Five Below Must Battle Investor Suit Over Sales Strategy (2)

Five Below Inc. must defend against allegations that the retailer misled shareholders on its ability to stock trending items while reducing inventory losses.

A pair of pension plans adequately pleaded its chief operating officer and former CEO knew about struggles to stock hot merchandise while touting the strategies and attributing poor sales to retail theft and other issues, Judge Gerald Austin McHugh said Monday.

Former employee testimony boosted an inference of ex-CEO Joel Anderson’s intent to defraud or reckless disregard of statements boasting its execution of the plan to stock popular items, as they allegedly frequently spoke about inventory issues ...