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SEC Comment Letter for dELiAs, Inc. (CIK 0001337885) — Oct 20, 2005

dELiAs, Inc. (CIK 0001337885)
Date: Oct. 20, 2005 · CIK: 0001337885 · Accession: 0000000000-05-053469

AI Filing Summary & Sentiment

File numbers found in text: 333-128153

Date
October 7, 2005
Author
Not clearly detected
Form
UPLOAD
Company
dELiAs, Inc. (CIK 0001337885)

Letter

Mail Stop 3561 October 7, 2005 Robert E. Bernard, Chief Executive Officer dELiA*s, Inc. 435 Hudson Street New York, New York 10014

Re: dELiA*s, Inc. Registration Statement on Form S-1 Filed September 7, 2005 File No. 333-128153

Dear Mr. Bernard:

We have reviewed your filing and have the following comments. Where indicated, we think you should revise your document in response to these comments. If you disagree, we will consider your explanation as to why our comment is inapplicable or a revision is unnecessary. Please be as detailed as necessary in your explanation. In some of our comments, we may ask you to provide us with information so we may better understand your disclosure. After reviewing this information, we may raise additional comments.

Please understand that the purpose of our review process is to assist you in your compliance with the applicable disclosure requirements and to enhance the overall disclosure in your filing. We look forward to working with you in these respects. We welcome any questions you may have about our comments or any other aspect of our review. Feel free to call us at the telephone numbers listed at the end of this letter.

General 1. Please review your disclosure and ensure that you identify the source for the statements you provide. Currently, you include many factual statements, but you have not indicated whether the source of this information is based upon management`s belief, industry data, reports/articles, or any other source. If the statements are based upon management`s belief, please indicate that this is the case and include an explanation for the basis of that belief. Alternatively, if the information is based upon reports or articles, please provide these documents to us, appropriately marked and dated. The following are examples only of the statements for which you need sources:

* "We are...targeting the approximately 33 million consumers between the ages of 12 and 19, a demographic that is among the fastest growing in the United States." Our Company, page 11.

* "We operate three brands - dELiA*s, Alloy and CCS - each of which are well-established, differentiated, lifestyle brands." Overview, page 88.

* "We have established a market niche as a leading direct marketing company targeting teenagers...." Our Business Strategy, page 90.

We may have further comments once we examine your revisions.

Outside Front Cover Page of Prospectus 2. We note a number of blank spaces throughout your registration statement for information that you are not entitled to omit under Rule 430A, such as the anticipated price. Please allow us sufficient time to review your complete disclosure prior to any distribution of preliminary prospectuses. 3. Please provide us with copies of any artwork you intend to use as soon as possible for our review and comment. Please keep in mind that we may have comments on these materials and you should consider waiting for these comments before printing and circulating any artwork. 4. Please clarify on the cover page that there is no guarantee that MLF Investments, LLC will purchase the common stock that is subject to the backstop agreement.

Table of Contents, page i 5. The forepart of your document should consist of the cover page, summary, and risk factors. Please move the paragraphs beneath the table of contents to a more appropriate location in the prospectus.

Questions and Answers about the Spinoff and Rights Offering, page 6. We note that counsel has indicated that the spin off "should be" tax free. It is unclear why counsel is unable to opine that the spin off will be tax free. Please revise the disclosure to specify why uncertainty exists, or file an opinion of counsel and revise the related disclosure to indicate that the spin off will be tax free. Prospectus Summary, page 11 7. Please remove the second paragraph of your Prospectus Summary section. All defined entities should be clear from their context. 8. The summary is intended to provide a brief overview of the key aspects of your offering. Currently, your summary is too long and repeats much of the information fully discussed in other sections of your document. For example, you should remove the discussion of your direct marketing properties, your accomplishments and your business strategy. The summary is only intended to provide a brief snapshot of the offering. See Instruction to Item 503(a) of Regulation S- K. 9. Please revise your document to discuss your business operations without relying on the use of jargon. Specifically, please eliminate jargon entirely in your summary, and avoid using jargon in other sections unless you explain its meaning in a clear and concise manner. For example, we note in your Prospectus Summary section descriptions and phrases, including "brand name merchandise at a more affordable price point, while permitting improved gross profit margins," "[w]e generated synergies and eliminated operational duplication by consolidating dELiA*s`, Alloy`s and CCS` operations, which has enabled us to leverage a common infrastructure for our three core brands," and "[w]e currently plan to continue to expand and leverage our databases via cross-catalog title marketing, customer file response modeling and improving our email marketing program, which we believe should drive profitable revenue growth in our direct marketing businesses." As another example in your Our Business section, we note these descriptions and phrases, "expand and leverage our databases via cross catalog title marketing," "minimize our exposure to trend risk and facilitate speed to market and product assortment flexibility," and "maximize profitability with a continuing testing and monitoring program aimed at creating an optimum contact/promotional strategy across communication channels."

Our Company, page 11 10. In this subsection and in your Our Business Strategy subsection, you state that you have a comprehensive database regarding approximately 14 million persons who have either purchased merchandise or requested catalogs from you. Also, you state that there may be duplication of names contained in the databases, because the information is collected separately by brand. Please disclose the number of persons you believe to be duplicative in your database.

Risk Factors That May Affect Future Results, page 25 11. Your Risk Factors section should be a discussion of the most significant factors that make your offering speculative or risky. You should place risk factors in context so your readers can understand the specific risk as it applies to you. See SEC Release No. 33-7497. Also, you should not present risks that are generic or contain boilerplate language that could apply to any issuer or any offering. We believe a discussion of risks in generic terms does not tell your readers how the risk may affect their investment in you. Please revise your Risk Factors section generally to write each risk factor in plain English and avoid using boilerplate or generic risk factors. See Item 503(c) of Regulation S-K. As examples, please consider the following risk factors:

* "Our future profitability is uncertain."

* "Closing stores or curtailing certain operations could result in significant impairments and costs to us."

* "Terrorist attacks and other acts of wider armed conflict may have an adverse effect on the United States and world economies and may adversely affect our business."

Further, some of your risk factor discussions do not clearly and concisely convey the actual risk, such as the second full risk factor on page 33 and the first full risk factor on page 41. Some of your risk factors should be separated into multiple risk factors, such as the last risk factor on page 25, the last risk factor on page 27, and the last risk factor on page 40. Also, please consider whether other subsections or elements of a discussion within a subsection are necessary for this section and whether certain risk factors can be revised or combined so they are not repetitive. Accordingly, please thoroughly revise this section to more precisely articulate the risks to your offering from each risk factor. We may have additional comments based upon your revisions.

You Should Not Rely on Forward-Looking Statements . . ., page 44 12. Because this document relates to your initial public offering, you may not refer to Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Please remove the references to those sections and make corresponding changes on page 87.

Information Technology and Intellectual Property Agreements, page 13. Please disclose the length of time that you will enter into these agreements. Specifically, please disclose whether these agreements will be temporary, lasting only until you are able to enter into your own agreements with professional service providers, or whether you intend the agreements to be indefinite. 14. You state that you will receive certain percentages of the revenue that Alloy, Inc. will receive from the catalog advertisement pages and sampling inventory slots you will make available to Alloy, Inc. for free. Please disclose how you will determine the revenue Alloy, Inc. will collect from these activities.

OCM Call Center Agreement, page 55 15. Please tell us whether the terms of this agreement are similar to terms that you would have entered into with an unaffiliated third party.

Use of Proceeds, page 67 16. You state that you intend to use a substantial portion of your offering`s $20 million net proceeds to fund your retail store expansion. Please furnish a brief outline of your retail store expansion program. See Item 504 of Regulation S-K.

Capitalization, page 69 17. Please be advised that you should only present the application of proceeds from your rights offering if exercise is likely in view of the current market price. 18. Since you believe, based on footnote 14 on page F-28, that the charges and allocations included in your financial statements for services from Alloy, Inc. are not indicative of the amounts that would be recorded on a stand-alone basis, please provide pro-forma information that reflects your operations and financial position as an autonomous entity. See Article 11 of Regulation S-X and SAB Topic 1B2.

Management`s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results..., page 72 19. Please expand this section to discuss known material trends, demands, commitments, events, or uncertainties that will have, or are reasonably likely to have, a material impact on your financial condition, operating performance, revenues, and/or income, or results in your liquidity decreasing or increasing in any material way. Please provide additional information about the quality and variability of your earnings and cash flows so that investors can ascertain the likelihood of the extent past performance is indicative of future performance. Please discuss whether you expect your financial position to remain its current level or to increase or decrease. Please discuss any key performance indicators that are used to manage the business and would be material to investors. Also, you should consider discussing the impact of any changes on your earnings. Further, please discuss in reasonable detail:

* economic or industry-wide factors relevant to your company, and

* material opportunities, challenges, and risks in the short and long term and the actions you are taking to address them.

See Item 303 of Regulation S-K and SEC Release No. 33-8350.

Executive Summary and Outlook, page 72 20. Please revise this subsection to provide a balanced, executive- level discussion of the most important matters on which you focus in evaluating your financial condition and operating performance. Please discuss your mix of apparel versus non-apparel sales and your focus on reducing the percentage of non-apparel sales, the reasons for closing certain outlet stores, your expectations regarding catalog response rates and your expectations regarding revenues to be received under the JLP Daisy licensing agreement. Consider discussing the key operating indicators on which management focuses in assessing the business. See Item 303 of Regulation S-K and SEC Release No. 33-8350. 21. Please provide a more detailed discussion of the expansion and development of your retail specialty store segment and your possible brand extensions, and please discuss why you believe this strategy has positioned you to deliver profitable growth in the future.

Results of Operations and Financial Condition, page 75 22. This section explains the types of expenses that are included in each operating expense category. However, the dollar amounts mostly repeat information that is available from the face of the income statement. Please expand this information to explain the reasons for period-to-period changes. For example, please discuss the reason that, as you state in your Retail Store Revenues subsection, comparable retail store sales increased by 1.4% in fiscal 2004. 23. Please revise the discussion of your results of operations to indicate whether the changes represent trends expected to continue into the future. 24. Where you identify intermediate causes of changes in your operating results, also describe the reasons underlying the intermediate causes. For example, where you indicate that the increase in direct marketing revenues for the three months ended April 30, 2005 is due to increased demand generated per book, please expand your explanations to describe how you achieved the increased demand. See Item 303(a) of Regulation S-K and SEC Release No. 33- 8350. 25. Please present and discuss gross profit as a percentage of segment revenues.

Our Business, page 88 26. Please provide the form of your organization and any other material disclosure regarding the general development of your business over the last five years as required by Item 101(a) of Regulation S-K.

Business Strength, page 88

dELiA*s, page 88 27. Please disclose how you are able to focus your marketing on teenage girls who are juniors in high school.

CCS, page 89 28. You state that you "promote" CCS as "The World`s Largest Skateboard Shop." Please disclose whether CCS is actually the world`s largest skateboard shop, and discuss the basis for that conclusion.

Experienced Management Team, page 90 29. You state that since your current management team assumed responsibility for your brands in October 2003, you believe you have increased the level of brand awareness for your three core brands and improved your financial results. Please provide quantifiable support for this statement.

Our Business Strategy, page 90 30. Please discuss the five key elements of your business strategy in greater detail. For example, in your first element, Maintain Our Competitive Position In Direct Marketing, please explain how you plan to maintain a strong competitive position. As another example, in your Improve Store Metrics element, please disclose how you plan to improve field management and increase your focus on the selling culture.

Revenue Segments, page 91 31. Please disclose whether you believe alternate sources of merchandise for both your revenue segments are available at comparable prices should you change your suppliers. Further, please discuss any other factors that may disrupt the availability of your products, and your alternatives should a disruption occur. See Item 101(c)(1)(iii) of Regulation S-K.

Direct Marketing Segment, page 91

Direct Marketing Strategy, page 91 32. We note your attempt to bring your products to market quickly by using domestic suppliers and your attempt to limit initial merchandise orders to reduce your risk of excess inventory. In this regard, please discuss industry practices in handling working ca

Show Raw Text
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>LETTER
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>filename1.txt
<TEXT>

Mail Stop 3561

      	October 7, 2005

Robert E. Bernard, Chief Executive Officer
dELiA*s, Inc.
435 Hudson Street
New York, New York  10014

      Re:	dELiA*s, Inc.
      Registration Statement on Form S-1
      Filed September 7, 2005
      File No. 333-128153

Dear Mr. Bernard:

      We have reviewed your filing and have the following
comments.
Where indicated, we think you should revise your document in
response
to these comments.  If you disagree, we will consider your
explanation as to why our comment is inapplicable or a revision is
unnecessary.  Please be as detailed as necessary in your
explanation.
In some of our comments, we may ask you to provide us with
information so we may better understand your disclosure.  After
reviewing this information, we may raise additional comments.

      Please understand that the purpose of our review process is
to
assist you in your compliance with the applicable disclosure
requirements and to enhance the overall disclosure in your filing.
We look forward to working with you in these respects.  We welcome
any questions you may have about our comments or any other aspect
of
our review.  Feel free to call us at the telephone numbers listed
at
the end of this letter.

General
1. Please review your disclosure and ensure that you identify the
source for the statements you provide.  Currently, you include
many
factual statements, but you have not indicated whether the source
of
this information is based upon management`s belief, industry data,
reports/articles, or any other source.  If the statements are
based
upon management`s belief, please indicate that this is the case
and
include an explanation for the basis of that belief.
Alternatively,
if the information is based upon reports or articles, please
provide
these documents to us, appropriately marked and dated.  The
following
are examples only of the statements for which you need sources:

* "We are...targeting the approximately 33 million consumers
between
the ages of 12 and 19, a demographic that is among the fastest
growing in the United States."  Our Company, page 11.

* "We operate three brands - dELiA*s, Alloy and CCS - each of
which
are well-established, differentiated, lifestyle brands."
Overview,
page 88.

* "We have established a market niche as a leading direct
marketing
company targeting teenagers...."  Our Business Strategy, page 90.

We may have further comments once we examine your revisions.

Outside Front Cover Page of Prospectus
2. We note a number of blank spaces throughout your registration
statement for information that you are not entitled to omit under
Rule 430A, such as the anticipated price.  Please allow us
sufficient
time to review your complete disclosure prior to any distribution
of
preliminary prospectuses.
3. Please provide us with copies of any artwork you intend to use
as
soon as possible for our review and comment.  Please keep in mind
that we may have comments on these materials and you should
consider
waiting for these comments before printing and circulating any
artwork.
4. Please clarify on the cover page that there is no guarantee
that
MLF Investments, LLC will purchase the common stock that is
subject
to the backstop agreement.

Table of Contents, page i
5. The forepart of your document should consist of the cover page,
summary, and risk factors.  Please move the paragraphs beneath the
table of contents to a more appropriate location in the
prospectus.

Questions and Answers about the Spinoff and Rights Offering, page
1
6. We note that counsel has indicated that the spin off "should
be"
tax free.  It is unclear why counsel is unable to opine that the
spin
off will be tax free.  Please revise the disclosure to specify why
uncertainty exists, or file an opinion of counsel and revise the
related disclosure to indicate that the spin off will be tax free.
Prospectus Summary, page 11
7. Please remove the second paragraph of your Prospectus Summary
section.  All defined entities should be clear from their context.
8. The summary is intended to provide a brief overview of the key
aspects of your offering.  Currently, your summary is too long and
repeats much of the information fully discussed in other sections
of
your document.  For example, you should remove the discussion of
your
direct marketing properties, your accomplishments and your
business
strategy.  The summary is only intended to provide a brief
snapshot
of the offering.  See Instruction to Item 503(a) of Regulation S-
K.
9. Please revise your document to discuss your business operations
without relying on the use of jargon.  Specifically, please
eliminate
jargon entirely in your summary, and avoid using jargon in other
sections unless you explain its meaning in a clear and concise
manner.  For example, we note in your Prospectus Summary section
descriptions and phrases, including "brand name merchandise at a
more
affordable price point, while permitting improved gross profit
margins," "[w]e generated synergies and eliminated operational
duplication by consolidating dELiA*s`, Alloy`s and CCS`
operations,
which has enabled us to leverage a common infrastructure for our
three core brands," and "[w]e currently plan to continue to expand
and leverage our databases via cross-catalog title marketing,
customer file response modeling and improving our email marketing
program, which we believe should drive profitable revenue growth
in
our direct marketing businesses."  As another example in your Our
Business section, we note these descriptions and phrases, "expand
and
leverage our databases via cross catalog title marketing,"
"minimize
our exposure to trend risk and facilitate speed to market and
product
assortment flexibility," and "maximize profitability with a
continuing testing and monitoring program aimed at creating an
optimum contact/promotional strategy across communication
channels."

Our Company, page 11
10. In this subsection and in your Our Business Strategy
subsection,
you state that you have a comprehensive database regarding
approximately 14 million persons who have either purchased
merchandise or requested catalogs from you.  Also, you state that
there may be duplication of names contained in the databases,
because
the information is collected separately by brand.  Please disclose
the number of persons you believe to be duplicative in your
database.

Risk Factors That May Affect Future Results, page 25
11. Your Risk Factors section should be a discussion of the most
significant factors that make your offering speculative or risky.
You should place risk factors in context so your readers can
understand the specific risk as it applies to you.  See SEC
Release
No. 33-7497.  Also, you should not present risks that are generic
or
contain boilerplate language that could apply to any issuer or any
offering.  We believe a discussion of risks in generic terms does
not
tell your readers how the risk may affect their investment in you.
Please revise your Risk Factors section generally to write each
risk
factor in plain English and avoid using boilerplate or generic
risk
factors.  See Item 503(c) of Regulation S-K.  As examples, please
consider the following risk factors:

* "Our future profitability is uncertain."

* "Closing stores or curtailing certain operations could result in
significant impairments and costs to us."

* "Terrorist attacks and other acts of wider armed conflict may
have
an adverse effect on the United States and world economies and may
adversely affect our business."

Further, some of your risk factor discussions do not clearly and
concisely convey the actual risk, such as the second full risk
factor
on page 33 and the first full risk factor on page 41.  Some of
your
risk factors should be separated into multiple risk factors, such
as
the last risk factor on page 25, the last risk factor on page 27,
and
the last risk factor on page 40.  Also, please consider whether
other
subsections or elements of a discussion within a subsection are
necessary for this section and whether certain risk factors can be
revised or combined so they are not repetitive.  Accordingly,
please
thoroughly revise this section to more precisely articulate the
risks
to your offering from each risk factor.  We may have additional
comments based upon your revisions.

You Should Not Rely on Forward-Looking Statements . . ., page 44
12. Because this document relates to your initial public offering,
you may not refer to Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  Please remove
the references to those sections and make corresponding changes on
page 87.

Information Technology and Intellectual Property Agreements, page
54
13. Please disclose the length of time that you will enter into
these
agreements.  Specifically, please disclose whether these
agreements
will be temporary, lasting only until you are able to enter into
your
own agreements with professional service providers, or whether you
intend the agreements to be indefinite.
14. You state that you will receive certain percentages of the
revenue that Alloy, Inc. will receive from the catalog
advertisement
pages and sampling inventory slots you will make available to
Alloy,
Inc. for free.  Please disclose how you will determine the revenue
Alloy, Inc. will collect from these activities.

OCM Call Center Agreement, page 55
15. Please tell us whether the terms of this agreement are similar
to
terms that you would have entered into with an unaffiliated third
party.

Use of Proceeds, page 67
16. You state that you intend to use a substantial portion of your
offering`s $20 million net proceeds to fund your retail store
expansion.  Please furnish a brief outline of your retail store
expansion program.  See Item 504 of Regulation S-K.

Capitalization, page 69
17. Please be advised that you should only present the application
of
proceeds from your rights offering if exercise is likely in view
of
the current market price.
18. Since you believe, based on footnote 14 on page F-28, that the
charges and allocations included in your financial statements for
services from Alloy, Inc. are not indicative of the amounts that
would be recorded on a stand-alone basis, please provide pro-forma
information that reflects your operations and financial position
as
an autonomous entity.  See Article 11 of Regulation S-X and SAB
Topic
1B2.

Management`s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results..., page 72
19. Please expand this section to discuss known material trends,
demands, commitments, events, or uncertainties that will have, or
are
reasonably likely to have, a material impact on your financial
condition, operating performance, revenues, and/or income, or
results
in your liquidity decreasing or increasing in any material way.
Please provide additional information about the quality and
variability of your earnings and cash flows so that investors can
ascertain the likelihood of the extent past performance is
indicative
of future performance.  Please discuss whether you expect your
financial position to remain its current level or to increase or
decrease.  Please discuss any key performance indicators that are
used to manage the business and would be material to investors.
Also,
you should consider discussing the impact of any changes on your
earnings.  Further, please discuss in reasonable detail:

* economic or industry-wide factors relevant to your company, and

* material opportunities, challenges, and risks in the short and
long
term and the actions you are taking to address them.

See Item 303 of Regulation S-K and SEC Release No. 33-8350.

Executive Summary and Outlook, page 72
20. Please revise this subsection to provide a balanced,
executive-
level discussion of the most important matters on which you focus
in
evaluating your financial condition and operating performance.
Please discuss your mix of apparel versus non-apparel sales and
your
focus on reducing the percentage of non-apparel sales, the reasons
for closing certain outlet stores, your expectations regarding
catalog response rates and your expectations regarding revenues to
be
received under the JLP Daisy licensing agreement.  Consider
discussing the key operating indicators on which management
focuses
in assessing the business.  See Item 303 of Regulation S-K and SEC
Release No. 33-8350.
21. Please provide a more detailed discussion of the expansion and
development of your retail specialty store segment and your
possible
brand extensions, and please discuss why you believe this strategy
has positioned you to deliver profitable growth in the future.

Results of Operations and Financial Condition, page 75
22. This section explains the types of expenses that are included
in
each operating expense category.  However, the dollar amounts
mostly
repeat information that is available from the face of the income
statement.  Please expand this information to explain the reasons
for
period-to-period changes.  For example, please discuss the reason
that, as you state in your Retail Store Revenues subsection,
comparable retail store sales increased by 1.4% in fiscal 2004.
23. Please revise the discussion of your results of operations to
indicate whether the changes represent trends expected to continue
into the future.
24. Where you identify intermediate causes of changes in your
operating results, also describe the reasons underlying the
intermediate causes.  For example, where you indicate that the
increase in direct marketing revenues for the three months ended
April 30, 2005 is due to increased demand generated per book,
please
expand your explanations to describe how you achieved the
increased
demand.  See Item 303(a) of Regulation S-K and SEC Release No. 33-
8350.
25. Please present and discuss gross profit as a percentage of
segment revenues.

Our Business, page 88
26. Please provide the form of your organization and any other
material disclosure regarding the general development of your
business over the last five years as required by Item 101(a) of
Regulation S-K.

Business Strength, page 88

dELiA*s, page 88
27. Please disclose how you are able to focus your marketing on
teenage girls who are juniors in high school.

CCS, page 89
28. You state that you "promote" CCS as "The World`s Largest
Skateboard Shop."  Please disclose whether CCS is actually the
world`s largest skateboard shop, and discuss the basis for that
conclusion.

Experienced Management Team, page 90
29. You state that since your current management team assumed
responsibility for your brands in October 2003, you believe you
have
increased the level of brand awareness for your three core brands
and
improved your financial results.  Please provide quantifiable
support
for this statement.

Our Business Strategy, page 90
30. Please discuss the five key elements of your business strategy
in
greater detail.  For example, in your first element, Maintain Our
Competitive Position In Direct Marketing, please explain how you
plan
to maintain a strong competitive position.  As another example, in
your Improve Store Metrics element, please disclose how you plan
to
improve field management and increase your focus on the selling
culture.

Revenue Segments, page 91
31. Please disclose whether you believe alternate sources of
merchandise for both your revenue segments are available at
comparable prices should you change your suppliers.  Further,
please
discuss any other factors that may disrupt the availability of
your
products, and your alternatives should a disruption occur.  See
Item
101(c)(1)(iii) of Regulation S-K.

Direct Marketing Segment, page 91

Direct Marketing Strategy, page 91
32. We note your attempt to bring your products to market quickly
by
using domestic suppliers and your attempt to limit initial
merchandise orders to reduce your risk of excess inventory.  In
this
regard, please discuss industry practices in handling working
ca