are forward-looking and made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause Kirkland's actual results to differ materially from forecasted results. Those risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the competitive environment in the home decor industry in general and in Kirkland's specific market areas, inflation, product availability and growth opportunities, seasonal fluctuations, and economic conditions in general. Those and other risks are more fully described in Kirkland's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on May 1, 2008. Kirkland's disclaims any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly announce results of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future events or developments.
