UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

C
OMMISSIO
N
Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT

SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Filed by the Registrant  x                        Filed by a Party other than the Registrant  ¨

Check the appropriate box:

xPreliminary Proxy Statement
¨
Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule
14a-6(e)(2))
¨Definitive Proxy Statement
¨Definitive Additional Materials
¨
Soliciting Material Pursuant to Rule
14a-12

Five Below, Inc.

(Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box)all boxes that apply):

xNo fee required.
¨Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.
1)

Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies:

2)

Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies:

3)

Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (Set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined):

4)

Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:

5)

Total fee paid:

¨Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.
¨Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided
Fee computed on table in exhibit required by theItem 25(b) per Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) Rules
14a-6(i)(1)
and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing.
1)

Amount Previously Paid:

2)

Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:

3)

Filing Party:

4)

Date Filed:

0-11.


PRELIMINARY PROXY STATEMENT — SUBJECT TO COMPLETION DATED APRIL 21, 2023

 

 


LOGOLOGO

Five Below, Inc.

1818701 Market Street

Suite 2000300

Philadelphia, PA 1910319106

Dear Fellow Shareholder:

It is my pleasure to invite you to attend the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Five Below, Inc. at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday,Tuesday, June 18, 2015,13, 2023.

The Annual Meeting will be held as a virtual meeting via live audio webcast. We believe that a virtual meeting will provide meaningful shareholder access and participation and also protect the health and safety of our shareholders, crew, and other stakeholders.

To attend and participate in the Annual Shareholder Meeting, shareholders must register in advance at https://viewproxy.com/fivebelow/2023/ prior to the officesdeadline of Pepper Hamilton LLP, 3000 Two Logan Square, 18th and Arch Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.11:59 pm EDT on June 8, 2023. Upon completing registration, eligible participants will receive further instructions via email, including unique links that will allow such eligible participants to access the meeting.

The following pages contain the formal Notice of the Annual Meeting and the Proxy Statement. If you plan to attend the Annual Meeting and you are a registered shareholder, please bring a valid form of picture identification. If you are a beneficial owner of shares held in “street name” through a bank, broker, or other intermediary, please contact your bank, broker, or other intermediary to obtain evidence of ownership and a legal proxy, which you must bring with you to the Annual Meeting.

At this year’s Annual Meeting, you will be asked to elect as directors the sixthree nominees named in the attached Proxy Statement, ratify the selection of KPMG LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending January 30, 2016February 3, 2024, cast an advisory (non-binding) vote approving the Company’s named executive officer compensation and vote on an amendmentapprove two amendments to the Company’s articles of incorporationAmended and a corresponding amendment to the Company’s bylaws.Restated Bylaws.

Your vote is important. Whether you plan to attend the Annual Meeting in person or not, we hope you will vote your shares as soon as possible. Please mark, sign, date, and return the accompanying proxy card or voting instruction form in the postage-paid envelope or instruct us by telephone or via the Internetinternet as to how you would like your shares voted. Instructions are included on the proxy card and voting instruction form.

 

Sincerely,
LOGO

Thomas G. Vellios

Executive Chairman of the Board

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

May 3, 2023


LOGOLOGO

Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders

To Be Held on June 18, 2015 13, 2023

9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time

To the Shareholders of Five Below, Inc.:

Notice is hereby given that the 20152023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of Five Below, Inc. (the “Company”) will be held at the offices of Pepper Hamilton LLP, 3000 Two Logan Square, 18th and Arch Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 on Thursday, June 18, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. At the Annual Meeting, shareholders will be asked:as a virtual meeting via live audio webcast:

1)1. To elect (i) three Class III directors to hold office until the 2018 annual meeting of shareholders, (ii) one Class I director to hold office until the 2016 annual meeting of shareholders, and (iii) two Class II directors to hold office until the 20172024 annual meeting of shareholders and until their respective successors have been duly elected and qualified;

2)2. To ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the current fiscal year ending January 30, 2016;February 3, 2024;

3)3. To hold an advisory (non-binding)vote onto approve the Company’s named executive officer compensation;

4. To approve an amendment to the Company’s articlesAmended and Restated Bylaws to provide for the limitation of incorporation and a correspondingliability of officers of the Company as permitted pursuant to recent amendments to the Pennsylvania Business Corporation Law of 1988 (the “PBCL”);

5. To approve an amendment to the Company’s bylawsAmended and Restated Bylaws to replaceamend the plurality voting standard inprovision regarding the uncontested electionlimitation of liability of directors with a majority voting standard and make conforming changes; andof the Company to the corresponding provision of the PBCL;

4)6. To transact such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting or any adjournments or postponements thereof.

To attend and participate in the Annual Shareholder Meeting, shareholders must register in advance at https://viewproxy.com/fivebelow/2023/ prior to the deadline of 11:59 pm EDT on June 8, 2023. Upon completing registration, eligible participants will receive further instructions via email, including unique links that will allow such eligible participants to access the meeting.

The board of directors has fixed the close of business on April 20, 201518, 2023 as the record date for the determination of the shareholders entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting and any adjournments or postponements thereof.

Your vote is important. To be sure your vote counts and assure a quorum, please vote, sign, date and return the enclosed proxy card, whether or not you plan to attend the meeting; or if you prefer, please follow the instructions on the enclosed proxy card for voting by Internetinternet or by telephone, whether or not you plan to attend the meeting in person.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE SHAREHOLDER MEETING TO BE HELD ON JUNE 18, 2015:

This Notice is only an overview of the Proxy Statement and proxy card or voting information form included in this mailing and available at www.proxyvote.com. These documents are first being mailed to shareholders on or about May 8, 2015. Our 2014 Annual Report, including our Form 10-K for fiscal year 2014, is not part of the proxy solicitation material.

 

By order of the board of directors,

LOGO

Karen W. ProcellRonald J. Masciantonio

Secretary

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

May 8, 2015

3, 2023

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS TO BE HELD ON JUNE 13, 2023:

Our official Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Proxy Statement and 2022 Annual Report, including our Form 10-K for fiscal year 2022, are available electronically at http://investor.fivebelow.com/.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Proxy SummaryPROXY SUMMARY

   1 

Frequently Asked QuestionsFREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

   23 

Board of DirectorsBOARD OF DIRECTORS

   89 

Audit Committee ReportAUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT

   1927 

Compensation Committee ReportEXECUTIVE OFFICERS

   1928 

Executive OfficersCOMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

   2029 

Compensation Discussion and AnalysisEXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

   2143 

Executive CompensationCERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

36

Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions

46

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management

48

Equity Compensation Plan Information

52

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

52

Proposal 1—Election of Directors

53

Proposal 2—Ratification of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

54

Proposal 3—Amendment to Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws

   56 

Other MattersSECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

   5957 

Shareholder Proposals and Director Nominations for 2016 Annual Meeting of ShareholdersPROPOSAL 1 — ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

   5960 

Annual Report to ShareholdersPROPOSAL 2 — RATIFICATION OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

   5961 

Delivery of Documents to Shareholders Sharing an AddressPROPOSAL 3 — ADVISORY (NON-BINDING) VOTE TO APPROVE THE COMPANY’S NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICER COMPENSATION

   5963

PROPOSAL 4 — AMENDMENT TO THE COMPANY’S AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS TO LIMIT THE LIABILITY OF OFFICERS

64

PROPOSAL 5 — AMENDMENT TO THE COMPANY’S AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS TO AMEND THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY OF DIRECTORS PROVISION

65

OTHER MATTERS

66

SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS AND DIRECTOR NOMINATIONS FOR 202 ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

66

ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS

66

DELIVERY OF DOCUMENTS TO SHAREHOLDERS SHARING AN ADDRESS

66

APPENDIX A-1: RECONCILIATION OF PRE-INCENTIVE ADJUSTED OPERATING INCOME TO OPERATING INCOME

A-1

APPENDIX A-2: PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE COMPANY’S AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS TO PROVIDE FOR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY OF OFFICERS

A-2

APPENDIX A-3: PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE COMPANY’S AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS TO AMEND THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY OF DIRECTORS PROVISION

A-3 

We operate on a fiscal calendar widely used by the retail industry that results in a given fiscal year consisting of a 52- or 53-week period ending on the Saturday closest to January 31st31st of the following year. References to “fiscal year 2015”2023” or “fiscal 2015”2023” refer to the period from January 29, 2023 to February 1, 2015 to January 30, 2016,3, 2024, which consists of a 52-week53-week fiscal year. References to “fiscal year 2014”2022” or “fiscal 2014”2022” refer to the period from January 30, 2022 to January 28, 2023, which consists of a 52-week fiscal year. References to “fiscal year 2021” or “fiscal 2021” refer to the period from January 31, 2021 to January 29, 2022, which consists of a 52-week fiscal year. References to “fiscal year 2020” or “fiscal 2020” refer to the period from February 2, 20142020 to January 31, 2015,30, 2021, which consists of a 52-week fiscal year. References to “fiscal year 2013” or “fiscal 2013” refer to the period from February 3, 2013 to February 1, 2014, which consists of a 52-week fiscal year. References to “fiscal year 2012” or “fiscal 2012” refer to the period from January 29, 2012 to February 2, 2013, which consists of a 53-week fiscal year. References to 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012 are to our fiscal years unless otherwise specified.

-i-


PROXY SUMMARY

This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this Proxy Statement. This summary does not contain all of the information that you should consider, and you should read the entire Proxy Statement before voting. For information regarding the Company’s fiscal 20142022 performance, please review the Company’s Annual Report to shareholders for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2015.28, 2023. As used herein, “Five Below,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” “our” or “our business” refers to Five Below, Inc. (collectively with its wholly owned subsidiary), except as expressly indicated or the context otherwise requires. As used herein, references to “Crew” refer to our employees.

ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

 

Time and Date Record Date
9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time June 18, 201513, 2023 April 20, 201518, 2023
Place Number of Common Shares Eligible to Vote at the Meeting as of the Record Date

Pepper Hamilton LLP

3000 Two Logan Square

18th and Arch Streets

Philadelphia, PA 19103

Virtual meeting only
(details below)
 55,663,461

The Annual Meeting will be held as a virtual meeting via live audio webcast. We believe that a virtual meeting will provide meaningful shareholder access and participation and also protect the health and safety of our shareholders, crew, and other stakeholders.

To attend and participate in the Annual Shareholder Meeting, shareholders must register in advance at https://viewproxy.com/fivebelow/2023/ prior to the deadline of 11:59 pm EDT on June 8, 2023. Upon completing registration, eligible participants will receive further instructions via email, including unique links that will allow such eligible participants to access the meeting.

If you are a registered or beneficial holder you will be asked during the registration process whether you wish to vote during the meeting. If you so indicate, once your registration is approved, an e-mail will be sent to you that will contain your Virtual Control Number. You will not need the Virtual Control Number to join the meeting, you will only need it if you choose to vote during the meeting.

If you hold your shares beneficially through a bank or broker and you wish to vote during the meeting, you must provide a legal proxy from your bank or broker during registration and you will be assigned a Virtual Control Number. If you are unable to obtain a legal proxy to vote your shares, you will still be able to attend the 2023 Annual Meeting so long as you demonstrate proof of stock ownership (but will not be able to vote your shares during the meeting). You may only vote during the meeting by e-mailing a copy of your legal proxy to virtualmeeting@viewproxy.com in advance of the meeting.

Instructions on how to connect and participate via the Internet, including how to demonstrate proof of stock ownership, are posted at https://viewproxy.com/fivebelow/2023/. During the meeting shareholders will have the opportunity to submit text questions on the matters to be voted on in the meeting by typing questions into the “Questions” pane of the control panel.

There will be technicians ready to assist you with any technical difficulties you may have accessing the annual meeting live audio webcast. Please be sure to check in by 8:45 a.m. EDT on June 13, 2023, so that any technical difficulties may be addressed before the annual meeting live audio webcast begins. If you encounter any difficulties accessing the webcast during the check-in or meeting time, please email VirtualMeeting@viewproxy.com or call 866-612-8937.

1


SUMMARY VOTING MATTERS

 

Matter

  

Board Recommendation

  Page Reference

(for more detail)
Detail)

Election of Directors

  FOR each director nominee  5360

Ratification of Appointment of KPMG LLPIndependent Registered Public Accounting Firm

  FOR  5461

AmendmentAdvisory (non-binding) vote to Articles of Incorporation and Bylawsapprove the Company’s Named Executive Officer compensation

  FOR  5663

Approval of an amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Bylaws to Limit the Liability of Officers

FOR64

Approval of an amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Bylaws to Amend the Limitation of Liability of Directors Provision

FOR65

BOARD NOMINEES

The following table provides summary information about each director nominee. At the Annual Meeting, directors will be elected by a pluralitymajority of votes cast.cast for each director nominee.

 

Name, Age

  Director

Since
Class     Committee

Membership*

Name, Age

Principal Occupation

  AC    CC      NCGC  

Principal Occupation

Joel D. Anderson, 58

    AC  

2015

    CC  

II

    NCGC  President and Chief Executive Officer of Five Below

David M. Mussafer, 51Kathleen S. Barclay, 67

   20102015   Managing DirectorIIFormer Senior Vice President of Human Resources for The Kroger Co.

LOGO

LOGO

Thomas M. Ryan, 70

2011IIOperating Partner of Advent International Corporation  

LOGO

LOGO  

David Schlessinger, 60

 2002Chairman Emeritus and former Executive Chairman of the Company

Thomas G. Vellios, 60

2002Executive Chairman and former Chief Executive Officer of the Company

Joel D. Anderson, 50

LOGO

2015President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company

Catherine E. Buggeln, 54

2015Retail and Brand ConsultantLOGO  

Kathleen S. Barclay, 59

2015Senior Vice President of Human Resources of The Kroger Co.LOGO  

 

* AC       Audit Committee

  CC Compensation Committee

   NCGC Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

  LOGO  LOGO Chair of the Committee

2


PROXY STATEMENT

FOR 20152023 ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

TO BE HELD ON JUNE 18, 201513, 2023

This Proxy Statement is being furnished together with our Annual Report for the fiscal year ended January 31, 201528, 2023 in connection with the solicitation of proxies for the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Five Below, Inc. on June 18, 201513, 2023 (the “Annual Meeting”), and any postponements or adjournments of the meeting. The Annual Meeting will be held at the offices of Pepper Hamilton LLP, 3000 Two Logan Square, 18th and Arch Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. On or about May 8, 2015,3, 2023, we will mail to each of our shareholders (other than those who previously requested electronic delivery or previously elected to whom we are mailingreceive delivery of a paper copy)copy of the proxy materials) a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials containing instructions on how to access and review the proxy materials via the internet and how to submit a proxy electronically using the internet.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

When and where will the meeting take place?

The Annual Meeting will be held virtually only, via live audio webcast, on Thursday,Tuesday, June 18, 2015,13, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time,Time.

To attend and participate in the Annual Shareholder Meeting, shareholders must register in advance at https://viewproxy.com/fivebelow/2023/ prior to the officesdeadline of Pepper Hamilton LLP, 3000 Two Logan Square, 18th and Arch Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.11:59 pm EDT on June 8, 2023. Upon completing registration, eligible participants will receive further instructions via email, including unique links that will allow such eligible participants to access the meeting. During the meeting shareholders will have the opportunity to submit text questions on the matters to be voted on in the meeting by typing questions into the “Questions” pane of the control panel.

There will be technicians ready to assist you with any technical difficulties you may have accessing the annual meeting live audio webcast. Please be sure to check in by 8:45 a.m. EDT on June 13, 2023, so that any technical difficulties may be addressed before the annual meeting live audio webcast begins. If you encounter any difficulties accessing the webcast during the check-in or meeting time, please email VirtualMeeting@viewproxy.com or call 866-612-8937.

Why did I receive only a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials?

As permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), the Company is furnishing to shareholders its notice of the Annual Meeting (the “Notice”), this Proxy Statement and the 20142022 Annual Report primarily over the internet. On or about May 8, 2015,3, 2023, we will mail to each of our shareholders (other than those who previously requested electronic delivery or previously elected to whom we are mailingreceive delivery of a paper copy)copy of the proxy materials) a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the “Notice of Internet Availability”) containing instructions on how to access and review the proxy materials via the internet and how to submit a proxy electronically using the internet. The Notice of Internet Availability also contains instructions on how to receive, free of charge, paper copies of the proxy materials. If you received the Notice of Internet Availability, you will not receive a paper copy of the proxy materials unless you request one.

We believe the delivery options that we have chosen will allow us to provide our shareholders with the proxy materials they need, while minimizing the cost of the delivery of the materials and the environmental impact of printing and mailing printedpaper copies.

What is the purpose of this meeting and these materials?

We are providing these proxy materials in connection with the solicitation byon behalf of our board of directors of proxies to be voted at the Annual Meeting and any adjournments or postponements of the meeting.

3


At the Annual Meeting, you will be asked to vote on the following matters:

 

a proposal to elect (i) three Class III directors to hold office until the 2018 annual meeting of shareholders, (ii) one Class I director to hold office until the 2016 annual meeting of shareholders, and (iii) two Class II directors to hold office until the 20172024 annual meeting of shareholders and until their respective successors have been duly elected and qualified (Proposal No. 1);

 

a proposal to ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the current fiscal year ending January 30, 2016February 3, 2024 (Proposal No. 2);

 

an advisory (non-voting) vote to approve our Named Executive Officer compensation (Proposal No. 3);

-2-


a proposal to vote onapprove an amendment to the Company’s articlesAmended and Restated Bylaws to limit the liability of incorporation and officers (Proposal No. 4);

a correspondingproposal to approve an amendment to the Company’s bylawsAmended and Restated Bylaws to replaceamend the plurality voting standard in the uncontested electionlimitation of liability of directors with a majority voting standard and make conforming changesprovision (Proposal No. 3)5); and

 

any other business that may properly come before the Annual Meeting or any adjournments or postponements thereof.

What are the voting recommendations of the board of directors on these matters?

The board of directors recommends that you vote your shares as follows:

 

FOR each of the board’s (i) three Class III nominees, (ii) one Class I nominee and (iii) two Class II nominees for the board of directors (Proposal No. 1);

 

FOR the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the current fiscal year ending January 30, 2016February 3, 2024 (Proposal No. 2); and

 

FOR the approval, on an advisory basis, of our Named Executive Officer compensation (Proposal No. 3);

FOR the approval of the amendment to the Company’s articlesAmended and Restated Bylaws to limit the liability of incorporation and a correspondingofficers (Proposal No. 4);

FOR the approval of the amendment to the Company’s bylawsAmended and Restated Bylaws to replaceamend the plurality voting standard in the uncontested electionlimitation of liability of directors with a majority voting standard and make conforming changesprovision (Proposal No. 3).5); and

Are all of the Company’s Class IIIII directors standing for re-electionelection to the board of directors at the Annual Meeting?

Yes, all of our Class IIIII directors are standing for re-election.

Why am I being asked to vote on directors for more than one class?

The board of directors filled three vacancies since the 2014 annual meeting of shareholders resulting from two increases to the size of the board and one resignation. Mr. Anderson is currently serving as a Class II director, having been elected by the board of directors effective February 1, 2015 to fill a vacancy created by an increase to its size. In addition, Mses. Buggeln and Barclay are currently serving as Class I and II directors, respectively, having been elected on March 10, 2015 by the board of directors to fill vacancies created by an increase to the size of the board and the resignation of Steven J. Collins. Pursuant to our bylaws, any director elected by the board of directors to fill a vacancy (a “Vacancy Director”) may only hold office until the next annual meeting of shareholders and until his or her successor has been duly elected and qualified, subject to his or her earlier death, resignation, disqualification or removal. At the annual meeting of shareholders following the election of a Vacancy Director, the shareholders will have the opportunity to elect a director to fill the vacancy having been filled by the Vacancy Director. The board will nominate a candidate to fill the vacancy, who may be the Vacancy Director. The candidate, if elected, will serve until the annual meeting of shareholders at which the term of office of the class in which the vacancy occurred expires and until such director’s successor shall have been duly elected and qualified, subject to his or her earlier death, resignation, disqualification or removal.

Who is entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting?

The record date for the Annual Meeting is April 20, 2015.18, 2023. You have one vote for each share of our common stock that you owned at the close of business on the record date, provided that on the record date those shares were either held directly in your name as the shareholder of record or were held for you as the beneficial owner through a bank, broker, or other intermediary. As of that date, there were 55,663,461 shares of common stock outstanding entitled to vote. There is no other class of voting securities outstanding.

What is the difference between holding shares as a shareholder of record and as a beneficial owner?

Most of our shareholders hold their shares through a bank, broker, or other intermediary (that is, in “street name”) rather than directly in their own name. As summarized below, there are some distinctions between shares held of record and those owned beneficially.

-3-


Shareholder of Record.Record. If your shares are registered directly in your name with our transfer agent, Computershare, you are considered to be the shareholder of record with respect to those shares, and we have sent the Notice of Internet Availability directly to you. As a shareholder of record, you have the right to grant your voting proxy directly to us or to vote in person at the Annual Meeting.

4


Beneficial Owner.Owner. If your shares are held in a stock brokerage account or by a bank or other intermediary, you are considered to be the beneficial owner of shares held in “street name,” and the Notice of Internet Availability has been forwarded to you by your bank, broker, or intermediary (which is considered to be the shareholder of record with respect to those shares). As a beneficial owner, you have the right to direct your bank, broker, or intermediary on how to vote and are also invited to attend the Annual Meeting.Meeting, though you may be required to show a brokerage statement or account statement reflecting your stock ownership as of the record date. Your bank, broker, or intermediary has sent you a voting instruction card for you to use in directing the bank, broker, or intermediary regarding how to vote your shares. However, since you are not the shareholder of record, you may not vote these shares in person at the Annual Meeting unless you obtain a proxy, executed in your favor, from the holder of record of such shares.

Most of our shareholders hold their shares through a bank, broker, or other intermediary (that is, in “street name”) rather than directly in their own name.

What options are available to me to vote my shares?

Whether you hold shares directly as the shareholder of record or through a bank, broker, or other intermediary, your shares may be voted at the Annual Meeting by following any of the voting options available to you below:

You may vote via the Internet.internet.

 

If you received a Notice of Internet Availability by mail, you can submit your proxy or voting instructions over the internet by following the instructions provided in the Notice of Internet Availability;

 

If you received a Notice of Internet Availability or proxy materials by email, you may submit your proxy or voting instructions over the internet by following the instructions included in the email; or

 

If you received a printed set of the proxy materials by mail, including a paper copy of the proxy card or voting instruction form, you may submit your proxy or voting instructions over the internet by following the instructions on the proxy card or voting instruction form.

You may vote via the telephone.

 

If you are a shareholder of record, you can submit your proxy by calling the telephone number specified on the paper copy of the proxy card you received if you received a printed set of the proxy materials. You must have the control number that appears on your proxy card available when submitting your proxy over the telephone.

 

Most shareholders who hold their shares in street name may submit voting instructions by calling the number specified on the paper copy of the voting instruction form provided by their bank, broker, or other intermediary. Those shareholders should check the voting instruction form for telephone voting availability.

You may vote by mail.mail. If you received a printed set of the proxy materials, you can submit your proxy or voting instructions by completing and signing the separate proxy card or voting instruction form you received and mailing it in the accompanying prepaid and addressed envelope.

You may vote in person atduring the virtual meeting. All shareholders of record may vote in person at the virtual Annual Meeting. Written ballotsIf you are a registered or beneficial holder you will be passed out to anyone who wantsasked during the registration process whether you wish to vote atduring the meeting. However,If you so indicate, once your registration is approved, an e-mail will be sent to you that will contain your Virtual Control Number. You will not need the Virtual Control Number to join the meeting, you will only need it if you arechoose to vote during the beneficial owner ofmeeting.

5


If you hold your shares held in street namebeneficially through a bank or broker and you wish to vote during the meeting, you must provide a legal proxy from your bank or other intermediary,broker during registration and you may notwill be assigned a Virtual Control Number. If you are unable to obtain a legal proxy to vote your shares, atyou will still be able to attend the 2023 Annual Meeting unlessso long as you obtain a “legal proxy” from the bank, broker, or intermediary that holdsdemonstrate proof of stock ownership (but will not be able to vote your shares giving youduring the rightmeeting). You may only vote during the meeting by e-mailing a copy of your legal proxy to votevirtualmeeting@viewproxy.com in advance of the sharesmeeting.

Instructions on how to connect and participate via the Internet, including how to demonstrate proof of stock ownership, are posted at the Annual Meeting.

https://viewproxy.com/fivebelow/2023/.

-4-


Even if you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, we recommend that you submit your proxy or voting instructions in advance to authorize the voting of your shares at the Annual Meeting to ensure that your vote will be counted if you later are unable to attend.

What if I don’t vote for some of the items listed on my proxy card or voting instruction card?

If you properly execute and return your proxy card but do not mark selections, your shares will be voted in accordance with the recommendations of our board of directors. If you indicate a choice with respect to any matter to be acted upon on your proxy card, your shares will be voted in accordance with your instructions.

If you are a beneficial owner and hold your shares in street name through a bank, broker, or other intermediary and do not give voting instructions to the bank, broker, or intermediary, the bank, broker, or other intermediary as applicable, will determine if it has the discretionary authority to vote on the particular matter. Under applicable rules, brokers have the discretion to vote your uninstructed shares on routine“routine” matters (sometimes referred to as “broker discretionary voting”), such as the ratification of the selection of accounting firms, but do not have discretion to vote on non-routine“non-routine” matters, includingsuch as the uncontested election of directors. As a result,For instance, if you are a beneficial owner and hold your shares in street name, but do not give your bank, broker, or other intermediary instructions on how to vote your shares with respect to the election of directors, no votes will be cast on your behalf.

If you do not provide voting instructions to your broker, and your broker indicates on its proxy card that it does not have discretionary authority to vote on a particular proposal, your shares will be considered to be “broker non-votes” with regard to that matter. Proxy cards that reflect a broker non-vote with respect to at least one proposal to be considered at the Annual Meeting (so long as they do not apply to all proposals to be considered) will be considered to be represented for purposes of determining a quorum but generally will not be considered to be entitled to vote with respect to that proposal. Broker non-votes are not counted as votes cast in the tabulation of the voting results with respect to proposals that require a pluralitymajority of the votes cast or proposals that require a majorityand will therefore not have an effect on the outcome of the votes cast.vote.

How is a quorum determined?

The representation, in person or by proxy, of holders entitled to cast at least a majority of the votes entitled to be cast at the Annual Meeting constitutes a quorum at the Annual Meeting. Abstentions broker votes and broker non-votes (only when accompanied by broker votes with respect to at least one matter at the meeting) are considered present and entitled to vote for purposes of establishing a quorum for the transaction of business at the Annual Meeting. If a quorum is not present by attendance at the Annual Meeting or represented by proxy, the shareholders present by attendance at the meeting or by proxy may adjourn the Annual Meeting, until a quorum is present. If a new record date is fixed for the adjourned meeting, we will provide notice of the adjourned meeting to each shareholder of record entitled to vote at the meeting.

6


What vote is required to approve each proposal at the Annual Meeting?

 

Proposal

Vote Required

  

Vote Required

Broker

Discretionary

Voting Allowed

Proposal No. 1—

 Election of Directors  PluralityMajority of Votes Cast for each  No

Proposal No. 2—

 Ratification of Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm  Majority of Votes Cast  Yes

Proposal No. 3—

 Advisory Vote Related to Named Executive Officer CompensationMajority of Votes CastNo

Proposal No. 4—

Approval of an Amendment to Articlesthe Company’s Amended and Restated Bylaws to Limit the Liability of IncorporationOfficersMajority of Votes CastNo

Proposal No. 5—

Approval of an Amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Bylaws to Amend the Limitation of Liability of Directors Provision  Majority of Votes Cast  No

With respect to Proposal No. 1, you may vote FOR, anyAGAINST or all of the nominees or WITHHOLD your vote as to any of the nominees. The six nominees receiving the most FOR votes will be elected. A properly executed proxy

-5-


marked WITHHOLDABSTAIN with respect to the election of one oreach director nominee. Any nominees receiving more directors will not be votedFOR votes than AGAINST votes with respect to the director or directors indicated.such nominee will be elected. Proxies may not be voted for more than sixthree directors and shareholders may not cumulate votes in the election of directors.

With respect to Proposal Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 3,5, you may vote FOR, AGAINST or ABSTAIN.

If you abstain from voting on any of these matters,Proposal Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 your shares will be counted as present and entitled to vote on thateach such matter for purposes of establishing a quorum, but will not be counted for purposes of determining the number of votes cast.cast and will not have an effect on the outcome of the vote.

Can I change my vote or revoke my proxy?

Yes. Any shareholder of record has the power to change or revoke a previously submitted proxy at any time before it is voted at the Annual Meeting by:

 

Submitting to our Corporate Secretary, before the voting at the Annual Meeting, a written notice of revocation bearing a later date than the proxy;

 

Timely delivery of a valid, later-dated proxy (only the last proxy submitted by a shareholder by Internet,internet, telephone or mail will be counted); or

 

Attending the virtual Annual Meeting and voting in person;during the meeting; however, attendance at the Annual Meeting will not by itself constitute a revocation of a proxy. See above regarding the special steps required to vote during the virtual meeting.

For shares held in street name, you may revoke any previous voting instructions by submitting new voting instructions to the bank, broker, or intermediary holding your shares by the deadline for voting specified in the voting instructions provided by your bank, broker, or intermediary. Alternatively, if your shares are held in street name and you have obtained a legal proxy from the bank, broker, or intermediary, giving you the right to vote the shares at the Annual Meeting, you may revoke any previous voting instructions by attending the Annual Meeting and voting in person.during the meeting.

7


Are there other matters to be voted on at the Annual Meeting?

We do not know of any other matters that may come before the Annual Meeting other than Proposals 1, 2, 3, 4 and 35 included herein. If any other matters are properly presented at the Annual Meeting, the persons named as proxies in the enclosed proxy card intend to vote or otherwise act in accordance with their judgment on the matter.

Is a list of shareholders available?

The names of shareholders of record entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting will be available for review by shareholders at the Annual Meeting.

Where can I find the voting results?

Preliminary voting results will be announced at the Annual Meeting, and final voting results will be reported in a Current Report on Form 8-K, which we will file with the SEC within four business days following the Annual Meeting.

Who is soliciting proxies, how are they being solicited, and who pays the cost?

The solicitation of proxies is being made on behalf of our board of directors and we will bear the costs of the solicitation. This solicitation is being made by mail and through the Internet,internet, but also may be made by telephone or in person. We will reimburse brokerage firms and other custodians, nominees, and fiduciaries for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for sending proxy materials to shareholders and obtaining their votes.

In addition, we have retained Okapi Partners LLC to assist in the solicitation of proxies at a solicitation fee of up to $20,000, plus related reasonable out-of-pocket expenses.

-6-


What do I need to do if I intend to attend the virtual Annual Meeting?

Attendance at the Annual Meeting will be limited to shareholders as of the record date or their duly-appointed proxies. Please note that if you

To attend and participate in the Annual Shareholder Meeting, shareholders must register in advance at https://viewproxy.com/fivebelow/2023/ prior to the deadline of 11:59 pm EDT on June 8, 2023. Upon completing registration, eligible participants will receive further instructions via email, including unique links that will allow such eligible participants to access the meeting.

There will be technicians ready to assist you with any technical difficulties you may have accessing the annual meeting live audio webcast. Please be askedsure to present valid picture identification, such as a driver’s license or passport.check in by 8:45 a.m. EDT on June 13, 2023, so that any technical difficulties may be addressed before the annual meeting live audio webcast begins. If you are a shareholder holding stock in brokerage accountsencounter any difficulties accessing the webcast during the check-in or by a bankmeeting time, please email VirtualMeeting@viewproxy.com or other intermediary, you may be required to show a brokerage statement or account statement reflecting your stock ownership as of the record date, but in order to vote your sharescall 866-612-8937.

Can I ask questions at the Annual Meeting, you must obtain a “legal proxy”Meeting?

We welcome questions from shareholders related to the bank or brokerage firm that holds your shares. Cameras, recording devices and other electronic devices will not be permittedmatters under consideration at the Annual Meeting.

meeting. During the meeting shareholders may submit questions through the Questions pane on the meeting platform. Each questioner is limited to a total of two questions.

 

-7-8


BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Our bylaws provide that the number of members of our board of directors shall be as fixeddetermined by our board from time to time. The number of members of our board is currently fixed at nine11 and is divided into three classes with staggered three-yearterms. Beginning at the 2025 annual meeting of shareholders, our board will no longer be divided into classes, and all directors will be subject to election for one-year terms.

At our Annual Meeting, shareholders will elect three Class II directors to hold office for a one-year term, until our 2024 annual meeting of shareholders. Unless otherwise specified in the proxy, the shares voted pursuant thereto will be cast for each of Messrs. Mussafer, Schlessinger, Vellios and Anderson and Mses. BuggelnRyan, and Ms. Barclay. If, for any reason, at the time of election any of the nominees named should decline or be unable to accept his or her nomination or election, it is intended that such proxy will be voted for a substitute nominee, who would be recommended by our board of directors. Our board of directors, however, has no reason to believe that any of the nominees will be unable to serve as a director.

The following biographical information is furnished as to each nominee for election as a director and each of the current directors.

Nominees for Election to the Board of Directors for a Three-Year Term Expiring at the 20182024 Annual Meeting

David M. Mussafer.Joel D. Anderson. Mr. Mussafer, 51,Anderson, 58, has served as a director since 2010.February 2015, when he was appointed to serve as our President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to becoming our President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mussafer, a Managing PartnerAnderson was our President and Chief Operating Officer from July 2014 through January 2015. Prior to joining Five Below, Mr. Anderson served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Advent International Corporation,Walmart.com from 2011 until 2014 and as the divisional Senior Vice President of the Northern Plains division of Walmart, Inc., a global private equity firm (“Advent”), which he joinedretailer, from 2010 to 2011. Prior to joining Walmart, Mr. Anderson was President of the retail and direct business units for Lenox Group, Inc. and served in 1990,various executive positions at Toys “R” Us Inc. over a 14-year period. Mr. Anderson currently serves as a director of lululemon athletica inc., Vantiv, Inc.Sprouts Farmers Market where he serves on the audit and Charlotte Russe Holding Inc.compensation committees. Mr. Anderson’s experience in the retail industry as well as his position as our President and previously served as a director of Dufry AG, Party City Holdings, Inc. and a number of privately held businesses. Mr. Mussafer’s experience serving as a director of public and private companiesChief Executive Officer led to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of Five Below.

David Schlessinger. Mr. Schlessinger, 60, is the co-founder of Five Below and Chairman Emeritus of our board. Mr. Schlessinger previouslyKathleen S. Barclay. Ms. Barclay, 67, has served as our Executive Chairmana director since March 2015. Ms. Barclay served as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for The Kroger Co., a $100 billion grocery supermarket company, from 20052009 until January 31, 2015 andher retirement in 2016. Prior to joining The Kroger Co., Ms. Barclay served in many leadership roles at General Motors Corporation, a multinational automotive corporation, from 1985 to 2010, including Vice President of Global Human Resources from 1998 to 2009. Ms. Barclay served as our Presidenta director of Kontoor Brands from 20022019 to 2005. Mr. Schlessinger has been2023. Ms. Barclay’s senior leadership experience with a large-scale, growing retailer led to the conclusion that she should serve as a director of Five Below since our incorporation in 2002. Previously,Below.

Thomas M. Ryan. Mr. Schlessinger founded Zany Brainy, Inc., a retail children’s educational products company, in 1991 andRyan, 70, has served as Zany Brainy’s Chief Executive Officer until 1996 anda director since 2011. In 2011, Mr. Ryan became an operating partner of Advent International Corporation as a part of its Chairman until 1998. He also founded Encore Books, a retail bookstore chain, in 1973 andOperating Partner Program. Prior to joining our board of directors, Mr. Ryan served as itsthe Chairman of the board of directors, President and Chief Executive Officer of CVS Caremark Corporation, now CVS Health, a retail pharmacy and healthcare corporation, until 1986.he retired in 2011. Mr. SchlessingerRyan became the Chief Executive Officer of CVS Corporation in 1998 and he also served as the Chairman of the board of directors of CVS Corporation from 1999 to 2007. Mr. Ryan also served as the Chairman of CVS Health’s board of directors from 2007 to 2011. Mr. Ryan currently serves as a director of PJT Partners and previously served as a director of Destination MaternityBank of America Corporation, from 2002 to 2011.Yum! Brands, Inc. and Vantiv, Inc. Mr. Schlessinger’s extensiveRyan’s experience in the management, operationsretail industry, as both an executive officer and financedirector of a large retail business as well as his knowledge of the Company as a foundercompany, led to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of Five Below.

Members of the Board of Directors Continuing in Office for a Term Expiring at the 2024 Annual Meeting

Dinesh S. Lathi. Mr. Lathi, 52, has served as a director since March 2018. Mr. Lathi is currently the Chairman of the Board of RugsUSA, a leading e-commerce provider of area rugs and home décor products,

9


where he previously held the position of interim Chief Executive Officer since January 2022, and a Senior Operating Partner at Francisco Partners Consulting. Mr. Lathi previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Tailored Brands, Inc., a leading specialty retailer of men’s suits and formalwear, from March 2019 to March 2021. He joined Tailored Brands’ board of directors in March 2016, and served as its Non-Executive Chairman from April 2017 to August 2018, and its Executive Chairman from August 2018 to March 2019. In August 2020 Tailored Brands, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and, under Mr. Lathi’s leadership, emerged from such protection in December 2020. Previously, he was the Chief Executive Officer of One Kings Lane, a digital home decor shopping platform, from 2014 to 2016, where he also served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer from 2011 to 2014. Prior to One Kings Lane, Mr. Lathi was a Vice President at eBay, a global online marketplace, where he managed several key areas, including Buyer & Seller Experience. Mr. Lathi’s 20 plus years of leadership experience in the technology and consumer space led to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of Five Below.

Richard L. Markee. Mr. Markee, 69, has served as a director since May 2016. Previously, Mr. Markee served in various leadership positions at Vitamin Shoppe, Inc., including as Non-Executive Chairman from January 2016 to June 2016 and from April 2007 to September 2009, Executive Chairman from April 2011 to January 2016 and Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board from September 2009 to April 2011. He held senior management positions at Toys “R” Us, Inc. from 1998 through November 2006, including Vice Chair of Toys “R” Us, Inc. and President of the Babies “R” Us and the Toys “R” Us U.S. and international operation divisions from August 2004 through November 2006. Mr. Markee previously served as a director of Collective Brands, Inc., The Sports Authority, Inc., Dorel Industries and Toys “R” Us. Mr. Markee’s extensive experience in the retail industry led to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of Five Below.

Thomas G. Vellios.Vellios. Mr. Vellios, 60,68, is the co-founder of Five Below and has served as our Chairman since June 2018, our Executive Chairman from February 2015 until June 2018, and has served as one of our directors since our incorporation in 2002. Mr. Vellios previously served as our Chief Executive Officer from 2002 until January 31, 2015. Mr. Vellios also served as our President from 2005 until June 2014. Previously, Mr. Vellios served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Zany Brainy, Inc. Prior to joining Zany Brainy, Mr. Vellios served as Senior Vice President, General Merchandise Manager at Caldor, a regional discount chain and a division of the May Company. Mr. Vellios’ extensive25 plus years of experience in the specialty, department store and discount retail industry, his experience with the management, operations and finance of a retail business, and his knowledge of the Company as a founder led to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of Five Below.

NomineesZuhairah S. Washington. Ms. Washington, 45, has served as a director since September 2020. Ms. Washington is currently the President of Otrium, a purpose-driven online marketplace for Electiondesigner outlet fashion brands. She has held this position since July 2021. Prior to Otrium, Ms. Washington was SVP and Global Head of Strategic Partners, Lodging and Vacation Rentals at Expedia Group, whose brands include Expedia, Hotels.com, Orbitz and VRBO, from January 2019 to August 2021. Prior to joining Expedia, Ms. Washington was at Egon Zehnder, a global management consulting and executive search firm, from 2018 to 2019, and Uber, where she grew businesses from startup to scale and ran one of the top five U.S. markets, from 2013 to 2018. She also founded Kahnoodle, which was named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s 100 Brilliant Companies of 2012. Ms. Washington currently serves as a director of Olo, the leading on-demand e-commerce platform for the restaurant industry. Ms. Washington earned a joint graduate degree: a JD from Harvard Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School, and graduated magna cum laude from UCLA with a BA in political science and public policy. In March of 2020, she was named as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America by Savoy Magazine. Ms. Washington’s senior leadership experience with large-scale, growing technology companies led to the conclusion that she should serve as a director of Five Below.

Members of the Board of Directors Continuing in Office for a One-Year Term Expiring at the 20162025 Annual Meeting

Catherine E. Buggeln.Buggeln. Ms. Buggeln, 54,62, has served as a director since March 2015. Ms. Buggeln has been a consultant to various retailers since 2004. SinceFrom 2012 to 2018, Ms. Buggeln has exclusively provided consultingadvisory services to Irving

10


Place Capital Management, L.P., a private equity firm focused on making equity investments in middle-market companies. Ms. Buggeln formerly served as the Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning and New

-8-


Business Development at Coach, Inc., a leading marketer of modern classic American accessories, from 2001 to 2005. Ms. Buggeln isShe currently serves as a director of Ascena Retail Group, Inc., where she serves on the auditboards of two private equity owned companies, Noble Biomaterials, Inc. and compensation committees, and Vitamin Shoppes, Inc., where she serves on the nominating and governance committee.Scoop Holdings (cabi). She also previously served as a director of The Timberland Company in 2011.2011, the Vitamin Shoppe from 2009 to 2017, and Ascena Retail Group from 2004 to 2021. Ms. Buggeln’s extensive experience in the retail industry, in both managerial and director roles, led to the conclusion that she should serve as a director of Five Below.

Nominees for Election to the Board of Directors for a Two-Year Term Expiring at the 2017 Annual Meeting

Joel D. Anderson. Mr. Anderson, 50, has served as a director since February 2015, when he was appointed to serve as our President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to becoming our President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Anderson was our President and Chief Operating Officer from July 2014 until January 31, 2015. Prior to joining Five Below, Mr. Anderson served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Walmart.com, an e-commerce website, from 2011 until 2014 and as the divisional Senior Vice President of the Northern Plains division of Wal-mart Stores, Inc., a global retailer, from 2010 to 2011. Prior to joining Wal-mart Stores, Inc., Mr. Anderson was President of the retail and direct business units for Lenox Group, Inc., a designer, distributor, wholesaler and retailer of fine quality tableware, collectible and other giftware products. Mr. Anderson’s experience in the retail industry as well as his position as our President and Chief Executive Officer led to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of Five Below.

Kathleen S. Barclay. Ms. Barclay, 59, has served as a director since March 2015. Ms. Barclay has served as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for The Kroger Co., a grocery supermarket company, since 2009. Prior to joining The Kroger Co., Ms. Barclay served in many leadership roles at General Motors Corporation, a multinational automotive corporation, from 1985 to 2010. Most recently she served as General Motors Corporation’s Vice President of Global Human Resources and General Motors University from 1998 to 2009. Ms. Barclay’s management experience with a large-scale retailer led to the conclusion that she should serve as a director of Five Below.

Members of the Board of Directors Continuing in Office for a Term Expiring at the 2016 Annual Meeting

Michael F. Devine, III.III. Mr. Devine, 56,64, has served as a director since March 2013. Mr. Devine is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Coach, Inc. Mr. Devine served as Chief Financial Officer at Coach, Inc. since December 2001 and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since August 2007 until his retirement in August 2011. Prior to joining Coach, Mr. Devine served from 2000 to 2001, as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Mothers Work, Inc., now Destination Maternity Corporation, a designer, manufacturer and retailer of maternity apparel. Mr. Devine currently serves as a director and memberthe Chairman of the audit committeesBoard of Deckers Outdoor Corporation, where he serves on the audit committee and Express, Inc.compensation committee. Mr. Devine previously served as a director and member of the audit committee of both Express, Inc. and Nutrisystem, Inc. and as a director of Talbots and Sur La Table. Mr. Devine’s extensive experience in the retail industry, as both an executive officer and director, led to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of Five Below.

Bernard Kim. Mr. Kim, 46, has served as a director since 2022. Mr. Kim has been the Chief Executive Officer of Match Group, Inc. since 2022. From 2016 to 2022, he served as the President of Publishing for Zynga Inc., a global leader in interactive entertainment with a mission to connect the world through games. Prior to joining Zynga, Mr. Kim spent nearly ten years at Electronic Arts Inc., as the company’s Senior Vice President of Mobile Publishing. In that role, he oversaw EA’s mobile distribution, strategy, product management, analytics, network engagement, marketing, revenue demand planning, business development, third-party publishing, and mergers & acquisitions. Before joining EA, Mr. Kim served as Director of Sales and Channel Strategy at The Walt Disney Company, where he led sales and retail for Disney Mobile. He holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Economics and Communications from Boston College. Mr. Kim’s senior leadership experience with large-scale, growing technology companies led to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of Five Below.

Ronald L. Sargent.Sargent. Mr. Sargent, 59,67, has served as a director since 2004. Mr. Sargent has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Staples, Inc., an office supply company, sincefrom 2002 to June 2016 and as Chairman of its board of directors since 2005. Priorfrom 2005 to becoming Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Sargent held a variety of executive positions at Staples, Inc. since joining the company in 1989.January 2017. Mr. Sargent currently serves as a director of Wells Fargo & Co., where he serves as the Chairman of the human resources committee and as a member of the governance and nominating committee and the audit committee, and The Kroger Co., where he serves as Lead Director, Chairman of the governance committee and as a member of the audit and public responsibilities committees. Mr. Sargent previously served as a director of The Home Depot, Inc. and Mattel, Inc. Mr. Sargent’s experience as an executive officer and director of Staples, Inc. as well as his extensive experience in the retail industry led to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of Five Below.

Members of the Board of Directors Continuing in Office for a Term Expiring at the 2017 Annual Meeting

Thomas M. Ryan. Mr. Ryan, 62, has served as a director since 2011. In 2011, Mr. Ryan became an operating partner of Advent as a part of its Operating Partner Program. Prior to joining our board of directors,

-9-


Mr. Ryan served as the Chairman of the board of directors, President and Chief Executive Officer of CVS Caremark Corporation, now CVS Health, a retail pharmacy and healthcare corporation, until he retired in 2010. Mr. Ryan became the Chief Executive Officer of CVS Corporation in 1998 and he also served as the Chairman of the board of directors of CVS Corporation from 1999 to 2007. Mr. Ryan also served as the chairman of CVS Health’s board of directors from 2007 to 2011. Mr. Ryan currently serves as a director of Yum! Brands, Inc. and Vantiv, Inc. and previously served as a director of Bank of America Corporation. Mr. Ryan’s experience in the retail industry, as both an executive officer and director of a large retail company, led to the conclusion that he should serve as a director of Five Below.

In addition to the information presented above regarding each director’s or nominee’s specific experiences, qualifications, attributes and skills, we believe that all of our directors and nominees have a reputation for integrity and adherence to high ethical standards. Each of our directors and nominees has demonstrated business acumen and an ability to exercise sound judgment, as well as a commitment of service to us and our board. Finally, we value our directors’ and nominee’s experience on other company boards and board committees.

There are no family relationships among any of our directors, nominees or executive officers.

Summary of Qualifications and Demographics of Directors and Director Nominees

The table below summarizes the specific qualifications, attributes, skills, experience and demographics of each director and nominee. In the case of nominees, these are what led our board of directors to conclude that the nominee is qualified to serve on our board of directors. As to the knowledge, skills and experience section, while

11


each director and nominee is generally knowledgeable in each of these areas, an “X” in the chart below indicates that the item is a specific qualification, attribute, skill or experience that each director or nominee brings to our board of directors. The lack of an “X” for a particular item does not mean that the nominee does not possess that qualification, attribute, skill or experience.

   Anderson Barclay Buggeln Devine Kim Lathi Markee Ryan Sargent Vellios   Washington  

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

                      

  Branding Experience

 X   X X X   X X X X X

  Entrepreneurial

 X   X X   X X X X X X

  Distribution/Logistics Experience

 X   X X         X X  

  Retail Experience

 X X X X X X X X X X X

  Sales and Marketing Experience

 X   X   X X X X X X X

  Financial Literacy and Experience

 X X   X X X X X X X X

  Public Company Management Experience

 X X X X X X X X X X X

  Risk Oversight Experience

 X X X X   X X X X X  

  Technology (Consumer, Cybersecurity, Big Data, Social)

 X     X X X       X X

Demographics

                      

  Race / Ethnicity

                      

    African American or Black

                     X

    Alaskan Native or Native American

                      

    Asian

         X X          

    Hispanic or Latinx

                      

    Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

                      

    White

 X X X X     X X X X  

    Two or More Races or Ethnicities

                      

    LGBTQ+

                      

    Did Not Disclose Demographic Background

                      

  Gender Identity

                      

    Female

   X X               X

    Male

 X     X X X X X X X  

    Non-Binary

                      

    Did Not Disclose Gender

                      

Board Tenure

                      

  Years

 8 8 8 10 1 5 7 12 19 21 2

12


The table below summarizes the aggregate diversity characteristics of our directors:

Board Diversity Matrix (As of May 5, 2023)

Total Number of Directors

11

   Female  Male  Non-Binary  Did Not
Disclose
Gender
 

Part I: Gender Identity

                

Directors

  3   8   —     —   

Part II: Demographic Background

                

African American or Black

  1   —     —     —   

Alaskan Native or Native American

  —     —     —     —   

Asian

  —     2   —     —   

Hispanic or Latinx

  —     —     —     —   

Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

  —     —     —     —   

White

  2   6   —     —   

Two or More Races or Ethnicities

  —     —     —     —   

LGBTQ+

  —   

Did Not Disclose Demographic Background

  —   

Board Composition

Our business and affairs are managed under the direction of our board of directors, which currently consists of nine11 members. Our articles of incorporation and bylaws currently provide that our board of directors will consist of a number of directors, not less than three nor more than eleven,fourteen, to be fixed exclusively by resolution of the board of directors.

Our articles of incorporation provides for acurrently provide, that until the 2025 annual meeting of shareholders, our board of directors will be staggered, or classified, board of directors consisting of three classes of directors, each serving staggered three-year terms, which assuming the election of Mses. Buggeln and Barclay and Mr. Anderson at the Annual Meeting, is constituted as follows:

 

the Class I directors are Ms. Buggeln and Messrs. Devine, Kim and Sargent, and their terms will expire at the annual meeting of shareholders to be held in 2016;2025;

 

the Class II directors are Ms. Barclay and Messrs. Anderson and Ryan, and their terms will expire at the annual meeting of shareholders to be held in 2017;Annual Meeting; and

 

the Class III directors are Messrs. Mussafer, SchlessingerLathi, Markee and Vellios, and Ms. Washington and their terms will expire at the Annual Meeting.annual meeting of shareholders to be held in 2024.

Upon expiration of the term of a class of directors, directors for that class will be elected for a three-yearone-year term at the annual meeting of shareholders in the year in which that term expires. Beginning at the 2025 annual meeting of shareholders, all directors will be subject to annual election for one-year terms and our board of directors will no longer be classified. Each director’s term continues until the election and qualification of his or her successor, or his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal. Any vacancies on our board of directors will be filled only by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then in office. AnyUntil the 2025 annual meeting of shareholders, any increase or decrease in the number of directors will be distributed among the three classes so that, as nearly as possible, each class will consist of one-third of the directors. The classification

13


At the time of our initial public offering, our board of directors assessed the classified board structure and determined that it was appropriate for our Company as it provides continuity and stability in the board’s business strategies and policies. As we continued to mature as a public company, our board of directors determined in 2022 that it was in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders to remove the classified board structure from our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation and our Amended and Restated Bylaws. At the 2022 annual meeting of shareholders, our shareholders approved amendments to our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation and our Amended and Restated Bylaws such that directors in office immediately after the 2022 Annual Meeting would serve out their three-year terms, but directors elected by shareholders commencing with the Annual Meeting would be elected to one-year terms. Accordingly, at our Annual Meeting, shareholders will make it more difficultelect three Class II directors to hold office for a third partyone-year term, until our 2024 annual meeting of shareholders. Beginning at the 2025 annual meeting of shareholders, the classified board structure will be removed and all directors will be subject to acquire control of us.annual election for one-year terms.

Director Independence

Our board of directors observes all applicable criteria for independence established by The NASDAQNasdaq Stock Market LLC and other governing laws and applicable regulations. No director or nominee will be deemed to be independent unless our board of directors determines that the director or nominee has no relationship which would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that Messrs. Devine, Mussafer,Kim, Lathi, Markee, Ryan and Sargent and Mses. Barclay, Buggeln and BarclayWashington are independent as defined under the corporate governance rules of The NASDAQNasdaq Stock Market LLC. Of these independent directors and nominees, our board has determined that: (i) Mses. Buggeln and Washington and Messrs. Devine, Lathi, and Markee, who comprise our audit committee; (ii) Mses. Barclay and Washington and Messrs. Devine, Ryan and Sargent, who comprise our audit

-10-


committee; (ii) Ms. Barclay and Mr. Ryan, who comprise our compensation committee; and (iii) Mses. Barclay and Buggeln and Messrs. MussaferKim, Ryan and Sargent, and Ms. Buggeln, who comprise our nominating and corporate governance committee, each satisfy the independence standards for those committees established by the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC. Our board of directors also determined that Steven J. Collins, who resigned in March 2015 as a member of our board of directors and our compensation committee, was independent as defined under the corporate governance rules of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC and satisfied the independence standards for the compensation committee established by the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and The NASDAQNasdaq Stock Market LLC.

Board Leadership Structure and Board’s Role in Risk Oversight

Our board of directors has no policy with respect to the separation of the offices of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the board of directors. It is the board of directors’ view that rather than having a rigid policy, the board of directors, with the advice and assistance of the nominating and corporate governance committee, and upon consideration of all relevant factors and circumstances, will determine, as and when appropriate, whether the two offices should be separate. Currently, our leadership structure separates the offices of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the board of directors with Mr. Anderson serving as our Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Vellios serving as Executivenon-executive Chairman of the board. We believe this is appropriate as it provides Mr. Anderson with the ability to focus on our day-to-day operations while allowing Mr. Vellios to lead our board of directors in its fundamental role of providing advice to and oversight of management. In addition, as Executive Chairman, Mr. Vellios remains involved in key matters affecting our business and in implementing our growth strategy.

Our board of directors plays an active role in overseeing management of our risks. Our board of directors regularly reviews information regarding our credit, liquidity and operations, as well as the risks associated with each. Our compensation committee is responsible for overseeing the management of risks relating to our executive compensation plans and arrangements. Our audit committee oversees management of financial risks. Our nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for managing risks associated with the independence of the board of directors. While each committee is responsible for evaluating certain risks and overseeing the management of such risks, our full board of directors keeps itself regularly informed regarding such risks through committee reports and otherwise.

Our board of directors, itself and through its nominating and corporate governance committee, also plays an active role in monitoring and motivating the Company’s environmental social and governance (“ESG”) initiatives. For more information please see the section titled “Environmental Social & Governance Initiatives” below.

14


Compensation Risk Analysis

The compensation committee is aware that compensation arrangements, if not properly structured, may encourage inappropriate risk-taking. In designing our compensation programs, the compensation committee seeks to mitigate such risk by in a variety of ways including by:

(a)

providing a meaningful portion of total compensation in the form of equity incentives that are earned over multiple years to encourage an appropriately long-term focus;

(b)

utilizing pre-established incentive pay and performance curves;

(c)

annually evaluating compensation benchmarking for executive officer to ensure market reasonable compensation;

(d)

maintaining robust committee oversight of executive compensation programs; and

(e)

employing a multi-dimensional assessment of Company and individual performance with respect to executive compensation matters.

Stock Ownership Guidelines

The Company has maintained stock ownership guidelines since 2017, which have been amended and restated from time to time. Pursuant to the guidelines, each of the Company’s executive officers is required to own shares of our common stock having an aggregate fair market value equal to or greater than the thresholds shown below (each as measured with reference to the base salary payable to each executive in the formimmediately preceding calendar year). We have increased the ownership requirements for certain executive officers for 2023.

Title

Multiple of Base Salary in
Effect for 2022
Multiple of Base Salary in
Effect for 2023

Chief Executive Officer

Three (3)Six (6)

Chief Financial Officer

Two (2)Three (3)

Chief Operating Officer

N/A*Three (3)

Other Executive Officers

Two (2)Two (2)

*

The Company did not have a Chief Operating Officer in 2022.

For purposes of the guidelines, the base salary payable includes any base salary payable in a given calendar year (even if payment is deferred to a later calendar year), and the value of shares or other property received in lieu of base salary in a given calendar year. Compliance with the guidelines for a given calendar year is measured on the first trading day of the next calendar year. As of January 2, 2023, all executive officers were in compliance with the guidelines as in effect for calendar year 2022, measured with reference to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on such date. Going forward, compliance with the guidelines will be measured using the average closing price of the Company’s common stock for the twenty (20) consecutive trading days ending on the last trading day of the prior calendar year.

Under the guidelines, executive officers generally have five years from the date of hire to attain the specified level of equity incentives that are earned over multipleownership and three years (to encouragefrom the date of a subsequent promotion to attain any increased level of equity ownership.

Effective as of March 2023, each executive officer must hold fifty percent (50%) of the net shares received (total shares less shares withheld or sold to satisfy any applicable exercise price or tax liability) from the exercise of stock options or settlement of time-based or performance-based restricted stock unit awards, until such executive officer has attained the specified level of ownership applicable to the executive’s position.

Under the guidelines, an appropriately long-term focus).executive’s holdings include shares held outright by the executive (and the executive’s spouse, minor children and trusts for the principal benefit of such individuals), including shares held

Moreover, while

15


under the Company’s 401(k) plan and non-qualified deferred compensation plan; shares underlying outstanding time-based restricted stock unit awards (whether or not vested); shares underlying outstanding performance-based restricted stock unit awards, but only to the extent applicable performance and time-based vesting conditions have been satisfied; and, in the discretion of the compensation committee, continues to evaluateshares otherwise beneficially owned by the implementation ofexecutive. Shares underlying a formal stock ownership guideline for our management team, we note that our Named Executive Officers (as defined below) already maintain a substantial equity ownership position, through directoption, whether or not the stock ownership and/oroption is vested, will not count toward an executive’s holdings unless and until the ownership ofexecutive exercises the stock option and restricted stock unit awards. acquires those shares. Our board of directors may waive compliance with the guidelines on a case by case basis, but it is anticipated that waivers will be rare and in the event of such a waiver, the board of directors will develop alternative ownership guidelines that reflect the intent of these guidelines and executive’s personal circumstances.

We believe that thisour stock ownership position providesguidelines provide significant incentives to ensure that the management team’s actions, and the actions of all those reporting to them, are focused on the creation of sustainable shareholder value and the avoidance of excessive risk.

In fiscal 2014,Clawback Policy

The Company maintains a clawback policy, which generally provides that the compensation committee approvedmay, in its discretion, seek to recover incentive compensation (whether it was in the new form of restricted stock unit agreement that providescash or equity) erroneously awarded during the prior three years to our executive officers in two scenarios. Firstly, the compensation committee may seek to clawback such compensation if the Company restates its financial statements to correct a material error. Secondly, the compensation committee may seek to clawback such compensation, if, as a result of an executive officer’s fraud or misconduct, materially inaccurate calculations were used for the repayment of vested sharesa performance-based metric applicable to his or cancellation of unvested shares pursuant to certain awards if ither incentive compensation. The clawback policy is determinedadministered by the compensation committee, that gross negligence, intentional misconduct or fraudwhich has the sole discretion in making all determinations under the clawback policy, including the method for recovering erroneously awarded compensation. The compensation committee is reviewing the final rule adopted by the grantee causedSEC that implements the applicable provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) and Nasdaq’s related proposed listing standard, in each case relating to recoupment of incentive-based compensation. The company will amend its clawback policy in accordance with the new listing standard when the new listing standard becomes final.

Awards under the Company’s cash bonus and equity incentive plans are generally made subject to any applicable clawback policies.

Restrictions on Hedging and Pledging

The Company considers it inappropriate for those employed by or partially causedassociated with the Company to restateengage in certain transactions related to the Company’s securities which could result in their interests no longer being aligned with the same interests and objectives as other shareholders of the Company. Therefore, as part of our insider trading policy, we impose certain restrictions on these individuals relating to short-sales of Company securities, transactions in derivatives of Company securities, and the hedging and pledging of Company securities.

The restrictions apply to all directors, officers, crew, and consultants of the Company (“service providers”) as well as family members and any others that reside with a service provider. Family members who do not reside with a service provider are subject to the restrictions if a service provider directs, influences or controls their transactions in Company securities. This includes, for example, parents or children of a portionservice provider who consult with the service provider regarding their trades (collectively, the “covered persons”).

Short Sales. Short sales of its financial statements.

Company securities by covered persons (sales of securities that are not then owned), including any “sale against the box” (a sale with delayed delivery), are prohibited.

 

-11-16


Transactions in Derivatives. Transactions in derivatives of the Company’s securities, including puts, calls and publicly traded options, are also prohibited.


Hedging. Hedging transactions involving the Company’s securities privately, on an exchange or in any other organized market is prohibited.

Pledging. Pledging the Company’s securities as collateral for indebtedness or for any other reason is prohibited.

Margin Accounts. Purchasing the Company’s securities on margin (borrowing from a brokerage firm, bank or other entity) is prohibited.

Committees of the Board of Directors

The standing committees of our board of directors include: the audit committee, the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee. The composition and responsibilities of each standing committee isare described below. Members will serve on these committees until their resignation or until otherwise determined by our board of directors. Current copies of the charters for each of these committees are available on our websitewww.fivebelow.com, at http://investor.fivebelow.com, under the “Investor Relations”“Governance” section.

Audit Committee

Our audit committee oversees our corporate accounting and financial reporting process. The audit committee has the following responsibilities, among other things, as set forth in the audit committee charter:

 

selecting and hiring our independent registered public accounting firm and approving the audit and non-audit services to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm;

selecting and hiring our independent registered public accounting firm and approving the audit and non-audit services to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm;

 

evaluating the qualifications, performance and independence of our independent registered public accounting firm;

 

monitoring the integrity of our financial statements and our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements as they relate to financial statements or accounting matters;

 

reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of our internal control policies and procedures;

 

overseeing management of financial risks;

 

receiving regular reporting from management and periodically reviewing with management the Company’s cybersecurity and other information technology risks, controls and procedures, including the Company’s plans to mitigate cybersecurity risks and respond to data breaches;

overseeing our internal audit function and activities, including approving the selection, appointment and oversight of our internal auditor, with such auditor reporting directly to the committee, and approving the annual internal audit plan;

preparing the audit committee report required by the SEC to be included in our annual proxy statement;

 

discussing the scope and results of the audit with the independent registered public accounting firm and reviewing with management and the independent registered public accounting firm our interim and year-end operating results;

discussing the scope and results of the audit with the independent registered public accounting firm and reviewing with management and the independent registered public accounting firm our interim and year-end operating results;

 

approving related party transactions; and

 

reviewing whistleblower complaints relating to accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters and overseeing the investigations conducted in connection with such complaints.

17


Our audit committee consists of Mses. Buggeln and Washington and Messrs. Devine, RyanLathi and Sargent.Markee. Mr. Devine servesLathi has served as the chairperson of the audit committee. Mr. Devine was elected as chairpersonChair of the audit committee in March 2013.since June 2022. All of the members of the audit committee are independent for purposes of serving on the audit committee and meet the requirements for financial literacy under the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and The NASDAQNasdaq Stock Market LLC. Our board has determined that Mr.Messrs. Devine, is anLathi and Markee are audit committee financial expertexperts as defined under the applicable rules of the SEC and hashave the requisite financial sophistication defined under the applicable rules of The NASDAQNasdaq Stock Market LLC.

Compensation Committee

Our compensation committee reviews and recommends policies relating to compensation and benefits of our officers and employees.crew. The compensation committee has the following responsibilities, among other things, as set forth in the compensation committee’s charter:

 

reviewing and approving compensation of our executive officers, including annual base salary, annual incentive bonuses, specific goals, equity compensation, employment agreements, severance and change-in-control arrangements and any other benefits, compensation or arrangements;

reviewing and approving compensation of our executive officers, including annual base salary, annual incentive bonuses, specific goals, equity compensation, severance and change-in-control arrangements and any other benefits, compensation or arrangements;

 

reviewing and recommending the terms of employment agreements with our executive officers;

 

reviewing succession planning for our executive officers;

 

reviewing and recommending compensation goals, bonus and stock-based compensation criteria for our employees;crew;

 

-12-


reviewing and recommending the appropriate structure and amount of compensation for our directors;

 

overseeing the management of risks relating to our executive compensation plans and arrangements;

 

reviewing and discussing annually with management our “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” required by SEC rules;

 

preparing the compensation committee report required by the SEC to be included in our annual proxy statement;

 

overseeing compliance with the SEC’s and The NASDAQNasdaq Stock Market LLC’s rules and regulations regarding shareholder approval of certain executive compensation matters, including advisory votes on compensation and approval of equity compensation plans; and

 

administering, reviewing and making recommendations with respect to our equity compensation plans.

Our compensation committee consists of Ms.Mses. Barclay and Washington and Messrs. Devine, Ryan and Sargent. Mr. Ryan. Mr. Ryan servesDevine has served as the chairperson of the compensation committee. Mr. Ryan was elected chairpersonChair of the compensation committee in March 2013.since June 2022. All of the members of the compensation committee are determined to be independent under applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and The NASDAQNasdaq Stock Market LLC. The compensation committee has the authority to delegate any of its responsibilities, along with the authority to take action in relation to such responsibilities, to one or more subcommittees as the compensation committee may deem appropriate in its sole discretion.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

The nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for making recommendations regarding candidates for directorships and the size and composition of our board.board, as well as overseeing the Company’s significant strategies, programs, policies and practices relating to sustainability and corporate responsibility. Among other matters, the nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for the following as set forth in the nominating and corporate governance committee charter:

 

assisting our board of directors in identifying prospective director nominees and recommending nominees for each annual meeting of shareholders to our board of directors;

 

18


reviewing developments in corporate governance practices and developing and recommending governance principles applicable to our board of directors;

 

managing risks associated with the independence of the board of directors;

 

evaluating and making recommendations as to the size and composition of the board of directors;

 

overseeing the evaluation of our board of directors and management; and

 

recommending members for each committee of our board of directors.directors;

reviewing with management significant Company strategies, policies programs and practices relating to sustainability (including environmental and human rights issues and impacts) and corporate responsibility in furtherance of the Company’s business strategy, values and purpose;

reviewing with management the Company’s work with industry organizations and non-governmental organizations;

reviewing developments in legislation, regulation, litigation, emerging issues and best practices in the fields of corporate citizenship and sustainability that are identified by the board of directors, management or the committee;

receiving from management and reviewing relevant sustainability and corporate responsibility reports involving the Company or other industry leaders or competitors; and

reviewing press releases, disclosures and other announcements to be made by the Company regarding the Company’s strategies, policies, programs and practices relating to sustainability and corporate responsibility.

Our nominating and corporate governance committee consists of Ms.Mses. Barclay and Buggeln and Messrs. MussaferKim, Ryan and Sargent. Mr. Sargent servesMs. Barclay has served as the chairperson of the nominating and corporate governance committee. Mr. Sargent was elected chairpersonChair of the nominating and corporate governance committee in March 2013.since June 2021. All of the members of the nominating and corporate governance committee are determined to be independent under applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and The NASDAQNasdaq Stock Market LLC. In 2014, the nominating and corporate governance committee engaged Spencer Stuart, an outside search firm, to help identify potential director candidates and to assist by providing background information and assessments of qualifications on potential candidates.

Meetings and Attendance

During fiscal 2014,2022, there were fiveeight meetings of the board of directors, seveneight meetings of the audit committee, threefour meetings of the compensation committee and one meetingfour meetings of the nominating and corporate governance committee. Each of our directors attended at least 75% of the aggregate meetings of the board of directors and the committees of the board of directors on which hethey served during fiscal 2014.2022. In addition, the

-13-


independent directors meet in executive session at least twice per year without the presence of management. The chairmanChair of the nominating and corporate governance committee chairs these executive sessions of independent directors.

Our board of directors expects its members to attend the annual meetings of shareholders. All of our directors attended the 20142022 annual meeting of shareholders. The Company expects that all of its directors will attend this year’s Annual Meeting.

Director Compensation

In fiscal 2014,2021, we engaged Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC (“Meridian”), the compensation committee’s independent advisor, to review the competitiveness of compensation provided to the board. Following this review, the compensation committee determined to make the following changes effective in fiscal year 2022 and thereafter:

the annual cash retainer was increased from $70,000 to $85,000;

19


the additional annual cash retainer for the audit committee Chair was increased from $25,000 to $30,000; and

the annual equity grant was increased from a fair market value of $140,000 to $165,000.

Accordingly, in fiscal 2022, each of our non-employee directors who is not affiliated with Advent was paidentitled to the following pursuant to our Compensation Policy for Non-Employee Directors:

 

an annual cash retainer of $60,000;

an annual cash retainer of $85,000, paid quarterly, appropriately pro-rated for partial quarters served;

 

an additional retainer of $25,000 for the audit committee chair and the compensation committee chair and $15,000 for the nominating and corporate governance committee chair; and

an additional annual cash retainer of $80,000 for the non-executive Chairman of the board, paid quarterly, appropriately pro-rated for partial quarters served;

 

an additional annual cash retainer of $30,000 for the audit committee Chair, $25,000 for the compensation committee Chair and $20,000 for the nominating and corporate governance committee Chair, paid quarterly, appropriately pro-rated for partial quarters served; and

an annual equity grant with a fair market value of $90,000 in the form of restricted stock units and vesting on the date of the next annual meeting.

an annual equity grant with a fair market value of $165,000 in the form of restricted stock units vesting on the date of the next annual meeting, with an additional restricted stock unit grant with fair market value of $150,000 for the non-executive Chairman of the board.

If a person becomes a member of the board (including non-executive Chairman of the board) at least 90 days prior to an annual meeting, such person will receive an initial grant of restricted stock units having a Fair Market Value equal to the annual award, appropriately prorated based on the number of days from such person’s commencement of service until the next meeting date over 365.

Each non-employee director has the option to receive some or all of his or her cash retainer in the form of shares of our common stock. Directors do not receive a fee for attending meetings, but they are entitled to reimbursement of travel expenses relating to their service.

In April 2015, our compensation committee and board of directors approved an amendment to our Compensation Policy for Non-Employee Directors to permit any directors affiliated with Advent to participate in the policy. In addition, our Compensation Policy for Non-Employee Directors was amended to provide that any former employee who served on the board of directors at the time of the termination of such person’s employment with the Company will not be eligible to receive compensation under the policy until the first anniversary of the expiration of the term on the board of such individual during which the employment termination occurred. Other than the modifications identified above, the Compensation Policy for Non-Employee Directors for fiscal 2015 is identical to the fiscal 2014 policy. Pursuant to the amended policy, Mr. Mussafer is entitled to receive a pro-rated portion of the annual cash retainer for fiscal 2015 commencing on March 10, 2015 and an annual equity grant at the Annual Meeting.

The following table sets forth information on the compensation of all our non-employee directors for fiscal 2014:2022:

 

Name

  Fees Earned
or
Paid in Cash(1)
($)
   Restricted Stock
Unit Awards(2)
($)
   All Other
Compensation
($)
 Total
($)
   Fees Earned
or
Paid in Cash (1)
($)
   Stock
Awards (2)
($)
   Total
($)
 

Steven J. Collins(3)

   —       —       —      —    

Andrew W. Crawford(4)

   —       —       —      —    

David M. Mussafer

   —       —       —      —    

Kathleen S. Barclay

   105,000    164,942    269,942 

Catherine E. Buggeln

   85,000    164,942    249,942 

Michael F. Devine III

   85,000     90,000     —      175,000     111,854    164,942    276,796 

Bernard Kim

   53,341    164,942    218,283 

Dinesh S. Lathi

   103,874    164,942    268,816 

Richard L. Markee

   85,000    164,942    249,942 

Thomas M. Ryan

   105     90,000     84,895(5)   175,000     94,272    164,942    259,214 

Ronald L. Sargent

   83     90,000     74,917(5)   165,000     85,000    164,942    249,942 

Thomas G. Vellios

   165,000    314,923    479,923 

Zuhairah S. Washington

   85,000    164,942    249,942 

 

(1)

Cash fees include annual director’s retainer and, where applicable, committee chairChair fees. Messrs. Lathi, Markee, Ryan, Sargent and Vellios, and Ms. Barclay elected to receive part of their fees as well as cash payable in lieushares of fractional shares.Company stock in the following amounts: $102,717 for Mr. Lathi, $83,843 for Mr. Markee, $92,523 for Mr. Ryan, $83,550 for Mr. Sargent, $82,253 for Mr. Vellios and $78,171 for Ms. Barclay.

(2)

The amounts reported in this column reflect the fair value on the grant date of the restricted stock unit awards granted in fiscal 20142022 computed in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board

-14-


(“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 718,Compensation—Stock Compensation.Compensation. For a discussion of the assumptions and methodologies used to calculate the amounts referred to above,

20


please see the discussion of restricted stock unit awards contained in Note 1 and Note 68 to the consolidated financial statements included as a part of the 20142022 Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 26, 2015.16, 2023. The aggregate number of shares ofsubject to restricted stock units outstanding at fiscal year-end for each non-employee director is as follows: 2,3241,367 units for each of Mses. Barclay, Buggeln and Washington, and Messrs. Devine, Kim, Lathi, Markee, Ryan and Sargent, and 2,610 units for Mr. Vellios, each of which will vest on the date of the Annual Meeting.
(3)Mr. Collins resigned from our board of directors on March 10, 2015.
(4)Mr. Crawford’s term as a member of our board of directors expired at the annual meeting of shareholders in 2014.
(5)The amounts reported reflect the fair value on the grant date of the restricted stock awards granted to Messrs. Ryan and Sargent in lieu of the cash retainers paid quarterly and computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718.

In March 2014, our boardfiscal 2022, we engaged Meridian once again to review the competitiveness of compensation provided to the board. Following this review, the compensation committee determined that no changes were required to non-employee director pay levels.

Our non-employeedirectors adoptedare subject to Stock Ownership Guidelines for non-employee directors upon consulting with, and the recommendation of, Hay Group.Guidelines. Pursuant to the guidelines, each non-employee director is required to own shares of our common stock having an aggregate fair market value equal to or greater than threefive times the highest annual cash retainer payable to a non-employee director in the preceding calendar year pursuant to the Compensation Policy for Non-Employee Directors. For purposes of the guidelines, the highest annual cash retainer will include any cash retainer payable in a given calendar year (even if the payment of which is deferred to a later calendar yearyear) and the value of shares or other property received in lieu of a cash retainer in a given calendar year. Non-employee directors

Any non-employee director serving at the time the Stock Ownership Guidelinesguidelines were adopted will havein 2014 was given five years from the adoption of the guidelines to attain the specified level of equity ownership. Any non-employee director appointed or elected following the adoption of the guidelines will haveis given five years from the date of such appointment or election to attain the specified level of equity ownership. Compliance with the Stock Ownership Guidelines is measured annually on the first trading day of each calendar year, using the closing price of the Company’s common stock on that day. As of January 2, 2023, all non-employee directors for whom the Stock Ownership Guidelines were effective were in compliance.

For purposes of the guidelines, a non-employee director’s holdings include: shares held outright by the non-employee director; vested restricted shares and shares subject to vested but unsettled restricted stock units held by the non-employee director; and, in the discretion of the compensation committee, shares otherwise beneficially owned by the non-employee director. Our board of directors may waive compliance with the guidelines on a case by case basis, but it is anticipated that waivers will be rare and in the event of such a waiver, the board of directors will develop alternative ownership guidelines that reflect the intent of these guidelines and the non-employee director’s personal circumstances.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

During the past fiscal year,2022, Mses. Barclay and Washington and Messrs. Crawford, CollinsDevine, Ryan and RyanSargent served as members of the compensation committee. We have indemnification agreements with each of our directors, including Mses. Barclay and Washington and Messrs. Crawford, CollinsDevine, Ryan and Ryan,Sargent, which provide such directors with contractual rights to indemnification, expense advancement and reimbursement, to the fullest extent permitted under Pennsylvania law. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” for more information.

None of these individuals was at any time an officer or an employeea crew member of Five Below. In addition, none of our executive officers currently serves, or in fiscal 20142022 served, as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving as a member of our board of directors or compensation committee.

Communications with the Board of Directors

Shareholders may initiate in writing any communication with our board of directors or any individual director by sending the correspondence to our Corporate Secretary, c/o Five Below, Inc., 1818701 Market Street,

21


Suite 2000,300, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.19106. This centralized process assists our board of directors in

-15-


reviewing and responding to shareholder communications in an appropriate manner. Any communication should not exceed 500 words in length and must be accompanied by the following information:

 

a statement of the type and amount of our securities that the person holds;

 

any special interest of the shareholder in the subject matter of the communication (i.e., not in such person’s capacity as one of our shareholders); and

 

the name, address, telephone number and e-mail address, if any, of the person submitting the communication.

the name, address, telephone number and e-mail address, if any, of the person submitting the communication.

All communications that comply with the above procedural requirements will be relayed to the appropriate member of the board of directors. We will not forward any communications:

 

regarding individual grievances or other interests that are personal to the party submitting the communication and could not reasonably be construed to be of concern to our security holderssecurityholders or other constituencies generally;

 

that advocate our engaging in illegal activities;

 

that, under community standards, contain offensive, scurrilous or abusive content; or

 

that have no rational relevance to our business or operations.

Director Nomination Process

Minimum Qualifications of Directors

The nominating and corporate governance committee of the board of directors is responsible for facilitating director assessments, identifying skills and expertise that candidates should possess, and screening, selecting and recommending candidates for approval ofby the board of directors. The nominating and corporate governance committee may solicit recommendations for nominees from other members of the board and management. Our nominating and corporate governance committee may also retain professional search firms to identify candidates. The nominating and corporate governance committee seeks to identify as candidates for director persons with a reputation for and record of integrity and good business judgment. The nominating and corporate governance committee considers the nature of the expertise and experience required for the performance of the duties of a director of the Company, and such matters as the candidate’s relevant business and industry experience, professional background, age, current employment, community service and other board service. The nominating and corporate governance committee shall also consider the racial, ethnic and gender diversity of the board.

At a minimum, each director will be expected to:

 

understand the Company’s business and the industry in general;

 

have experience in positions with a high degree of responsibility and be leaders in the organizations in which they are affiliated;

 

be free from conflicts of interest that could interfere with a director’s duties to the Company;

 

regularly attend meetings of the board and of any committees on which the director serves;

 

review in a timely fashion and understand materials circulated to the board regarding the Company or the industry;

 

participate in meetings and decision-making processes in an objective and constructive manner; and

 

be reasonably available, upon request, to advise the Company’s officers and management.

22


In addition, the committee may consider the following criteria, among others the committee shall deem appropriate, in recommending candidates for election to the board of directors:

 

personal and professional integrity, ethics and values;

 

-16-


experience in corporate management, such as serving as an officer or former officer of a publicly held company;

 

experience in the Company’s industry;

 

experience as a board member of another publicly held company;

 

diversity of expertise and experience in substantive matters pertaining to the Company’s business relative to other board members;

 

practical and mature business judgment;

 

global experience; and

 

level of financial literacy.

Due consideration will be given to the board’s overall balance of diversity of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences.experiences (including, without limitation, gender, sexual orientation and identity, racial and ethnic diversity).

If the committee decides, on the basis of its preliminary review of a candidate, to proceed with further consideration of a candidate, the committee will assemble information concerning the background and qualifications of the candidate. The committee may solicit the views of the Company’s senior management and other members of the board of directors regarding the qualifications and suitability of candidates. A member or members of the committee will then interview the candidate. The committee may also elect to contact other sources as it deems appropriate to solicit additional information on the candidate. Based on all available information and relevant considerations, the committee will select a candidate who, in the view of the committee, is most suited for membership on the board.

Shareholder Nominations of Directors and Other Business

Our bylaws provide procedures by which a shareholder may nominate individuals for election to our board of directors at any meeting of shareholders or bring business before an annual meeting of shareholders. A shareholder desiring to nominate a director for election to our board of directors, or to bring any other proper business before an annual meeting of shareholders, should deliver a written notice to our Corporate Secretary at our principal executive offices at 1818701 Market Street, Suite 2000,300, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103,19106, no later than the 60thday nor earlier than the 90th day prior to the first anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting of shareholders. In the event that the date of the annual meeting of shareholders is more than 30 days before or more than 60 days after the anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting of shareholders, notice by the shareholder must be so received not earlier than the 90th day prior to the annual meeting of shareholders and not later than the later of the 60th day prior to the annual meeting of shareholders or the 15th day following the day on which public announcement of the date of the meeting is first made by the Company. In the event that a special meeting of shareholders is called at which directors are to be elected pursuant to the notice of that meeting, a shareholder desiring to nominate a director for election to our board of directors at that meeting should deliver a notice to our Corporate Secretary at our principal executive offices at 1818701 Market Street, Suite 2000,300, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103,19106, not later than the later of the 60th day prior to that meeting or the 15th day after the public announcement of the date of the meeting and of the nominees proposed by the board to be elected at such meeting nor earlier than the 90th day prior to that special meeting.

A shareholder’s notice shall set forth:

 

as to each person whom the shareholder proposes to nominate for election or reelection

as to each person whom the shareholder proposes to nominate for election or re-election as a director: (i) all information relating to such person that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for election of directors in an election contest or is otherwise required pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), (ii) a description of any arrangements or understandings among the shareholder and each such person and any other person with respect to such nomination, and (iii) the consent of each such person to being named in the proxy statement as a nominee and to serving as a director of the Company if so elected;

 

-17-23


election of directors in an election contest or is otherwise required pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), (ii) a description of any arrangements or understandings among the shareholder and each such person and any other person with respect to such nomination, and (iii) the consent of each such person to being named in the proxy statement as a nominee and to serving as a director of the Company if so elected;

as to any other business that the shareholder proposes to bring before an annual meeting of shareholders: (i) a brief description of the business desired to be brought before the meeting, (ii) the reasons for conducting such business at the meeting, and (iii) any material interest in such business of such shareholder and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the proposal is made; and

 

as to the shareholder giving the notice and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the nomination or proposal is mademade: (i) the name and address of such shareholder, as they appear on the Company’s books, and of such beneficial owner; (ii) the class and number of shares of the Company which are owned beneficially and of record by such shareholder and such beneficial owner; and (iii) a representation that such shareholder and beneficial owner intend to appear in person or by proxy at the meeting.

Candidates proposed by shareholders in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Company’s bylaws will be considered by the committee under criteria similar to the evaluation of other candidates set forth above in “Minimum Qualifications of Directors,” except that the committee may consider, as one of the factors in its evaluation of shareholder recommended nominees, the size and duration of the interest of the recommending shareholder or shareholder group in the equity of the Company. The committee may also consider the extent to which the recommending shareholder intends to continue holding its interest in the Company.

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

Our code of business conduct and ethics applies to all of our employees,crew, officers and directors, including those officers responsible for financial reporting. The code of business conduct and ethics is available on our website atwww.fivebelow.com. http://investor.fivebelow.com, under the “Governance” section. Disclosure regarding any amendments to the code, or any waivers of its requirements for an executive officer or director, will be included in a current report on Form 8-K within four business days following the date of the amendment or waiver, unless posting such information on our website will then satisfy the rules of The NASDAQNasdaq Stock Market LLC.

Corporate Governance Guidelines

Our board of directors has adopted corporate governance guidelines that serve as a flexible framework within which our board of directors and its committees operate. These guidelines cover a number of areas including the size and composition of the board, board membership criteria and director qualifications, director responsibilities, board agenda, roles of the Chairman of the board and the Chief Executive Officer, meetings of independent directors, committee responsibilities and assignments, board member access to management and independent advisors, director communications with third parties, director compensation, director orientation and continuing education, evaluation of senior management and management succession planning. A copy of our corporate governance guidelines is available on our website atwww.fivebelow.com.

http://investor.fivebelow.com, under the “Governance” section.

 

-18-24


Our Purpose and Environmental Social & Governance Initiatives

Five Below is a purpose driven organization strongly rooted in “The Five Below Way” and our five core values which guide every day.

Why We Exist

- Our Purpose -

What We Believe

- The Five Below Way -

How We Behave

- Our Five Core Values -

Five Below knows life is way better when you’re free to Let Go and Have Fun in an amazing experience filled with unlimited possibilities priced so low we make it easy to say YES! to the newest, coolest stuff!

We are an Adopted Family. One who actively participates and leans in to support each other and our business.

In this family, we value every individual for their uniqueness and potential. We know Five Below is strongest when our teams reflect the diversity of the communities we serve and our crew members can bring their whole authentic self to work, do what they do best, feel that they truly belong and grow every single day.

We live our purpose through five core values. These values guide all of our decisions and actions.

•  Wow Our Customers

•  Unleash Your Passion

•  Hold the Penny Hostage

•  Achieve the Impossible

•  Work Hard, Have Fun and Build a Career

In connection with our strong foundational purpose and values, management, at the direction and subject to the oversight of our board of directors and its nominating and corporate governance committee, is engaged in an ongoing effort to continually evaluate and improve in the areas of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) matters.

In the past year, the Company has taken a variety of additional steps forward as it continues on its ESG journey:

(1)

Environmental:

a.

Engagement of an Environmental Advisor: The Company is actively engaged with a third-party advisor to assist in the further development of its environmental initiatives.

b.

Greenhouse Gas and Energy Management: The Company conducted a scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas inventory in 2022, and is working with a third party to analyze the results.

c.

Commitment to Chemical of Concern Review and Disclosure: In December 2021 and January 2022, the Company engaged in a constructive dialogue with a number of investors led by Trinity Health regarding the desirability of public disclosure by the Company as to the “processes to assess and manage risks and/or hazards associated with chemicals in products.” As a result of that dialogue, the Company agreed, consistent with its continuing and evolving ESG program, to the following commitments:

i.

By the end of the Company’s 2023 fiscal year, the Company will adopt the SASB standard (or an appropriate equivalent) for the purposes of assessing and managing the risks and/or hazards associated with chemicals of high concern in its private label products. This will result in shareholder disclosure in the first proxy statement and/or ESG report issued after the close of the 2023 fiscal year.

ii.

As part of and subsequent to this assessment, the Company will consider the relative benefits and drawbacks, with respect to the Company’s private label products, of developing a policy focused on chemicals of high concern, the process of identifying and managing chemicals of high concern, and deployment of appropriate alternatives when available.

(2)

Social:

a.

Annual Crew Engagement Survey: The Company engages its crew in a variety of ways including: conducting an annual crew survey to directly engage with, and collect feedback, from crew;

25


maintaining an open-door policy for crew to report concerns, and providing an anonymous reporting hotline, available in multiple languages and managed by an independent company not affiliated with the Company, to allow crew to voice concerns freely.

The annual crew survey results help Company management understand the crew experience, evaluate performance, identify strengths, and pinpoint opportunities for improvement. Starting in fiscal 2020, the Company partnered with Gallup, Inc, a global analytics and advice firm, to monitor and improve the engagement of its workforce. The Company utilizes the survey results to identify strengths and weaknesses and create action plans to improve engagement and, ultimately, team performance.

In each of 2021 and 2022 a high percentage of the Company’s crew participated in the survey, and the results demonstrated that overall engagement levels exceed Gallup’s averages in retail, in the United States and worldwide. The results also reflected that the Company is a mission-driven company with crew response on the Company’s strength of purpose far exceeding Gallup’s measurement for world class.

b.

Crew Turnover: Retention of talented crew is an important focus for the Company. Company management, therefore, monitors crew turnover, particularly at the store management level and employ various strategies to strive to improve our turnover rate.

c.

Data Privacy & Security: The Company remains committed to protecting the data of our customers and crew. In addition to training and regular phishing tests for our corporate crew members, our board of directors maintains oversight of cybersecurity, and our audit committee reviews cybersecurity risks at all regular meetings.

(3)

Governance:

a.

Materiality Assessment: In fiscal 2022, the Company commenced its first ever materiality assessment survey to identify the ESG topics and performance indicators that are most relevant, and indicative of success based on our industry, footprint, and stakeholders’ preferences. The assessment includes surveying the Company’s top shareholders, Company directors, Company senior management, and Company crew, as well as reviewing key supplier policies and customer industry data. The nominating and corporate governance committee and senior management have reviewed the results of the materiality assessment and are in the process of determining next steps.

b.

Shareholder Engagement: In order to gather investor feedback on executive compensation as well as broader ESG strategy, the Company engaged with its major shareholders both during the proxy solicitation process prior to the 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, as well as in the Fall of 2021. In Fall 2021, Company management reached out to the Company’s top 25 shareholders representing approximately 64% of outstanding shares. Eleven shareholders representing approximately 38% of outstanding shares accepted the invitation for a discussion. Company management intends to continue this shareholder engagement on an annual basis.

c.

Board Diversity: Our board of directors is diverse in its expertise and experience, with members who have unique perspectives, backgrounds and experiences. Three of its members represent ethnic minorities and three of its members identify as female. The board of directors and its nominating and corporate governance committee will continue to consider diversity in a variety of forms as it evaluates board composition in the future.

d.

Board Oversight of ESG: The nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for reviewing press releases, disclosures and other announcements to be made by the Company regarding the Company’s strategies, policies, programs and practices relating to sustainability and corporate responsibility.

The Company’s progress on ESG initiatives to date is summarized on our website at https://investor.fivebelow.com/governance/ESG/default.aspx, under the “ESG” section.

26


AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT

The audit committee of the board of directors assists the board of directors in performing its oversight responsibilities for our financial reporting process and audit process as more fully described in the audit committee’s charter. Management has the primary responsibility for the financial statements and the reporting process. Our independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for performing an independent audit of our financial statements and internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the auditing standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) and to issue reports thereon.

In the performance of its oversight function, the audit committee reviewed and discussed our audited financial statements and reporting process for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2015,28, 2023, including internal controls over financial reporting, with management and with our independent registered public accounting firm. In addition, the audit committee discussed with our independent registered public accounting firm the matters required to be discussed by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Auditing Standard No. 16,1301, Communications with Audit Committees.Committees. The audit committee has also received and reviewed the written disclosures and the letter from our independent registered public accounting firm required by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding the accounting firm’s communications with the audit committee concerning independence and has discussed with our independent registered public accounting firm that firm’s independence and considered whether any non-audit services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm are compatible with maintaining its independence.

Based on the review and discussions with management and our independent registered public accounting firm described above, the audit committee recommended to the board of directors that the audited financial statements be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 201528, 2023 filed with the SEC.

Audit Committee

Dinesh S. Lathi, Chair

Catherine E. Buggeln

Michael F. Devine, III Chairman

Thomas M. RyanRichard L. Markee

Ronald L. SargentZuhairah S. Washington

The foregoing report of the audit committee does not constitute soliciting material and shall not be deemed filed, incorporated by reference into or a part of any other filing by the Company (including any future filings) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except to the extent the Company specifically incorporates such report by reference therein.

COMPENSATION COMMITTEE REPORT

We have reviewed and discussed the Compensation Discussion and Analysis with management. Based on our review and discussion with management, the compensation committee recommended to our board of directors that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this Proxy Statement.

Compensation Committee

Thomas M. Ryan, ChairmanMichael F. Devine, III, Chair

Kathleen S. Barclay

Thomas M. Ryan

Ronald L. Sargent

Zuhairah S. Washington

The foregoing report of the compensation committee does not constitute soliciting material and shall not be deemed filed, incorporated by reference into or a part of any other filing by the Company (including any future filings) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except to the extent the Company specifically incorporates such report by reference therein.

 

-19-27


EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Kenneth R. Bull. Mr. Bull, 52,60, our Chief Operating Officer since March 2023, has served as our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since 2012. He joined the Company as Senior Vice President, Finance in 2005 and has also served as our Secretary. Previously, Mr. Bull was the Finance Director and Treasurer for Urban Outfitters, Inc., a specialty lifestyle merchandising retailer, from 1999 to 2003, and the Vice President, Finance and Controller for Asian American Partners d/b/a Eagle’s Eye, a wholesaler and retailer of women’s and children’s better apparel from 1991 to 1999.

Eric M. Specter.Specter. Mr. Specter, 57,65, joined the Company as Chief Administrative Officer in July 2014. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Specter served as Executive Vice President and Chief Integration Officer of Ascena Retail Group, Inc. (“Ascena”), a specialty clothing, shoes and accessories retailer, from 2012 to 2014. Previously, Mr. Specter served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Charming Shoppes, Inc., a specialty apparel retailer, from 1997 until it was acquired by Ascena in 2012.

Michael F. Romanko.Romanko. Mr. Romanko, 49,57, has served as our Chief Merchandising Officer since March 2019, having joined the Company as Executive Vice President of Merchandising in January of 2015. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Romanko served as Chief Design Officer of Patriarch Partners, LLC, a private equity firm, since 2013.from 2013 to 2015. Previously, Mr. Romanko was a Partner at Qbbs Global LLC, a retail strategy consulting firm, from 2009 to 2013.

BiographiesJudith L. Werthauser. Ms. Werthauser, 56, served as our Chief Experience Officer from February 2019 until her resignation effective February 3, 2023. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Werthauser served as Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer of Domino’s Pizza, Inc., a global pizza company, from 2016 to 2019. Previously, Ms. Werthauser was Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Target Corp., a general merchandise retailer, from 2012 to 2016, and occupied senior human resources management positions at Target Corp. from 2008 to 2012. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of BJ’s Wholesale Club.

George S. Hill. Mr. Hill, 57, has served as our Chief Retail Officer since April 2022, having joined the Company as Executive Vice President of Operations in May 2017. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Hill served as Senior Vice President, Retail Operations for Messrs. Vellios andDick’s Sporting Goods, a sporting goods retailer, from 2014 to 2017. Previously, Mr. Hill was a Senior Vice President at Office Depot, an office supply retailer, from 2004 to 2014.

A biography for Mr. Anderson areis included under the heading “Board of Directors.”

Our executive officers are appointed by our board of directors and serve until their successors have been duly appointed and qualified or their earlier resignation or removal.

 

-20-28


COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

Introduction

We are committed to providing a compensation program for our executive officers that is aligned with the strategic direction of our business, motivates our executive officers to achieve our Company goals, and rewards them for creating value for our shareholders. This compensation discussionCompensation Discussion and analysisAnalysis (“CD&A”) provides an overview of our executive compensation program together with a description of the material factors underlying the decisions that resulted inand how the compensation provided with respect to fiscal 2014 to our principal executive officer, our principal financial officer, and our three other most highly compensated executive officers in 2014. These individuals are(collectively referred to collectively as the Named Executive Officers.Officers or “NEOs”) was determined in fiscal 2022.

The following table identifies the Named Executive Officers for fiscal 2022, as well as the positions held by such individualseach during fiscal 2014:the year, are:

 

Name

  

Position

Thomas G. Vellios

Chief Executive Officer and Founder

Kenneth R. Bull

Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer

Joel D. Anderson

  President and Chief OperatingExecutive Officer

Kenneth R. Bull*

Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Eric M. Specter

  Chief Administrative Officer

Michael F. Romanko

  Executive Vice President,Chief Merchandising Officer

Judith L. Werthauser**

Chief Experience Officer

*

Mr. Bull also became Chief Operating Officer, effective March 13, 2023.

**

Ms. Werthauser served as Chief Experience Officer from February 2019 until her resignation effective February 3, 2023.

This CD&A focuses on the Company’s fiscal 2022 compensation programs, actions and outcomes relative to the Company’s fiscal 2022 performance. Those outcomes considered the short-term financial and operating achievements against plan objectives, and stock price performance on an absolute and relative basis through the end of fiscal 2022. As described further here, the Company’s executive compensation programs strongly align realized compensation outcomes with the Company’s absolute and relative stock price performance.

Executive Summary

OverviewFiscal 2022 Performance Highlights

Our fiscal 2022 performance versus fiscal 2021 performance is highlighted in the below table:

Metric

  Fiscal 2022   Fiscal 2021   Increase/(Decrease)
(FY22 vs. FY21)
 

Net Sales

  $3.1 billion   $2.8 billion   ~$300 million 

Operating Income

  $345.0 million   $379.9 million   ($34.9 million) 

Net Income

  $261.5 million   $278.8 million   ($17.3 million) 

Earnings Per Share

  $4.69   $4.95   ($0.26) 

Total Stores

   1,340    1,190    150 

Fiscal 2022 Compensation Highlights

Our compensation philosophyprogram for our Named Executive Officersthe NEOs is driven by the need to recruit, develop, motivate, and retain top talent both in the short- and long-term and also align the interests of Named Executive OfficersNEOs and shareholders. We striveKey actions taken in fiscal 2022 include:

Base Salaries: In consideration of market compensation levels and their ongoing contributions to our success, we made the following base salary adjustments for fiscal 2022: Chief Executive Officer: $1,250,000 (from $1,000,000), Chief Financial Officer and Chief Merchandising Officer: $675,000 (from $643,750), and Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Experience Officer: $605,000 (from $576,800).

29


Annual Incentive Bonuses:

Fiscal 2022 Annual Incentive Bonus Payout. The Company did not achieve the threshold level of performance under the fiscal 2022 annual incentive bonus program (which was established in advance by the committee in early fiscal 2022). This resulted in no payout to accomplish this by providing a portionour NEOs.

Long-term Equity Incentive Grants:

In March 2022 the compensation committee granted equity awards to each NEO consisting of time-vesting restricted stock units (“RSUs”) with a 25% weighting and performance-based restricted stock units (“PRSUs”) with a 75% weighting.

The RSUs vest 50% on the second anniversary of overall pay in the form of performance-based compensation, primarily through our annualgrant date and long-term incentive programs. Our executive pay program provides significant emphasis25% on variable or “at risk” compensation, each of which is linked tothe third and fourth anniversaries of the grant date, generally contingent on continued employment with the Company.

The PRSUs vest after a three-year performance period with 50% based on the achievement of cumulative operating income goals and 50% based on relative total shareholder return (“TSR”) goals, generally contingent on continued employment with the Company.

2022 Equity Incentive Plan: The Five Below, Inc. 2022 Equity Incentive Plan was approved at our 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “2022 Plan”). The 2022 plan is an omnibus equity incentive plan which allows for the grant of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units and other stock-based awards.

30


Key Governance Practices

We follow a number of key drivers of shareholder value creation. The compensation committee reviews the Company’s executive compensation program on an ongoing basis, includinggovernance practices that support our compensation philosophy and objectives.align with long-term Company success while helping to mitigate compensation risks. The chart below reflects those key governance practices, as in effect during fiscal 2022.

What We Do

✓    We provide a significant portion of pay opportunities in variable or “at-risk” compensation linked to drivers of shareholder value creation

✓    The compensation committee reviews our executive compensation program, including compensation philosophy and objectives, on an ongoing basis

✓    The compensation committee annually reviews and approves targets for our incentive compensation plans

✓    Incentive plan payouts have threshold, target, and maximum levels to mitigate the potential for windfall gains or excessive risk-taking

✓    75% of the annual long-term equity incentive grant to each Named Executive Officer has performance-based vesting criteria

✓    The compensation committee regularly reviews risks related to our executive compensation programs and arrangements

✓    We provide severance benefits to our Named Executive Officers only on specific termination events

✓    The compensation committee has retained an independent advisor for support with executive and director compensation

✓    We have a clawback policy in place, and restrictions on hedging and pledging

✓    We have stock ownership guidelines in place for our executives and non-employee directors

What We Don’t Do

×    No compensation is guaranteed under our performance-based incentive programs

×    We will not reprice stock options without shareholder approval

×    We do not provide tax gross-ups related to the impact of excise tax under Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code

×    We do not provide a defined benefit pension plan for our crew

31


Elements of Our Executive Compensation and Benefits Programs

We provideIn fiscal 2022, our compensation to our Named Executive Officers through a combinationconsisted of the following:elements described below.

 

Base salary;

Annual cash incentives;

Long-term equity incentives; and

Retirement (401(k) Plan), Employee Stock Purchase Plan, health and welfare benefits, and limited perquisites.

Element of Pay

Purpose

Alignment with Principles & Objectives

Base Salary

Recognize and reward for the scope of a Named Executive Officer’s role and their individual performance

•     Provides a minimum, fixed level of cash compensation to reflect the level of accountability of talented executives who can continue to improve the Company’s overall performance

•     Value provided is aligned with executives’ experience, industry knowledge, duties and scope of responsibility as well as the competitive market for talent

Annual Incentive BonusReward for success in achieving annual objectives

•     Value paid out is variable dependent on the Company’s performance through the fiscal year

•     Motivates executives to achieve specific annual performance goals and objectives

PRSUsReward for the achievement of long-term performance and shareholder value creation

•     Value realized is variable based on Company performance, typically over a multi-year period

•     Motivates executives to achieve specific long-term objectives driving our ongoing growth

•     Aligns the executives’ interests with long-term shareholder interests to ensure a strong continued focus on increasing overall shareholder value

RSUsRetain key executives and reward for shareholder value creation

•     Value is typically delivered over a four year period

•     Aligns the executives’ interests with long-term shareholder interests to ensure a strong continued focus on increasing overall shareholder value

Retirement (401(k) Plan), Deferred Compensation Plan, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, health and welfare benefits, and limited perquisitesEnhances total compensation to provide a package that is competitive with market practices

•     Provides competitive benefits that support the health, wellness and long-term financial security of our full-time crew

 

-21-32


Pay Mix

The portion of executive compensation devoted to each of the elements of pay we provide is driven by our principles and objectivescompensation philosophy as well as each Named Executive Officer’sNEO’s role and strategic value to the organization as further described in the table below.organization.

Element of Pay

Designed to Reward

Alignment with Principles + Objectives

Base Salary

•      Experience, knowledge in industry, duties and scope of responsibility.

•    Provides a minimum, fixed level of cash compensation to attract and retain talented executives who can continue to improve the Company’s overall performance.

Annual Incentives

•      Success in achieving annual objectives.

•    Motivates executives to achieve specific performance goals and objectives.

Long-Term Incentives

•      Attainment of objectives over time, shareholder value creation and success in long-term growth and development.

•    Motivates executives to achieve long-term objectives.

•    Aligns the executives’ interests with long-term shareholder interests in order to increase overall shareholder value.

•    Potentially largest pay component which provides opportunity for significant compensation enabling Company to attract and retain talented executives.

Fiscal 2014 Highlights

New Hires. Messrs. Anderson, Specter and Romanko joined the Five Below team in executive roles.

Annual Incentive Compensation. The Company’s adjusted operating income (determined prior to giving effect to any bonuses potentially payable under the Incentive Bonus Plan (defined below)) was $80.264 million, so each Named Executive Officer (other than Mr. Romanko who was not eligible for a fiscal 2014 bonus) received an incentive bonus under the Incentive Bonus Plan for fiscal 2014 equal to 30% of such Named Executive Officer’s applicable target bonus opportunity. See “—Annual Incentive Compensation.”

Long-term Equity Incentive Compensation.

TheWe put a significant portion of each executive’s compensation committee introduced performance-based restricted stock units (“PRSUs”) as a component of“at risk,” with particular focus on long-term equity awards to the Named Executive Officers to incorporate multi-year metrics into our executive compensation program and to furtherincentives that align the interests of our executives with those of shareholders. The below table summarizes the percentage of pay for each element of compensation for each of our CEO and the other NEOs (on average) for fiscal 2022. As shown below, approximately 84% of the Chief Executive Officer’s target annual compensation is “at risk,” with over half of that amount in long-term performance-based awards.

LOGO

Purpose and Philosophy

We strive to provide compensation opportunities to our Named Executive Officers with shareholders.

Mr. Vellios received PRSUs that vest in certain percentages at the end of each of fiscal years 2015, 2016, and 2017, subjectaccording to the achievement of certain performance targets as determined by the compensation committee.

Messrs. Anderson and Bull were each granted stock option awards that vest 50% two years after the vesting commencement date with the remaining 50% vesting in 25% increments on each of the third and fourth anniversaries of the vesting commencement date, subject to such individual’s continued employment with the Company. In addition, Messrs. Anderson and Bull were each awarded PRSUs, which will vest as of the last day of the three-year performance period ending at

-22-


the end of fiscal 2016 contingent on the Company’s achievement of specified levels of cumulative adjusted operating income for fiscal years 2014, 2015 and 2016, and are subject to his continued service during such performance period.

In connection with the commencement of his employment, Mr. Anderson was also awarded (i) time-based restricted stock units, which vest in three equal installments culminating on January 1, 2016 and (ii) a combination of time-based restricted stock units and PRSUs. Mr. Anderson’s time-based restricted stock unit award vests in two equal installments on December 1, 2017 and 2018 and his PRSU award vests in two equal installments on February 3, 2018 and February 2, 2019 based on the attainment of an earnings growth performance goal for the Company’s 2017 and 2018 fiscal years. Mr. Anderson’s equity grants are subject, in each case, to his continued employment through the applicable vesting date.

In connection with such individual’s commencement of service with the Company, Messrs. Specter and Romanko were each granted stock option awards and time-based restricted stock unit awards that vest 50% two years after the vesting commencement date with the remaining 50% vesting in 25% increments on each of the third and fourth anniversaries of the vesting commencement date, subject to such individual’s continued employment with the Company.

See “—Long-term Equity Incentive Compensation.”

Post-2014 Changes

Changes to Management

Effective February 1, 2015, the following changes occurred with respect to our executive officers:

David Schlessinger resigned as the Executive Chairman of the Company and was appointed Chairman Emeritus of the board;

Thomas G. Vellios resigned as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company and was appointed our Executive Chairman; and

Joel D. Anderson, our President, was also appointed our Chief Executive Officer.

Changes to Annual Incentive Plan

On March 10, 2015, the board of directors and the compensation committee jointly approved the performance targets and the potential bonus payouts for the Named Executive Officers for fiscal 2015 under the Incentive Bonus Plan. For fiscal 2015, the compensation committee determined that in addition to adjusted operating income, the annual cash bonus opportunity for each of the Named Executive Officers would be based in part on certain net sales targets and the compensation committee set certain individual goals for Messrs. Specter and Romanko.

See “—Post-Fiscal 2014 Items” below for more details regarding the changes to our compensation program after fiscal 2014.

Purpose and Philosophy

We follow several principles in the development and administration of the above elements of our executive compensation program. In establishing executive compensation, we believe that:principles:

 

our executive compensation programs are aligned with and support the strategic direction of our business;

 

we design compensation levels to reflect the level of accountability and future potential of each executive and the achievement of outstanding individual results;results and Company performance;

 

-23-


our compensation programs are designed to link pay with overall companyCompany performance and reward executives for behaviors which drive shareholder value creation;

 

as an executive’sa Named Executive Officer’s level of responsibility increases, the proportion of compensation “at risk” may increase; however, executivesuch compensation programs should not encourage excessive or unnecessary risks; and

 

the design and administration of our compensation programs willare intended to reflect bestmarket practices to be financially efficient, affordable and legally compliant.

TheWe regularly review the competitiveness of compensation provided to our executive compensation program is not targeted at a specific market level for any individual element of compensation or for the program in its entirety. However, weNamed Executive Officers, and generally set target compensation opportunities to beat levels that are competitive with other retail companiespeers.

Compensation decisions are made by the compensation committee after careful consideration of similar size, complexity and business model. While providing market competitive levels of compensation is a core consideration, our decision-making also incorporatesas well as our annual performance and the impact of the employee’seach executive’s performance on our business results. In instances where Company and individual performance significantly exceed the agreed-upon objectives,As our compensation program is designed with a significant amount of pay “at risk,” we would expect to payprovide below-market compensation if our performance is below our objectives, and provide above-market compensation.compensation if we significantly exceed our objectives.

33


Peer Group

The peer group for market compensation analysis we used in fiscal 2022 was developed by the compensation committee with the support of Meridian, its independent advisor in 2022.

The group used for fiscal 2022 purposes was comprised of the following similarly-situated companies within the retail industry:

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.

Burlington Stores

Carter’s

Columbia Sportswear

Deckers Outdoor

DSW

Floor & Décor

Lululemon Athletica

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet

RH

Sleep Number

Ulta Beauty, Inc.

Under Armour, Inc.

Urban Outfitters

Williams-Sonoma

Role of the Compensation Committee

As described in more detail under “Board of Directors—Committees of the Board of Directors—Compensation Committee,” the compensation committee operates under a written charter, which sets forth the rolesMses. Barclay and responsibilities of the compensation committee regarding executive compensation.

Mr.Washington and Messrs. Devine (Chair), Ryan and Ms. BarclaySargent are members of the compensation committee, bothall of whom are independent as defined under the corporate governance rules of The NASDAQNasdaq Stock Market LLC and satisfied the independence standards for the compensation committee established by the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and The NASDAQNasdaq Stock Market LLC. During the past fiscal year, Mr. Crawford, whose term expired at the 2014 annual meeting of shareholders, and Mr. Collins, who resigned in March 2015 also served as members of the compensation committee. Each of Messrs. Crawford and Collins was independent as defined under the corporate governance rules of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC and satisfied the independence standards for the compensation committee established by the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC.

Role of Executives in Establishing Compensation

Our board of directors has delegated administration of our executive compensation program to the compensation committee.committee, which operates under a written charter laying out its roles and responsibilities regarding executive compensation. Our compensation committee reviews the performance of our Chief Executive Officer and makes determinations and decisions on his compensation, program, including the components, mix and targeted amounts thereof. In addition, ourvalue. The compensation committee has responsibility for administering and approving annually all elements of compensation for the Company’s Named Executive Officers.

Role of Executives in Establishing Compensation

Our Chief Executive Officer provides recommendations regarding the design of our compensation programs to the compensation committee for all Named Executive Officers, excluding himself. UponAs part of the compensation evaluation process, the Chief Executive Officer presents to the compensation committee an individual assessment of each Named Executive Officer’s performance, excluding himself, over the prior year, as well as the recommended compensation action for each such Named Executive Officer. The compensation committee considers the input of the Chief Executive Officer, but the final determination as to the performance of and the compensation or compensation opportunities offered to the Named Executive Officers is determined in the compensation committee’s approval,sole discretion. As stated above, the execution ofcompensation committee does not receive input from the elements ofChief Executive Officer with respect to his own compensation and performance; accordingly, the executive compensation programs is the responsibilitycommittee makes its own independent assessment of the Chief Financial Officer and/or his delegees.Executive Officer.

Consideration of Most Recent Shareholder Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation

At our 2013 annual meeting, we conducted our first “Say-On-Pay” shareholder advisory vote, as required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. The compensation committee appreciates that approximately 92% of the shares voting approved of our executive compensation and believes, therefore, that our shareholders are supportive of our current executive compensation practices. Nevertheless, the compensation committee continues to refine our executive compensation practices in its ongoing effort to ensure that those practices support our overall corporate goals and values. Consultant

In line with the recommendation by the Company’s shareholders at our 2013 annual meeting of shareholders, the board of directors decided that it will include an advisory shareholder vote on executive

-24-


compensation in its proxy materials triennially until the next shareholder vote on the frequency of an advisory vote on executive compensation. Thus, the next “Say-On-Pay” shareholder advisory vote to be conducted by the Company will occur at our 2016 annual meeting of shareholders.

Compensation Consultant and Peer Group Comparison

During fiscal 2013, in anticipation of setting compensation strategies for fiscal 2014,2022, the compensation committee engaged Hay Group,Meridian as its independent compensation consultant to conduct a market reviewreviews and to provide assistance, guidance, and considerationsconsideration with respect to, among other things, the following topics: (i) board of directors compensation pay levels and structure for fiscal 2014, (ii) ourthings:

Our compensation philosophy to be utilized on a going-forward basis (as described above) and (iii) short-termpeer group;

34


Targeted compensation amounts for Named Executive Officers;

Ongoing annual and long-term incentive compensation strategy and design for fiscal 2014.design;

In connection with this engagement, Hay Group worked with the

Board of directors’ compensation committeelevels and the Company’s management to develop the following peer group:structure; and

 

Overall market trends, regulatory developments, and other executive and governance related pay matters

•    Bebe Stores

•    Gordmans Stores

•    Body Central

•    Hibbett Sports

•    Buckle

•    lululemon athletica

•    Build-A-Bear Workshop

•    Rue21

•    Casual Male Retail Grp

•    Tilly’s

•    Citi Trends

•    Tumi Holdings

•    Francescas Holdings

•    Vitamin Shoppe

•    Fresh Market

•    Zumiez

Our peer group consists of 16 similarly-situated companies within the retail industry. The compensation committee, (inin conjunction with Hay Group) performed a comprehensive competitive assessment of theits compensation advisor, regularly reviews various elements of our compensation program for both employeescrew and directors vis-à-vis the above peer group. Additionally, Hay Group anddirectors. In fiscal 2022, Meridian supported the compensation committee conducted a thorough review of peer and broader retail industry annual incentive and long-term incentive programs and practices and developed guiding principles for our fiscal 2014 annual incentive and long-term incentive design. Specifically, the compensation committee utilized the newly created peer group and information from Hay Group in connection with the following actions: (i) revising the Compensation Policy for Non-Employee Directors effective fiscal 2014, (ii) designing Stock Ownership Guidelines for non-employee directors, (iii) revising our long-term incentive practices to add long-term PRSUs,mandates listed above and (iv) designing competitive market-basedalso provided other support, including an update on executive compensation packages for the Named Executive Officers (Mr. Anderson, Mr. Spectergovernance and Mr. Romanko) hired in fiscal 2014.

The compensation committee continued to engage the services of Hay Group as a compensation consultant during fiscal 2014 in connection with the ongoing administration and integration of the various compensation design changes initially discussed during fiscal 2013 and approved by the compensation committee in March of 2014. In addition, the compensation committee utilized the services of Hay Group in fiscal 2014 in connection with designing the PRSU award for Mr. Vellios.regulatory trends.

The compensation committee has examined the independence of Hay GroupMeridian under factors contained in the NASDAQNasdaq listing standards and determined that Hay GroupMeridian is independent and concluded that itstheir work for us does not raise any conflict of interest. The compensation committee has also considered the independence of Hay Group. Because of policies and procedures Hay Groupthat Meridian and the compensation committee have in place, the compensation committee is confident that the advice it receives from executive compensation consultants at Hay GroupMeridian is objective and not influenced by Hay Group’sMeridian’s or its affiliates’ relationships with the Company or its officers. These policies

Shareholder Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation

At our 2022 annual meeting, we conducted a “Say-on-Pay” shareholder advisory vote, as required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and procedures include the following:

the consultants receive no incentive or other compensation based on the fees charged to the Company for other services provided by Hay Group or anyConsumer Protection Act of its affiliates;

-25-


the consultants are not responsible for selling other Hay Group or affiliate services to the Company;

Hay Group’s professional standards prohibit the individual consultant from considering any other relationships Hay Group or its affiliates may have with the Company in rendering his or her advice and recommendations;

the consultants have direct access to the compensation committee without management intervention;

the compensation committee has the sole authority to retain and terminate Hay Group; and

the compensation committee evaluates the quality and objectivity2010. Having received approximately 99% of the services provided by Hay Group periodically and determines whether to continue to retain Hay Group.

Relative Sizeshares voting in approval of Major Compensation Elements

In settingthis advisory vote on our executive compensation, the compensation committee considers the aggregatebelieves that our shareholders are supportive of our executive compensation payablepractices. Nevertheless, we continue to a Named Executive Officer, the form ofreview and refine our executive compensation practices in an ongoing effort to ensure that those practices support our overall corporate goals and values and are aligned with our compensation and the mix of the elements of the Named Executive Officer’s compensation. The compensation committee seeks to achieve the appropriate balance between immediate cash rewards and long-term financial incentives for the achievement of bothphilosophy. Our next Say-on-Pay vote, which we conduct on an annual and long-term financial and non-financial objectives.basis, will be conducted at this Annual Meeting.

The compensation committee may decide, as appropriate, to modify the mix of base salary, annual cash incentives, long-term equity incentives and retirement/perquisites to best fit a Named Executive Officer’s specific circumstances. For example, the compensation committee may make the decision to award more cash and not award an equity grant. This provides more flexibility to the compensation committee to reward executive officers appropriately as they near retirement, when they may only be able to partially fulfill the vesting required for equity grants. The compensation committee may also increase the amount of equity grants to an executive officer if the total number of career equity grants does not adequately reflect the executive’s current position with us or if an above-market compensation package is necessary to attract and retain critical talent. The compensation committee will generally determine to set or adjust the types of compensatory incentive either upon hire of a Named Executive Officer or prior to the commencement of a fiscal year, as appropriate. However, the compensation committee reserves the right to adjust compensatory items during the course of a fiscal year to respond to changes in our performance or as may be needed to retain key personnel. Additionally, the compensation committee may decide to make equity grants, as appropriate, throughout the fiscal year, which may increase the executive’s allocation of compensation toward long-term equity incentives in any given fiscal year.

Base Salary

We provide Named Executive Officers with base salaries to compensate them for services rendered during the year. The compensation committee believes that competitive salaries must be paid in order to attract and retain high-quality executives. TheWe annually review our executives’ base salaries and make adjustments when appropriate based on individual and Company performance as well as market competitiveness.

In early fiscal 2022, following a review of the market competitiveness of compensation provided to our Named Executive Officers and in consideration of their respective considerable contributions to our ongoing growth and the achievement of our strategic objectives, the compensation committee annually reviews baseapproved salary increases for executive officers and makes adjustments only when necessary based on the executive’s and the Company’s performance. The following table reflects the base salariesour Named Executive Officers.

Base salary rates for each of our Named Executive Officers for fiscal years 20132021 and 2014, as applicable:2022 were:

 

Named Executive Officer

  2013 Base Salary   2014 Base Salary 

Thomas G. Vellios

  $700,000    $700,000  

Joel D. Anderson

   —      $700,000  

Kenneth R. Bull

  $338,000    $400,000  

Eric M. Specter

   —      $475,000  

Michael F. Romanko

   —      $450,000  

-26-


Named Executive Officer

  2021 Base Salary
(Rate)
  2022 Base Salary
(Rate)

Joel D. Anderson

  $1,000,000  $1,250,000

Kenneth R. Bull

  $643,750  $675,000

Michael F. Romanko

  $643,750  $675,000

Eric M. Specter

  $576,800  $605,000

Judy Werthauser

  $576,800  $605,000

See “Executive Compensation—Summary Compensation Table” for more information about the actual amounts earned by each Named Executive Officer for fiscals 2013 and 2014, as applicable.in each fiscal year.

35


Annual Incentive CompensationBonus

We provideNamed Executive Officers earn cash incentive awards to Named Executive Officersunder the Five Below, Inc. 2020 Performance Bonus Plan (“Incentive Bonus Plan”) for achieving (subject to minimum or threshold achievement) and exceeding our annual financial goals, which are generally based on the attainment of certain pre-established performance criteria under the Five Below, Inc. 2012 Performance Bonus Plan, or the Incentive Bonus Plan.goals. The Incentive Bonus Plan is administered by the compensation committee, which makes its award determinationscommittee. Payouts under the plan are calculated based upon the attainment of theon our performance criteria previously determined andrelative to targets that are approved by the compensation committee for that fiscaleach year. Awards under

In March 2022, the compensation committee approved the Incentive Bonus Plan are designed to motivatedesign and compensate executives for the achievement of our annual business objectives.

The target bonus opportunities for each of our Named Executive Officers for fiscal 2014 were as follows:

Named Executive Officer

Target Bonus (% of Base Salary)

Thomas G. Vellios

50

Kenneth R. Bull

50

Joel D. Anderson

100

Eric M. Specter

50

Michael F. Romanko*

—  

*As further described below under the heading of “Michael F. Romanko Employment Letter Agreement,” Mr. Romanko’s employment with the Company commenced on January 19, 2015 and he was not eligible for any bonus under the Incentive Bonus Plan for fiscal 2014.

In June 2014, our compensation committee approved the performance targets and the potential bonus payouts for the Named Executive Officers for fiscal 2014 under the Incentive Bonus Plan.2022. The compensation committee determinedadopted a weighted scorecard approach in 2022 to provide a balanced and motivating annual incentive plan that a main business objective was to continue to increase our adjusted operating income. For fiscal 2014, the compensation committee determined that adjusted operating income would be calculated by adjusting our operating income to exclude the impact of stock-based compensation expense that relates to the cancellation of stock options granted to the Company’s founders in fiscal year 2010 to purchase 2,020,620 shares of common stock, in exchange for the grant of an equal number of restricted shares that vest through March 2014 and on-going expense recognition of the awards over the remaining vesting period. Accordingly, for fiscal 2014, our compensation committee determined that our executive officers were to receive no payments under the Incentive Bonus Plan, unless our adjusted operating income (determined prior to giving effect to any bonuses potentially payable under the Incentive Bonus Plan) exceeded a threshold goal of $80.099 million. The applicable performance targets and potential payouts under the Incentive Bonus Plan for fiscal 2014 are as follows:is also aligned with market best practices.

 

Level

Adjusted Operating Income
(pre-incentive)
Bonus Payout (as a % of the Named
Executive Officer’s  applicable Target
Bonus % of Base Salary)

Threshold

$80.099 million30

Target 1

$82.948 million60

Target 2

$85.330 million100

Target 3

$87.738 million110

Maximum

$90.170 million120

The incentive bonus for fiscal 2014 would not be interpolated if the Company’s adjusted operating income is between any of the relevant goal thresholds.

The compensation committee focused its annual bonus program on adjusted operating income because it believed that there is a strong relationship between growth in operating income and growth in shareholder value.

-27-


The compensation committee separately determined that exceeding our target goal of $85.330 million, set forth as Target 2, above, in adjusted operating income was an aggressive, although attainable target. The compensation committee set a maximum performance target of $90.170 million in adjusted operating income, which the compensation committee determined was indicative of truly outstanding performance. In addition, the compensation committee determined that 25% of Messrs. Bull’s and Specter’s bonuses would be based on the achievement of certain personal goals.

On March 10, 2015, the compensation committee and the board reviewed our Incentive Bonus Plan results for fiscal 2014 performance and determined that the Company’s adjusted operating income (determined prior to giving effect to any bonuses potentially payable under the Incentive Bonus Plan) was $80.264 million. Because the threshold adjusted operating income performance target of $80.099 million was achieved, eachEach Named Executive Officer (other than Mr. Romanko who was not eligible forhas a targeted bonus opportunity defined as a percent of base salary. For fiscal 2014 bonus) received an incentive bonus under2022, the Incentive Bonus Plan for fiscal 2014 equal to 30% of such Named Executive Officer’s applicable target bonus opportunity. The actual amount of each incentive bonus payable to Named Executive Officers is shown in the “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation” column of the Summary Compensation Table below.

Long-term Equity Incentive Compensation

Equity awards are a vital piece of our total compensation package and are designed to support our long-term strategy, provide a mechanism to attract and retain talent and to create a commonality of interest between management and our shareholders. Awards under the Five Below, Inc. Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan, or the Equity Incentive Plan, are intended to compensate Named Executive Officers for sustained long-term performance that is aligned with shareholder interests and to encourage retention through vesting schedules. Long-term equity incentive awards may take a variety of forms, such as stock options, restricted stock grants and restricted stock unit grants. Levels, mix, and frequency of awards are determined by the compensation committee. Such awards are designed to reflect a recipient’s level of responsibility and performance.

While initial hire and promotion grants are targeted to be at competitive levels, actual award values will reflect our actual long-term performance (through stock price appreciation and achievement of long-term performance goals). Service-based restricted stock awards may also be granted as appropriate to recognize performance and provide ownership and/or retention focus. Long-term incentives have the capacity to be the largest component of executive compensation if our performance and stock price exceed our expectations.

Overview of Fiscal 2014 Long-term Equity Incentive Awards

For fiscal years prior to fiscal 2014, annual equity awards to our Named Executive Officers consisted solely of stock option awards with time-based vesting over a period of four years. Based on review of the long-term incentive programs of companies in our peer group and the recommendation of Hay Group, the annual equity grant program for Named Executive Officers was revised for fiscal 2014 such that 50% of the long-term incentive was provided in the form of stock options and 50% of such incentive was provided in the form PRSUs.

In fiscal 2014, the Committee introduced PRSUsopportunity as a componentpercentage of equity awards to the Named Executive Officers to incorporate multi-year metrics into our executive compensation programbase salary: for Mr. Anderson was 125%, for Messrs. Bull and to further align the interests of our Named Executive Officers with shareholders. Each PRSU represents the right to receive one share of our common stock, upon satisfaction of specified performance conditions. In each case, the performance condition is based on the Company’s cumulative adjusted operating incomeRomanko was 85%, and for fiscal years 2014, 2015Mr. Specter and 2016 (the “Performance Period”)Ms. Werthauser was 75%. Named Executive Officers are eligible to receive 50% to 150% of the target number of PRSUs awarded if at least the specified threshold level of adjusted operating income is achieved. The number of PRSUs earned will be interpolated proportionately to determine the number of shares deliverable for any attainment of the performance goal that is between the applicable threshold and the target levels or between the target and the maximum levels.

-28-


The compensation committee chose adjusted operating income as a measure because it believed that there is a strong relationship between growth in operating income and growth in shareholder value. For purposes of the PRSUs granted in fiscal 2014, the compensation committee determined that for the Performance Period operating income will be adjusted to exclude stock compensation expense related to restricted stock granted to David Schlessinger and Thomas Vellios prior to fiscal 2014. In addition, the compensation committee determined that if certain events were to occur during the Performance Period that result in expenses or income for the Company, operating income for purposes of the PRSUs granted in fiscal 2014 will be further adjusted for the purpose of determining whether the Company has achieved its performance targets. These adjustments include the following:

 

 (i)

The payout opportunity is based on pre-incentive adjusted operating income (defined below) and total Company sales (referred to as “net sales”) for all expensesNamed Executive Officers. “Adjusted operating income” means the Company’s operating income (determined prior to giving any effect to any bonuses potentially payable under the Incentive Bonus Plan) as reflected in the Company’s audited financial statements, adjusted to exclude the impact of: (a) all expense (net of reimbursements)reimbursement) incurred as part of a public offering of the Company’s securities, whether by the Company or by selling shareholders or both;

(ii) (b) expenses incurred related to acquisition transaction costs;

(iii) (c) income/expense incurred due to a change in accounting principles;

(iv) (d) external expenses incurred during the start-up period (covering all periods up to the first day that sales are generated) for any “newnew business venture”;venture; and

(v) (e) any other adjustments that may be approved by the compensation committee.

A new business venture is any business

Payouts for each metric can range from 0% to 200% of target, with payouts interpolated on a linear basis for actual performance that falls between threshold, target, above target and maximum performance goals.

For the portion of the bonus determined based on pre-incentive adjusted operating income, no amount may be earned if pre-incentive adjusted operating income does not meet the threshold level; and for the portion of the bonus determined based on net sales, no amount may be earned if net sales do not meet the threshold level. In addition, for the portion of the bonus determined based on net sales, payout is capped at target if pre-incentive adjusted operating income does not equal or exceed the threshold level.

In early fiscal 2022, the compensation committee set target goals that were challenging and considered the Company’s growth expectations and strategy. Additionally, the level of performance required to achieve maximum payout under the Incentive Bonus Plan was determined by the compensation committee to be reflective of truly outstanding performance. The table below summarizes performance levels for pre-incentive adjusted operating income and net sales under the Incentive Bonus Plan for fiscal 2022:

Metric

Threshold
(50% payout)
Target
(100% payout)
Above Target
(150% payout)
Maximum
(200% payout)
Actual
Achievement
Actual
Achievement
(% of target)

Pre-Incentive Adjusted Operating Income

$395.7 million$465.5 million$521.4 million$558.7 million$345.0 million0%

Net Sales

$3,175.5 million$3,350.1 million$3,486.7 million$3,582.8 million$3,076.3 million0%

36


The target bonus opportunities, weighting of performance metrics, and bonus achievement for each of our Named Executive Officers for fiscal 2022 were as follows:

   Fiscal 2022 Bonus Metric
Weightings (% of target)
 
Named Executive Officer  Fiscal 2022
Target Bonus
(% of base salary)
  Pre-Incentive
Adjusted
Operating
Income
  Net
Sales
  Fiscal 2022 Bonus Achievement
(% of Target)
 

Joel D. Anderson

   125  60  40  0

Kenneth R. Bull

     85  60  40  0

Michael F. Romanko

     85  60  40  0

Eric M. Specter

     75  60  40  0

Judy Werthauser

     75  60  40  0

Long-term Equity Incentive Compensation

Equity awards are a vital piece of our total compensation package. They are intended to compensate Named Executive Officers for sustained long-term performance, align the interests of our Named Executive Officers and shareholders and encourage retention through multi-year vesting schedules. Long-term equity incentive awards may take a variety of forms, including the PRSU and RSU grants made in fiscal 2022. Levels, mix, and frequency of awards are determined by the compensation committee, and are designed to reflect each recipient’s level of responsibility and performance.

Overview of Fiscal 2022 Long-term Equity Incentive Awards

Our long-term equity incentive program for fiscal 2022 was designed to deliver 25% of long-term equity incentive value in RSUs and 75% in PRSUs for our Named Executive Officers. This apportionment was determined as we believe this balance of equity grants will motivate and reward for long-term, sustainable performance that is notaligned with shareholder interests. The value of our annual equity grants is targeted to be at competitive levels, though actual value realized varies based on our long-term performance.

For fiscal 2022, the stated values of the annual equity grants approved by our compensation committee were: $5,250,000 for Mr. Anderson, $2,000,000 for Mr. Romanko, $1,000,000 for Mr. Bull, and $800,000 for each of Mr. Specter and Ms. Werthauser. These stated values were converted into a number of RSUs and PRSUs by dividing the applicable dollar amount by the closing price of our common stock on the date of grant. Note, however, that the value of these equity grants reported in the Summary Compensation Table and the Grant of Plan-Based Awards Table below is required by SEC rules to be reported based on the grant date fair value of each award, as measured for accounting purposes. For technical reasons, the accounting value for the PRSUs differ from the values noted in this paragraph.

Restricted Stock Units

The retentive element of RSUs that vest solely based on continued service provides a complement to the PRSUs, which, in addition to containing a service-based vesting component, vest based on the achievement of specified performance criteria. Each RSU represents the right to receive one share of our stock, contingent on continued service to the Company. See “Grant of Plan-Based Awards Table” for more information on the awards granted in fiscal year 2022.

RSUs generally vest over a four-year period, with 50% vesting on the second anniversary of grant and 25% vesting on each of the third and fourth anniversaries. In addition, RSUs granted in fiscal 2020 or after generally become fully vested upon a Named Executive Officer’s termination due to his or her death or disability.

37


2022 Performance-based Restricted Stock Units

The PRSUs granted in March of 2022 (the “2022 PRSUs”) were designed to reward performance over three performance periods. Key design details include:

PRSUs represent the right to receive shares of our common stock based on the attainment of applicable performance criteria and, generally, are further subject to continued service through the performance period.

Performance for 50% of the award is evaluated based on the Company’s brick and mortar business operated underthree-year cumulative operating income, subject to adjustments, if any, as determined by the Five Below name and located incompensation committee (the “AOI Units”).

Performance for the United States. A new business venture could include an on-line business, any business located outsideremaining 50% of the United States,award is evaluated based on the Company’s relative total shareholder return performance against the Company’s compensation per group (split equally between four performance periods, each commencing on January 30, 2022 and ending on the last day of each fiscal quarter of fiscal 2024, respectively), subject to adjustments, if any, business operating under a name other than Five Below.as determined by the compensation committee (the “TSR Units”).

Vesting of PRSUs generally subject to continued service through the end of fiscal 2024, with accelerated vesting in certain cases, as noted below.

The compensation committee chose these metrics because it believes that there is a strong relationship between growth in operating income, growth in total shareholder return and managementgrowth in shareholder value.

Between 0%-200% of the PRSUs can be earned at the end of the three-year performance period.

The 2022 PRSUs also included the following accelerated vesting terms. Upon a Named Executive Officer’s termination of employment due to death or disability, AOI Units will vest at the target level, any previously earned TSR Units for closed performance periods will vest, and TSR Units for uncompleted TSR periods will vest at the target level. Upon a change in control, AOI Units will vest at the target level, any previously earned TSR Units for closed performance periods will vest, and TSR Units for uncompleted TSR periods will vest at the greater of the target level or the actual performance level through the change in control, as determined in the compensation committee’s discretion.

We believe that achievement of the target levelslevel of performance approved by the compensation committee for cumulative adjusted operating income will bethe PRSUs for each metric granted in fiscal 2022 is challenging, but achievable with significant effort and skill, and that the maximum levelslevel of performance would be indicative of truly outstanding performance.

Fiscal Year 2014 AwardsThe AOI Units are eligible to be earned based the Company’s three-year cumulative operating income over the performance period, as follows, with interpolation for performance between any two levels:

Awards

Payout % of Target

Maximum

200%

Above Target

150%

Target

100%

Threshold

  50%

38


One fourth of the TSR Units awarded under the 2022 PRSUs are eligible to Mr. Bullbe earned based on relative TSR performance during each performance period as follows, with interpolation for performance between any two levels:

On June 24, 2014,

   TSR Performance
Percentile
  % of Target
TSR Units Earned
 
Maximum   85th   200
Outperformance   70th   150
Target   55th   100
Underperformance   35th   50
Threshold   25th   25

2021 Performance-based Restricted Stock Units

As discussed in detail in our proxy statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, the compensation committee approved grantsawarded PRSUs to the NEOs in March of non-qualified stock options and PRSUs2021 (the “2021 PRSUs”). Performance for Mr. Bull. Mr. Bull was awarded 9,392 stock options with 50% of the option grant vesting two years afteraward is evaluated based on the vesting commencement date andCompany’s three-year cumulative operating income from fiscal 2021 through fiscal 2023. Performance for the remaining 50% vesting in 25% increments on each of the thirdaward is evaluated based on the Company’s relative total shareholder return performance against the Company’s compensation per group (split equally between three performance periods, each commencing on January 31, 2021 and fourth anniversaries of the vesting commencement date, subject to Mr. Bull’s continued employment with the Company. In addition, Mr. Bull was awarded a PRSU award with a target number of PRSUs of 4,520 which will vest as ofending on the last day of fiscal 2021, fiscal 2022, and fiscal 2023).

For each performance period, the Performance Period contingent on the Company’s achievement of specified levels of cumulative adjusted operating income for fiscal years 2014, 2015 and 2016, and are subject to his continued service during the Performance Period.

The following reflects theapplicable number of 2021 PRSUs Mr. Bullcould be earned based on relative TSR performance as follows, with interpolation for performance between any two levels:

   TSR Performance
Percentile
  % of Target
TSR Units Earned
 
Maximum   90th   200
Outperformance   75th   150
Target   55th   100
Underperformance   35th   50
Threshold   25th   25

The compensation committee has determined the following performance outcomes for each closed performance period of the 2021 PRSUs:

Period of 2021 PRSUs

  Determination by
Committee
   Percentile TSR
Performance
  % of Target
PRSUs Earned
 

Period #1

   March 2022    29.94th   37.35

Period #2

   March 2023    53.39th   96.48

Promptly following the end of our 2023 fiscal year, the performance outcome for Period #3 for the TSR Units and the performance outcome for the AOI Units will be entitleddetermined, and shares will be issued to upon achievement of threshold, target and maximum levels of cumulative adjusted operating income over the respective Performance Period:

   Threshold   Target   Maximum 

Number of PRSUs that vest upon attainment of Performance Goal

   2,260     4,520     6,780  

Mr. Bull’s option award and PRSU awardNEOs with respect to earned PRSUs. Generally, no shares will become fully vested uponbe delivered to an NEO unless the occurrence of a change in control ofNEO remains employed by the Company (with PRSUs vesting at target level). 25% of Mr. Bull’s option award will become vested if Mr. Bull’s employment is terminated due to his death or disability following the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date but prior to the second anniversary of the vesting commencement date. Additionally, in the event of Mr. Bull’s termination due to his death or disability, a pro-rata portion of his PRSUs will become vested, based on his service during the Performance Period and subject to satisfaction of applicable performance goals.

-29-


Awards to Mr. Anderson

On July 21, 2014, Mr. Anderson was granted non-qualified stock options and PRSUs in connection with his commencement of employment with us. Mr. Anderson was awarded 36,269 stock options with 50% of the option grant vesting two years after the vesting commencement date and the remaining 50% vesting in 25% increments on each of the third and fourth anniversaries of the vesting commencement date, subject to Mr. Anderson’s continued employment with the Company. In addition, Mr. Anderson was awarded a PRSU award with a target number of PRSUs of 17,441 which will vest as of the last day of the Performance Period contingent on the Company’s achievement of specified levels of cumulative adjusted operating income for fiscal years 2014, 2015 and 2016, and are subject to his continued service during the Performance Period.

The following reflects the number of PRSUs Mr. Anderson will be entitled to upon achievement of threshold, target and maximum levels of cumulative adjusted operating income over the respective Performance Period:

   Threshold   Target   Maximum 

Number of PRSUs that vest upon attainment of Performance Goal

   8,721     17,441     26,162  

Mr. Anderson’s option award and PRSU award will become fully vested upon the occurrence of a change in control of the Company (with PRSUs vesting at target level). 25% of Mr. Anderson’s option award will become vested if Mr. Anderson’s employment is terminated due to his death or disability following the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date but prior to the second anniversary of the vesting commencement date. Additionally, in the event of Mr. Anderson’s termination due to his death or disability, a pro-rata portion of his PRSUs will become vested, based on his service during the Performance Period and subject to satisfaction of applicable performance goals.

On July 21, 2014, Mr. Anderson was awarded 66,860 time-based restricted stock units (the “Replacement Grant”) to compensate him for compensation that he would be forfeiting upon terminating service with his previous employer. The time-based award vests as follows: (i) one-third of such units vested on January 1, 2015, (ii) an additional one-third of such units will vest on the earlier of (a) the later of (1) October 1, 2015 or (2) 30 days after Mr. Anderson relocates to the Philadelphia, PA metropolitan area, and (b) January 1, 2016, and (iii) an additional one-third of such units will vest on January 1, 2016. Each vesting event is subject to the Mr. Anderson’s continued employment through the applicable vesting date. However, in the event that Mr. Anderson’s employment is terminated by us without cause or by Mr. Anderson for good reason on or prior to February 24, 2016, the time-vested restricted stock units will continue to vest on the otherwise applicable vesting dates as if Mr. Anderson remained employed through such dates. In the event of a change in control of the Company, the Replacement Grant will become fully vested.

In addition, on July 21, 2014, Mr. Anderson was awarded 29,069 time-based restricted stock units and 29,069 PRSUs in order to incentivize Mr. Anderson to continue his employment after the other equity awards granted to him in connection with the commencement of his employment have vested, subject to the achievement of the necessary performance goals, as applicable. 50% of the time-based restricted stock units vest on December 1, 2017 and an additional 50% of such units vest on December 1, 2018, subject in each case to Mr. Anderson’s continued employment through the applicable vesting date. 50% of the PRSUs will vest on February 3, 2018 based on the attainment of an earnings growth performance goal2024.

2020 Performance-based Restricted Stock Units

As discussed in detail in our proxy statement for the Company’s 2017 fiscal year to be established by2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, the compensation committee no later than the first anniversary of the grant date and 50% of theawarded PRSUs will vest on February 2, 2019 based on the attainment of an earnings growth performance goal for the Company’s 2018 fiscal year to be established by the compensation committee no later than the first anniversary of the grant date, subject in each case to Mr. Anderson’s continued employment through the applicable vesting date. In the event of a change in control of the Company, both the time-based restricted stock units and the PRSUs become fully vested. Additionally, in the event of Mr. Anderson’s termination due to his death or disability, a pro-rata portion of the PRSUs will become vested, based on his service during the performance period and subject to satisfaction of applicable performance goals.

-30-


Awards to Mr. Specter

In connection with Mr. Specter’s commencement of employment on July 28, 2014, Mr. Specter was granted 80,000 stock options and 10,000 time-based restricted stock units. Each award to Mr. Specter vests 50% two years after the vesting commencement date with the remaining 50% vesting in 25% increments on each of the third and fourth anniversaries of the vesting commencement date, subject to Mr. Specter’s continued employment with the Company.

Each award will become fully vested upon the occurrence of a change in control of the Company and 25% of each award will become vested if Mr. Specter’s employment is terminated due to his death or disability following the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date but prior to the second anniversary of the vesting commencement date.

Awards to Mr. Romanko

In connection with Mr. Romanko’s commencement of employmentNEOs in September 2020 (the “2020 PRSUs”). The 2020 PRSUs have three performance periods, each commencing on January 19, 2015, Mr. Romanko was granted 24,908 stock optionsSeptember 15, 2020 and 11,771 time-based restricted stock units. Each award to Mr. Romanko vests 50% two years after the vesting commencement date with the remaining 50% vesting in 25% increments on each of the third and fourth anniversaries of the vesting commencement date, subject to Mr. Romanko’s continued employment with the Company.

Each award will become fully vested upon the occurrence of a change in control of the Company and 25% of each award will become vested if Mr. Romanko’s employment is terminated due to his death or disability following the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date but prior to the second anniversary of the vesting commencement date.

Award to Mr. Vellios

On December 19, 2014, the compensation committee approved an award of 309,039 PRSUs to Mr. Vellios.

The following reflects the number of PRSUs Mr. Vellios will be entitled to upon achievement of threshold and target levels of adjusted operating income for each of 2015, 2016 and 2017, payableending on the last day of the applicable fiscal year:

   Threshold   Target 

Number of 2015 PRSUs that vest upon attainment of 2015 Performance Goal

   38,630     77,260  

Number of 2016 PRSUs that vest upon attainment of 2016 Performance Goal

   51,506     103,013  

Number of 2017 PRSUs that vest upon attainment of 2017 Performance Goal

   64,383     128,766  

For each applicable vesting date, the compensation committee will interpolate proportionately to determine the PRSUs vested for any achieved level of adjusted operating income between the thresholdCompany’s 2020, 2021 and the target. At the end of each of the 2015, 2016 and 20172022 fiscal years, any units that do not vestrespectively. The 2020 PRSUs may be earned based uponon a relative TSR metric, which compares the Company’s achieved levelperformance to a group of adjusted operating income for that fiscal year are forfeited. The compensation committee and management believe that achievement of the threshold levels ofpeer companies during each performance for adjusted operating incomeperiod. Generally, no shares will be challenging, but achievable with significant effort and skill, and target levelsdelivered to an NEO in respect of performance would be indicative of truly outstanding performance.

Mr. Vellios’ PRSU award provides that inearned PRSUs unless the event of a change in control of the Company, Mr. Vellios will be entitled to accelerated vesting of the full award (except any portion thereof which had previously been forfeited). In addition, if Mr. Vellios ceases to beNEO remains employed by the Company through January 28, 2023.

39


The 2020 PRSUs are eligible to be earned for each performance period based on relative TSR performance as a resultfollows, with interpolation for performance between any two levels, as follows:

   TSR Performance
Percentile
  % of Target
PRSUs Earned
 
Maximum   90th   200
Outperformance   80th   150
Target   60th   100
Underperformance   40th     50
Threshold   25th     25

The compensation committee has determined the following performance outcomes for each performance period of his death or disability, the PRSU award will remain outstanding and Mr. Vellios will vest2020 PRSUs:

Period of 2020 PRSUs

  Determination by
Committee
   Percentile TSR
Performance
  % of Target
PRSUs Earned
 

Period #1

   March 2021    79.70th   148.21

Period #2

   March 2022    54.10th   85.24

Period #3

   January 2023    75.29th   138.23

This determination resulted in a prorated portionfinal payout of the units subject to achievement2020 PRSUs of the award targets.

123.89% of target.

-31-


Retirement, Health and Welfare Benefits and Other Perquisites

Our Named Executive Officers are entitled to participate in all of our employee benefit plans, including medical, dental, vision, group life and disability insurance, the Five Below, Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan, and the Five Below 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan. We providePlan, and our vacation and paid holidays to our Named Executive Officers.holiday plans. Generally, our Named Executive Officers participate in these plans and programs on the same or similar basis as are generally offered to our other senior employees.

Employment Agreements

salaried crew. We have entered into employment agreements with each of ourprovide limited perquisites to Named Executive Officers.

Deferred Compensation Plan

Our Named Executive Officers are eligible to participate in the Five Below, Inc. Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan (the “Deferred Compensation Plan”), which was adopted effective July 1, 2021. Participants in the Deferred Compensation Plan may elect to defer up to eighty-percent (80%) of their annual base salary and annual bonus into the plan. In addition, 100% of amounts refunded from the Five Below 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan as a result of certain tax limits will be automatically deferred into the Deferred Compensation Plan. Each participant’s deferred compensation account under the plan will be deemed invested in investment vehicles selected by the participant. These agreementsinvestment vehicles are summarizedgenerally the same mutual funds offered under our 401(k) plan. Plan distributions will be made in a lump sum or annual installments in accordance with the participant’s elections.

Severance Arrangements

The Company maintainsthe Five Below, Inc. Executive Severance Plan (the “Severance Plan”). Under the Severance Plan, Mr. Romanko (and Ms. Werthauser, prior to her departure from the company), as well as other senior executives of the Company, are eligible to receive 12 months of salary and reimbursements of COBRA expenses upon a termination of employment by the Company without “cause” or a resignation by such executive for “good reason,” as discussed more fully below in the section entitled “Executive Compensation—Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change of Control.” Messrs. Anderson and Specter are not eligible to receive benefits under the Severance Plan, but have severance entitlements built into their employment agreements. Mr. Bull has severance entitlements under both his employment agreement and the Severance Plan.

40


The benefits potentially payable under theseto each executive upon a termination pursuant to the Severance Plan and/or individual employment agreements are more fully described below in the section entitled “Executive Compensation—Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change of Control.”

TheAs a general matter, the compensation committee believes that severance and change in control arrangements, when properly tailored, are appropriate and necessary. Specifically, the compensation committee has concluded that such commitments are appropriatenecessary to retain the continued service of the Named Executive Officers and to recruit other potential executive candidates. Further, in the case of any potential change in control, the compensation committee has concluded that such commitments are necessary to enable our Named Executive Officers to evaluate objectively the benefits to shareholders of the proposed transaction, notwithstanding any potential effects on their own job security.

The compensation committee also believes that reasonable severance and change in control benefits should be (1) generally be:

established with reference to an executive’s position and current cash compensation opportunities, not with reference to his or her tenure, (2) tenure;

conditioned upon execution of a release of claims against the Company and its affiliates,affiliates; and (3) conditioned on

accompanied by the executive’s commitment not to compete with the Company for a reasonable period following any cessation of his or her employment.

No Named Executive Officer of the Company has a right to receive a tax gross-up related to the impact of the excise tax under Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code.

Joel D. Anderson Employment Letter AgreementRestrictions on Hedging and Pledging

We entered into an employment letter agreement with our PresidentThe Company considers it inappropriate for Named Executive Officers, and Chief Executive Officer, Joel D. Anderson, on June 8, 2014 (the “Anderson Agreement”). The Anderson Agreement provides for an annual base salary of $700,000, subject to review for increase commencingothers employed by or associated with the Company, to engage in certain transactions related to the Company’s 2016 fiscal year, an annual target performance bonussecurities which could result in their interests no longer being aligned with the same interests and objectives as other shareholders of 100%the Company. Therefore, the Company imposes certain restrictions on these individuals related to the hedging and pledging of Company securities, which are described more fully in the Compensation Risk Analysis section above.

Post-Fiscal 2022 Compensation Decisions

Promotion of Mr. Anderson’s base salary (with a maximum annual performance bonus of 120% of Mr. Anderson’s base salary), and the opportunityBull to receive equity compensation awards and to participate in the benefit plans offered by the Company. In addition, the Anderson Agreement provides for a relocation bonus of $250,000 paid upon Mr. Anderson’s relocation to the greater Philadelphia, PA metropolitan area and a temporary travel and housing monthly allowance of up to $7,500 for Mr. Anderson’s first year of employment.

Mr. Anderson is eligible to receive an annual equity grant subject to the same terms and conditions as equity grants made to our other senior executive officers.

If we were to terminate Mr. Anderson’s employment without “Cause” or if Mr. Anderson terminates his employment for “Good Reason,” in each case, on or prior to January 20, 2016, then, subject to his execution of a release of claims, he would be entitled to receive: (a) 24 months of base salary continuation paid in accordance with our normal payroll practices; (b) up to 24 months of payments equal to the applicable monthly COBRA premium; and (c) continued vesting of the Replacement Grant described above. If Mr. Anderson’s employment is

-32-


terminated by us without “Cause” or if Mr. Anderson terminates his employment for “Good Reason,” in each case, after January 20, 2016, the references to “24 months” in the preceding sentence will be replaced by references to “12 months” and Mr. Anderson would not be entitled to the continued vesting of the Replacement Grant.

The terms Cause and Good Reason are more fully described below under “—Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change of Control.”

Additionally, pursuant to the Anderson Agreement, Mr. Anderson is subject to non-competition and non-solicitation provisions during the term of his employment with us until (i) he no longer receives salary continuation payments (as set forth above), if the executive’s employment is terminated without Cause or the executive terminates his employment for Good Reason or (ii) 24 months after any other termination of employment.

Eric M. Specter Employment Letter Agreement

We entered into an employment letter agreement with our Chief AdministrativeOperating Officer Eric M. Specter, on May 21, 2014 (the “Specter Agreement”). The Specter Agreement provides for an annual base salary of $475,000, subject to an automatic increase to $500,000 commencing with the Company’s 2015 fiscal year and further subject to review for increase commencing with the Company’s 2016 fiscal year, an annual target performance bonus of 50% of Mr. Specter’s base salary (with a maximum annual performance bonus of 60% of Mr. Specter’s base salary), and the opportunity to receive equity compensation awards and to participate in the benefit plans offered by the Company. In addition, the Specter Agreement provides for a signing bonus of $190,000 payable in two equal installments on August 4, 2014 and August 4, 2015 subject to his continued employment.

Commencing with the Company’s 2015 fiscal year, Mr. Specter will be eligible to receive an annual equity grant with a targeted grant value of $400,000, with such annual grant subject to the same terms and conditions as equity grants made to our other senior executive officers.

If we were to terminate Mr. Specter’s employment without “Cause” or if Mr. Specter terminates his employment for “Good Reason,” then, subject to his execution of a release of claims, he would be entitled to receive: (a) 12 months of base salary continuation paid in accordance with our normal payroll practices; and (b) up to 12 months of payments equal to the applicable monthly COBRA premium.

The terms Cause and Good Reason are more fully described below under “—Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change of Control.”

Additionally, pursuant to the Specter Agreement, Mr. Specter is subject to non-competition and non-solicitation provisions during the term of his employment with us until 24 months after any termination of employment.

Michael F. Romanko Employment Offer Letter

We entered into an employment offer letter with our Executive Vice President, Merchandising, Michael F. Romanko, on December 10, 2014 (the “Romanko Agreement”). The Romanko Agreement provides for an annual base salary of $450,000, an annual target performance bonus opportunity of 50% of Mr. Romanko’s base salary commencing in the Company’s 2015 fiscal year, and the opportunity to receive equity compensation awards and to participate in the benefit plans offered by the Company. Mr. Romanko is also entitled to payment of certain relocation related expenses pursuant to the Romanko Agreement, provided that such relocation expenses must be repaid to the Company in the event that Mr. Romanko’s employment is terminated by us for “cause” (as defined in the Romanko Agreement) or by Mr. Romanko voluntarily within the first 12 months of employment.

-33-


Commencing with the Company’s 2016 fiscal year, Mr. Romanko will be eligible to receive an annual equity grant with a targeted grant value of $300,000, with such annual grant subject to the same terms and conditions as equity grants made to our other senior executive officers.

Additionally, pursuant to the Romanko Agreement, Mr. Romanko is subject to non-competition and non-solicitation provisions during the term of his employment with us until 12 months after any termination of employment.

Post-Fiscal 2014 Items

Changes to Management

Effective February 1, 2015, the following changes occurred with respect to our executive officers:

David Schlessinger resigned as the Executive Chairman of the Company and was appointed Chairman Emeritus of the board;

Thomas G. Vellios resigned as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company and was appointed our Executive Chairman; and

Joel D. Anderson, our President, was also appointed our Chief Executive Officer.

In connection with his appointment as Executive Chairman, Mr. Vellios entered into an amendment to his existing employment letter agreement (the “Vellios Amendment”). Pursuant to the Vellios Amendment and effective February 1, 2015, Mr. Vellios’ base salary was reduced to $600,000 (subject to review for increase commencing with our 2016 fiscal year) and his target and maximum annual bonus opportunities were set at 50% of his annual base salary, subject to satisfaction of pre-established Company performance goals applicable to our senior executive officers under our annual management cash bonus plan.

The Anderson Agreement was also amended in connection with Mr. Anderson’s appointment as Chief Executive Officer (the “Anderson Amendment”). The Anderson Amendment clarified that, effective February 1, 2015, Mr. Anderson would report to the board of directors and perform duties required as President and Chief Executive Officer, and eliminated certain severance rights.

Changes to Annual Incentive Plan

On March 10, 2015, the board of directors and the compensation committee jointly8, 2023, our Board approved the promotion of Mr. Bull to the role of Chief Operating Officer, effective March 13, 2023. Mr. Bull will continue to serve as our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, as well as our principal accounting officer, until such time as his successor or successors in those roles is or are hired by the Company.

Named Executive Officer Base Salaries and Target Bonus Opportunity

After the end of fiscal 2022, upon considering our fiscal 2022 performance, targets and the potential bonus payoutsfindings from compensation benchmarking conducted for theour Named Executive Officers, for fiscal 2015 under the Incentive Bonus Plan. For fiscal 2015, the compensation committee determined that the Named Executive Officers will be entitled to receive an annual cash bonus under the Incentive Bonus Plan depending on our performance against certain metrics described below.

For Messrs. Vellios, Anderson and Bull, the annual cash bonus will be comprised of two components:

75% based on our achievement of adjusted operating income targets; and

25% based on our achievement of net sales targets.

For Messrs. Specter and Romanko, the annual cash bonus will be comprised of three components:

75% based on our achievement of adjusted operating income targets;

12.5% based on our achievement of net sales targets; and

12.5% based on the achievement of individual goals related to inventory.

-34-


The compensation committee has determined that if certain events were to occur that result in expenses or income for the Company, operating income will be adjusted for the purpose of determining whether the Company has achieved its performance targets. These adjustments include the following: (i) all expenses (net of reimbursements) incurred as part of a public offering of the Company’s securities, whether by the Company or by selling shareholders or both; (ii) expenses incurred related to acquisition transaction costs; (iii) income/expense incurred due to a change in accounting principles; (iv) external expenses incurred during the start-up period (covering all periods up to the first day that sales are generated) for any new business venture; and (v) any other adjustments that may be approved by the compensation committee. A new business venture is any business that is not the Company’s brick and mortar business operated under the Five Below name and located in the United States. A new business venture could include an on-line business, any business located outside of the United States, and any business operating under a name other than Five Below.

With respect to each of the metrics described above, except the individual goals, a cash bonus can be earned at three different achievement levels. The cash bonus percentages forperformance of each Named Executive Officer, with the exception of Messrs. Anderson and Vellios, are 20% ofcompensation committee approved the following changes to the base salary rates of our Named Executive Officers, except for threshold performance, 50% of base salary for target performance and 60% of base salary for maximum performance. Mr. Anderson’s bonus percentages are 40% of base salary for threshold performance, 100% of base salary for target performance and 120% of base salary for maximum performance. Mr. Vellios’ bonus opportunity is 20% of base salary for threshold performance and 50% of base salary for target and maximum performance.our Chief Experience Officer (who departed the Company in early fiscal 2023), to ensure ongoing alignment with our compensation philosophy. The compensation committee and management believe that achievementdetermined not to make any changes to the base salary rate for our Chief Executive Officer for fiscal 2023.

Named Executive Officer

  2022 Base Salary
(Rate)
   2023 Base Salary
(Rate)
 

Kenneth R. Bull

  $675,000   $750,000 

Eric M. Specter

  $605,000   $635,000 

Michael F. Romanko

  $675,000   $725,000 

41


In addition, after the end of fiscal 2022 the compensation committee approved the following adjustments in the target levels of performance for adjusted operating income and net sales will be challenging, but achievable with significant effort and skill, and maximum levels of performance would be indicative of truly outstanding performance. The individual goalsbonus opportunities for Messrs. SpecterAnderson, Bull and Romanko, have only one achievement level, which is factored into each individual’s overall annual cash bonus.

The cash bonuses will be interpolated proportionatelywith no adjustments to determine the amount of bonuses deliverable for any attainment of a performance goal that is between the applicable threshold and the target levels or between the target and the maximum levels.

bonus opportunities for Mr. Specter:

 

Named Executive Officer

  2022 Target
Bonus
(%)
   2023 Target
Bonus
(%)
 

Joel D. Anderson

   125    150 

Kenneth R. Bull

   85    100 

Eric M. Specter

   75    75 

Michael F. Romanko

   85    100 

-35-

42


EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Summary Compensation Table

The following table shows the annual compensation paid to or earned by the Named Executive Officers for fiscal years 2014, 20132022, 2021 and 2012:2020:

 

Name & Principal Position

 Year  Salary
($)
  Bonus
($)
  Non-Equity
Incentive Plans
Compensation
  Stock
Awards
($)(5)
  Option
Awards
($)(5)
  All Other
Compensation
($)(6)
  Total ($) 

Thomas G. Vellios

  2014    700,000   —     105,085    12,000,000    —      586    12,805,671  

Chief Executive Officer and Founder

  2013    700,000   —      —      —      —      564    700,564  
  2012    727,410   —      280,000    8,696,129    —      586    9,704,125  

Joel D. Anderson

  2014    328,173   —      210,000    4,900,000    600,000    48,750    6,086,923  

President and Chief Operating Officer(1)

        

Kenneth R. Bull

  2014    378,650   —      52,500    175,000    175,000    3,586    784,736  

Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and

Treasurer

  2013    336,402   —      —      —      297,676    2,718    636,796  
  2012    327,410   —      130,000    —      100,340    2,464    560,214  

Eric M. Specter

  2014    246,875   95,000(4)  62,344    352,700    1,358,400    —      2,115,319  

Chief Administrative Officer(2)

        

Michael F. Romanko

  2014    17,308   —      —      400,000    400,000    —      817,308  

EVP of Merchandising(3)

        

Name & Principal Position

  Year   Salary
($)
   Bonus
($)
   Stock
Awards
($) (1)
   Non-Equity
Incentive
Plan
Compensation
($) (2)
   All Other
Compensation
($) (3)
   Total ($) 

Joel D. Anderson

   2022    1,211,538      5,812,090      2,923    7,026,551 

President and Chief Executive Officer

   2021    1,000,000      5,279,695    2,750,000    18,227    9,047,922 
   2020    901,923    937,500    14,939,068      8,077    16,786,568 

Kenneth R. Bull

   2022    654,615      1,107,013      27,101    1,788,729 

Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

   2021    641,082      950,264    1,203,814    22,602    2,817,762 
   2020    572,332    351,563    2,578,836      16,691    3,519,422 

Eric M. Specter

   2022    586,700      885,665      27,062    1,499,427 

Chief Administrative Officer

   2021    574,409      633,256    951,720    24,671    2,184,056 
   2020    525,759    315,000    2,480,886      19,993    3,341,638 

Michael F. Romanko

   2022    670,192      2,160,542      21,896    2,852,630 

Chief Merchandising Officer

   2021    641,082      950,264    1,203,814      2,795,160 
   2020    574,639    351,563    3,068,315        3,994,517 

Judy Werthauser †

   2022    600,662      885,665      24,026    1,510,353 

Former Chief Experience Officer

   2021    574,409      633,256    951,720    15,085    2,174,470 
   2020    518,846    315,000    1,866,312        2,700,158 

 

(1)On July 21, 2014, Mr. Anderson commenced his employment with the Company.
(2)On July 28, 2014, Mr. Specter commenced his employment with the Company.
(3)On January 19, 2015, Mr. Romanko commenced his employment with the Company.
(4)Represents signing bonus payable to Mr. Specter pursuant to the terms of his employment letter agreement.
(5)

The amounts in these columns,this column, computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718,current Financial Accounting Standard Board guidance for accounting for and reporting of stock-based compensation, represent the aggregate grant-date fair value of each time-based restricted stock unit and optionperformance-based restricted stock unit award. Further detail surrounding the awards, the method of valuation and the assumptions made are set forth in the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” section of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K under “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates.” The actual valueFor this purpose, the operating income portion of any options, if any, that may be realized will dependthe PRSUs are valued based on the excessprobable outcome of the stock price over the exercise price on the date the option is exercised or the share price on the dateperformance condition, as determined for purposes of sale. Therefore, there is no assurance the value realized will be at or near the value estimated by the Black-Scholes option pricing model or atapplicable accounting rules as of the grant date. Amounts shown with respectThe amounts in the “Stock Awards” column that are attributable to unearned PRSU awardsthe operating income portion of the PRSUs based on this valuation methodology are: $1,968,650 for Mr. Anderson, $562,389 for Mr. Romanko, $374,974 for Mr. Bull and $299,921 for each of Mr. Anderson represent the expectedSpecter and Ms. Werthauser. The value of the award,maximum number of shares that could be earned under the operating income portion of the PRSU awards, based on target level of performance and the fair market valueclosing price of our stockshares on the grant date, of grant, whichis $3,937,301 for Mr. Anderson, is $600,000 and$1,124,777 for Mr. Bull is $175,000. The value of such currently unearned PRSU awards at the maximum level of issuanceRomanko, $749,948 for Mr. Bull and Mr. Anderson would be: $899,973$599,842 for Mr. Anderson and $262,454 for Mr. Bull. The applicable performance period for PRSUs extends through the end of fiscal year 2016 in respect of the awards to Mr. Bull and Mr. Anderson, fiscal year 2017 in respecteach of Mr. Vellios’ PRSU award,Specter and fiscal year 2018 in respect of Mr. Anderson’s additional PRSU (which vests based on to-be-established earnings growth measures) and, accordingly, none of these PRSUs have yet been earned.Ms. Werthauser.

-36-


(6)(2)

No amounts were earned under the Incentive Bonus Plan with respect to fiscal 2022 performance.

(3)

The following table itemizes the components ofamounts in the “All Other Compensation” column:column for fiscal 2022 for each of Messrs. Anderson, Bull, Specter and Romanko and Ms. Werthauser relate solely to Company matching contributions under the Five Below 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan.

Ms. Werthauser served as Chief Experience Officer from February 2019 until her resignation effective February 3, 2023.

 

     Reimbursement  of
Legal
Fees and Related Income
Taxes ($)
  401(k) Company
Matching
Contribution ($)
  Imputed
Income from
Long Term
Disability
Coverage ($)
  Severance
($)
  Relocation
($)
  Total ($) 

Thomas G. Vellios

  2014    —      —      586    —      —      586  
  2013    —      —      564    —      —      564  
  2012    —      —      586    —      —      586  

Joel D. Anderson

  2014    —      —      —      —      48,750    48,750  

Kenneth R. Bull

  2014    —      3,000    586    —      —      3,586  
  2013    —      2,154    564    —      —      2,718  
  2012    —      1,878    586    —      —      2,464  

Eric M. Specter

  2014    —      —      —      —      —      —    

Michael F. Romanko

  2014    —      —      —      —      —      —    

43


Grants of Plan-Based Awards

The following table shows all grants of awards in fiscal 20142022 to each of the executive officers named in the Summary Compensation Table:

 

 Grant
Date
  Estimated Future Payouts
Under Non-Equity Incentive
Plan Awards (1)
 Estimated Future Payouts
Under Equity Incentive
Plan Awards (2)
  All
Other
Stock
Awards:
Number
of
Shares
of Stock
or Units
(#)
 Grant
Date
Fair
Value
of
Stock
Awards
($)(3)
 

Name

 Grant
Date
  

 

 

 

Estimated Future Payouts Under
Non-Equity Incentive Plan Awards(1)

 Estimated Future
Payouts Under Equity
Incentive Plan Awards(2)
 All
Other
Stock
Awards:
Number
of
Shares
of Stock
or Units
(#)
  All
Other
Option
Awards:
Number

of
Securities
Underlying
Options
(#)(7)
  Exercise
or

Base
Price

of
Option
Awards

($/Sh)
  Grant
Date
Fair
Value
of
Stock
and
Option
Awards

($)(8)
  Threshold
($)
 Target
($)
 Maximum
($)
 Threshold
(#)
 Target
(#)
 Maximum
(#)
 
 Threshold
($)
 Target 1
($)
 Target 2
($)
 Target 3
($)
 Maximum
($)
 Threshold
(#)
 Target
(#)
 Maximum
(#)
 

Thomas G. Vellios

   105,085    210,169    350,282    385,310    420,338         
  12/19/2014         154,519    309,039    —         12,000,000  

Joel D. Anderson

   210,000    420,000    700,000    770,000    840,000          3/7/2022  781,250  1,562,500  3,125,000      
  7/21/2014            66,860(4)     2,300,000  
  7/21/2014          29,069(3)       1,000,000  
  7/21/2014            29,069(5)     1,000,000   3/7/2022        9,041  1,312,500 
  7/21/2014         8,720    17,441    26,162       600,000   3/7/2022 (4)     6,781  13,561  27,122   1,968,650 
  7/21/2014             36,269    34.40    600,000   3/7/2022 (5)     3,391  13,562  27,124   2,530,940 

Kenneth R. Bull

   60,000    120,000    200,000    220,000    240,000          3/7/2022  286,875  573,750  1,147,500      
  6/24/2014         2,260    4,520    6,780       175,000   3/7/2022        1,722  250,000 
  6/24/2014             9,392    38.71    175,000   3/7/2022 (4)     1,292  2,583  5,166   374,974 
 3/7/2022 (5)     646  2,583  5,166   482,039 

Eric M. Specter

   71,250    142,500    237,500    261,250    285,000          3/7/2022  226,875  453,750  907,500      
 3/7/2022        1,377  200,000 
  7/28/2014            10,000(6)     352,700   3/7/2022 (4)     1,033  2,066  4,132   299,921 
  7/28/2014             80,000    35.27    1,358,400   3/7/2022 (5)     517  2,067  4,134   385,744 

Michael F. Romanko

  1/19/2015            11,771(6)     400,000   3/7/2022  286,875  573,750  1,147,500      
  1/19/2015             24,908    33.98    400,000   3/7/2022        6,027  875,000 
 3/7/2022 (4)     1,937  3,874  7,748   562,389 
 3/7/2022 (5)     969  3,875  7,750   723,153 

Judy Werthauser

 3/7/2022  226,875  453,750  907,500      
 3/7/2022        1,377  200,000 
 3/7/2022 (4)     1,033  2,066  4,132   299,921 
 3/7/2022 (5)     517  2,067  4,134   385,744 

 

(1)

Amounts represent cash bonus opportunities provided to Named Executive Officers under the Incentive Bonus Plan in 2014.fiscal 2022. The criteria used to determine the amount of the annual bonus payable to each executive, as well as the amount earned for fiscal 2022 for each executive, is described above under “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Annual Incentive Compensation.Bonus. These bonuses were ultimately earned at the threshold level, which is 30% of such individual’s target bonus opportunity. As discussed under the heading “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Annual Incentive Compensation” above, Mr. Romanko was not eligible for a bonus under our annual incentive plan in fiscal 2014.

(2)

Amounts represent potential threshold, targetgrants of the 2022 PRSUs under the Five Below, Inc. Amended and maximum PRSUs available to the Named Executive OfficersRestated Equity Incentive Plan, which generally vest based upon the Company’s performance over a three year period, except as otherwise indicated.period. The term “Threshold” means the lowest non-zero amount that could be delivered as restricted stock unitsPRSUs based on the Company’s performance over the applicable performance period. The threshold is not a minimum amount payable or deliverable. If specified performance objectives are not met for the applicable performance period, no restricted stock unit isPRSUs would be payable or deliverable for that performance period. For more details, see “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Long-term Equity Incentive Compensation” above.

-37-


(3)Amount represents potential target PRSUs available

Amounts with respect to Mr. Anderson that will vest 50%stock awards represent the fair value of the awards on eachthe date of February 3, 2018grant, as computed in accordance with applicable accounting standards and February 2, 2019 subjectthe assumptions contained in Note 1 and Note 8 to the Company’s performance in fiscal 2017 and 2018 against an earnings growth measure to be established by the compensation committee not later than the first anniversary dateconsolidated financial statements included as a part of the grant. If specified performance objectives are not met for2022 Form 10-K, filed with the applicable performance period, no restricted stock units are payable or deliverable for that performance period.SEC on March 16, 2023.

(4)The vesting

Represents the portion of Mr. Anderson’s “Replacement Grant” is fully described above under the heading “Awards to Mr. Anderson.”2022 PRSUs that may be earned based on the achievement of the cumulative operating income metric.

(5)50%

Represents the portion of the time-based restricted2022 PRSUs that may be earned based on the achievement of the relative total shareholder return metric.

44


Outstanding Equity Awards at Year End Fiscal 2022

The following table details information concerning unexercised stock options, stock awards that have not vested, and stock awards that have not been earned for each of the executive officers named in the Summary Compensation Table as of January 28, 2023:

  Option Awards  Stock Awards 

Name

 Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options (#)
(Exercisable)
  Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options (#)
(Unexercisable)
  Option
Grant
Date
  Option
Exercise
Price
($)
  Option
Expiration
Date
  Number
of
Shares
or
Units
of
Stock
That
Have
Not
Vested
(#)
  Award
Grant
Date
  Market
Value
of
Shares
or Units
of Stock
That
Have
Not
Vested
($) (1)
  Equity
Incentive
Plan
Awards:
Number
of
Unearned
Shares,
Units or
Other
Rights
that Have
Not
Vested
(#)
  Equity
Incentive
Plan
Awards:
Market
or Payout
Value of
Unearned
Shares,
Units or
Other
Rights
That
Have Not
Vested
($) (1)
 

Joel D. Anderson

  —     —     —     —     —     2,064 (2)   3/9/2020   402,955   —     —   
  —     —     —     —     —     3,421 (2)   3/9/2021   667,882   —     —   
  —     —     —     —     —     4,578 (3)   3/9/2021   893,739   3,421 (4)   667,882 
  —     —     —     —     —      3/9/2021    15,392 (5)   3,004,980 
  —     —     —     —     —     9,041 (2)   3/7/2022   1,765,074   —     —   
  —     —     —     —     —      3/7/2022    27,124 (6)   5,295,419 
  —     —     —     —     —      3/7/2022    13,561 (7)   2,647,514 

Kenneth R. Bull

  —     —     —     —     —     516 (2)   3/9/2020   100,739   —     —   
  —     —     —     —     —     616 (2)   3/9/2021   120,262   —     —   
  —     —     —     —     —     824 (3)   3/9/2021   160,859   616(4)   120,262 
  —     —     —     —     —      3/9/2021    2,771 (5)   540,982 
  —     —     —     —     —     1,722 (2)   3/7/2022   336,186   —     —   
  —     —     —     —     —      3/7/2022    5,166 (6)   1,008,558 
  —     —     —     —     —      3/7/2022    2,583 (7)   504,279 

Eric M. Specter

  5,494   —     3/10/2015   28.58   3/10/2025   —     —     —     —     —   
  4,632   —     3/11/2016   39.30   3/11/2026   —     —     —     —     —   
  —     —     —     —     —     482 (2)   3/9/2020   94,101   —     —   
  —     —     —     —     —     410 (2)   3/9/2021   80,044   —     —   
  —     —     —     —     —     549 (3)   3/9/2021   107,210   410 (4)   80,044 
  —     —     —     —     —      3/9/2021    1,847 (5)   360,590 
  —     —     —     —     —     1,377 (2)   3/7/2022   268,832   —     —   
  —     —     —     —     —      3/7/2022    4,134 (6)   807,081 
  —     —     —     —     —      3/7/2022    2,066 (7)   403,345 
  —     —     —     —     —        

Michael F. Romanko

  —     —     —     —     —     688 (2)   3/9/2020   134,318   —     —   
  —     —     —     —     —     616 (2)   3/9/2021   120,262   —     —   
  —     —     —     —     —     824 (3)   3/9/2021   160,859   616 (4)   120,262 
  —     —     —     —     —      3/9/2021    2,771 (5)   540,982 
  —     —     —     —     —     6,027 (2)   3/7/2022   1,176,651   —     —   
  —     —     —     —     —      3/7/2022    7,750 (6)   1,513,033 
  —     —     —     —     —      3/7/2022    3,874 (7)   756,321 
  —     —     —     —     —        

Judy Werthauser

  —     —     —     —     —     482 (2)   3/9/2020   94,101   —     —   
  —     —     —     —     —     479 (2)   3/9/2021   93,515   —     —   
       641 (3)   3/9/2021   125,151   410 (4)   80,044 
  —     —     —     —     —      3/9/2021    1,847 (5)   360,590 
  —     —     —     —     —     1,377 (2)   3/7/2022   268,832   —     —   
  —     —     —     —     —      3/7/2022    4,134 (6)   807,081 
        3/7/2022    2,066 (7)   403,345 

(1)

This value was calculated using the closing price of our stock units vest on December 1, 2017 and an additional 50%January 27, 2023, the last trading date before the end of such units vest on December 1, 2018.fiscal 2022 ($195.23).

45


(6)(2)

These restricted stock units vest upon the following time-based schedule: 50% of the restricted stock units vest on the second anniversary of the grant date and 25% of the restricted stock units vest on each of the third and fourth anniversary dates, subject generally to the continued employment of the grantee on each such date.

(7)(3)

These stock options vest upon the following time-based schedule: 50% of the stock options vest and become exercisable on the second anniversary of the grant date and 25% of the stock options vest on each the third and fourth anniversary date.

(8)Amounts with respect to stock awards and option awardsunits represent the fair valueportion of the awards on the date of grant, as computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718 and described in Note 1 and Note 6 to the consolidated financial statements included as a part of the 2014 Form 10-K, filed with the SECPRSUs granted on March 26, 2015. Amounts with respect to PRSU awards represent the expected value of the award,9, 2021 that were earned based on the target level ofrelative total shareholder return performance and the fair market value of our stock on the date of grant. With respect to the PRSU awards to Mr. Bull and Mr. Anderson, the grant date value of such PRSUs based on the fair market value of our stock on the date of grant and the maximum level of performance for each executive would be: $899,973 for Mr. Anderson and $262,454 for Mr. Bull. The applicable performance periods for the awards extend through the end of fiscal year 2016 in respect2021 at 37.35% (i.e., the 2021 PRSUs Period #1 units) and through the end of fiscal 2022 at 96.48% (i.e., the 2021 PRSUs Period #2 units). These shares remain subject to time-based vesting generally based on continued service through February 3, 2024.

(4)

These units represent the TSR portion of the PRSU awards for Mr. Bull and Mr. Anderson, fiscal year 2017 in respectPRSUs granted on March 9, 2021 that are subject to open performance periods. They are shown here at 100% of Mr. Vellios’ PRSU award, and fiscal year 2018 in respect of Mr. Anderson’s PRSU (which veststarget which is the next highest performance level based on to-be-established earnings growth measures) and, accordingly, noneTSR performance measured through the end of these restricted stockfiscal 2022.

(5)

These units have yet been earned.represent the AOI portion of the PRSUs granted on March 9, 2021 that are subject to an open performance period. They are shown here at 150% of target which is the next highest performance level based on performance measured through the end of fiscal 2022.

(6)

These units represent the TSR portion of the PRSUs granted on March 7, 2022 that are subject to open performance periods. They are shown here at 200% of target which is the next highest performance level based on TSR performance measured through the end of fiscal 2022.

(7)

These units represent the AOI portion of the PRSUs granted on March 7, 2022 that are subject to an open performance period. They are shown here at 100% of target which is the next highest performance level based on performance measured through the end of fiscal 2022.

-38-


Outstanding Equity Awards at Year End Fiscal 2014Option Exercises and Stock Vested

The following table details information concerning unexercised stock options,option exercises and restricted stock options that have not vested, stock awards that have not vested, and stock awards that have not been earnedunits vesting during fiscal 2022 for each of the executive officers named in the Summary Compensation Table as of January 31, 2015:Named Executive Officers.

 

  Option Awards  Stock Awards 

Name

 Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options (#)
(Exercisable)
  Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options (#)
(Unexercisable)
  Equity
Incentive
Plan
Awards:
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Unearned
Options (#)
  Option
Exercise
Price
($)
  Option
Expiration
Date
  

 

 

Number
of
Shares
or Units
of Stock
That
Have
Not
Vested
(#)

   

 

 

Market
Value
of
Shares
or
Units
of
Stock
That
Have
Not
Vested
($)(4)

  Equity
Incentive
Plan
Awards:
Number
of
Unearned
Shares,
Units or
Other
Rights
that Have
Not
Vested
(#)(5)
  Equity
Incentive
Plan
Awards:
Market or
Payout
Value
Unearned
of Shares,
Units or
Other
Rights
That
Have Not
Vested
($)(4)
 

Thomas G. Vellios

  —      —      —      —      —         309,039    10,297,179  

Joel D. Anderson

   36,269(1)    34.40    7/21/2024       
       44,574     1,485,206    
       29,069     968,579    
          29,069    968,579  
          17,441    581,134  

Kenneth R. Bull

  8,109    541(2)  —      4.28(3)  5/25/2021    —       —      —      —    
  21,084    4,866(2)  —      4.95(3)  10/18/2021    —       —      —      —    
  11,894    5,406(2)  —      9.20(3)  3/1/2022    —       —      —      —    
  —      15,000(1)   —      39.70    7/18/2023    —       —      —      —    
  —      9,392(1)   —      38.71    6/24/2024    —       —      —      —    
  —      —      —      —      —         4,520    150,606  

Eric M. Specter

  —      80,000(1)   —      35.27    7/28/2024    —       —      —      —    
       10,000     333,200    

Michael F. Romanko

  —      24,908(1)   —      33.98    1/19/2025    —       —      —      —    
       11,771     392,210    

(1)These stock options vest upon the following time-based schedule: 50% of the stock options vest and become exercisable on the second anniversary of the grant date and 25% of the stock options vest on each the third and fourth anniversary date.
(2)These stock options vest upon the following time-based schedule: 50% of the stock options vest and become exercisable on the second anniversary of the grant date and 6.25% of the stock options vest and become exercisable every 90 days thereafter.
(3)The exercise price has been adjusted from the original exercise price of $6.30, $6.97 and $11.22, respectively, to reflect a special dividend we paid on May 16, 2012 of $2.02 per share on shares of our common stock and on an as-converted basis on shares of our then outstanding Series A 8% convertible preferred stock. Such adjustment applied to all outstanding options on the date of the dividend.
(4)This value was calculated using the closing price of our stock on January 30, 2015, the last trading date before the end of fiscal 2014 ($33.32).
(5)Amounts included under “Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Number of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not Vested” represent the target award of PRSUs issuable to each executive upon achievement of the target level of performance (for more information see the description of the Company’s PRSUs above in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis”).

-39-


Option Exercises and Stock Vested

During fiscal 2014, none of our executive officers exercised previously issued stock options.

  Option Awards   Stock Awards   Option Awards   Stock Awards 

Name

  Number of
Shares
Acquired
on Exercise
   Value
Realized
on
Exercise
($)
   Number of
Shares
Acquired
on Vesting
 Value
Realized
on
Vesting
($)
   Number of
Shares
Acquired
on Exercise
   Value
Realized
on
Exercise
($) (1)
   Number of
Shares
Acquired
on Vesting
   Value
Realized
on
Vesting
($) (2)
 

Thomas G. Vellios

   —      —      336,770(1)  12,995,954(4)

Joel D. Anderson

   —      —      22,286(2)   909,937(5)    —      —      23,555    3,733,556 

Kenneth R. Bull

   —      —      648(3)   27,832(6)    —      —      3,744    593,838 

Eric M. Specter

   —      —      —      —       9,500    1,422,345    1,975    582,959 

Michael F. Romanko

   —      —      —      —       —      —      3,750    942,161 

Judy Werthauser

   —      —      2,074    582,959 

 

 (1)These

The value realized is the difference between the fair market value of a share of our common stock at the time of exercise and the exercise price of the applicable option so exercised, multiplied by the number of shares of restricted stock vestedacquired on March 22, 2014.exercise.

 (2)These restricted

The value realized on vesting is determined by multiplying the number of vested shares by the closing price of the Company’s common stock units vested on January 1, 2015.the vesting date.

46


Nonqualified Deferred Compensation

The following table sets forth information with respect to the Company’s Deferred Compensation Plan, which provides for the deferral of compensation for the Named Executive Officers that is not tax-qualified. The Deferred Compensation Plan is described in further detail on page 44 above.

Name

 Executive
Contributions in
Last Fiscal Year ($)(1)
  Registrant
Contributions in
Last Fiscal Year ($)
  Aggregate
Earnings in Last
Fiscal Year ($)
  Aggregate
Withdrawals/
Distributions ($)
  Aggregate
Balance at Last
Fiscal Year End ($)(2)
 

Joel D. Anderson

  1,791,231   —     (45,927  —     1,884,881 

Kenneth R. Bull

  134,039   —     (2,998  —     218,214 

Eric M. Specter

  49,822   —     2,106   —     152,454 

Michael F. Romanko

  —     —     —     —     —   

Judy Werthauser

  —     —     —     —     —   

(1)

The amounts listed in this column are reported as compensation in the “Salary” column of the Summary Compensation Table for fiscal 2022 or the “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation” column of the Summary Compensation Table for fiscal 2021, as applicable.

(2)(3)These shares of restricted stock vested

The amounts listed in this column include the following amounts which were reported in the Summary Compensation Table in previous years: for Mr. Anderson, $142,315; for Mr. Bull, $84,175, and for Mr. Specter, $13,320, plus earnings/losses on March 28, 2014.

(4)This value was calculated using the closing price as of the last trading date before March 22, 2014 of $38.59.
(5)This value was calculated using the closing prices as of the last trading date before January 1, 2015 of $40.83.
(6)This value was calculated using the closing price on March 28, 2014 of $42.95.those amounts.

Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change of Control

In additionWe have entered into employment agreements with our Named Executive Officers which generally set forth their entitlements to salary, annual bonus opportunities, eligibility for health and welfare benefits, and severance entitlements, as applicable. The Named Executive Officers are generally subject to standard restrictive covenants under the terms of their employment agreements and/or non-disclosure agreements, including non-competition, non-solicitation and non-disclosure of confidential information.

Messrs. Anderson, Bull and Specter have contractual severance entitlements pursuant to Named Executive Officer’stheir applicable employment letter agreements (as narratively described belowbelow). In addition, Messrs. Bull and as shown inRomanko have entitlements to severance under the table below), ourSeverance Plan (as did Ms. Werthauser, prior to her departure from the Company). Any severance benefits payable to a Named Executive Officers’Officer, whether under an employment agreement or the Severance Plan, are subject to execution of a release.

Our Named Executive Officers are also entitled to accelerated vesting of certain equity grants upon the occurrence of a change in control (as defined in our Equity Incentive Plan)the applicable equity plan) and upon certain termination events. The vesting conditions applicable to outstanding equity awards is further described above under the heading “Outstanding Equity Awards at Year End Fiscal 2014.”

Mr. Romanko’s employment offer letter does not contain any contractual entitlement to severance compensation andevents, as indicated in the table below reflects solely the value of vesting acceleration with respect to his equity awards.entitled “Potential Payments” below.

Termination Prior to a Change of Control—Without Cause; Resignation for Good Reason—Mr. VelliosAnderson

IfUnder Mr. Anderson’s employment agreement, if we terminate Mr. Vellios’Anderson’s employment without “cause” or if Mr. Vellios terminates his employmentAnderson resigns for “good reason” (as such terms are defined below), in either case, prior to a “Change of Control Transaction” (as such term is defined below),reason,” Mr. Vellios will be entitled to receive:

severance payments, equal to thegreater of: (i) base salary in effect on the date of termination or resignation or (ii) unless Mr. Vellios approved a reduction in annual base salary, such higher annual base salary in effect prior to termination or resignation, such amount under (i) or (ii), as applicable paid for a period of 12 months;

monthly payments equal to continued health and dental benefits for a period of up to 18 months, extended an additional six months following the expiration of such 18-month period if Mr. Vellios was still eligible to receive continued COBRA coverage as of the end of such 18-month period, which we refer to as the Medical Payment; and

monthly payments equal to a full tax gross up for federal, state and local income taxes based upon highest marginal tax rates solely with respect to each Medical Payment, which we refer to as the Medical Gross Up.

-40-


Termination Following a Change of Control—Mr. Vellios

If we terminate Mr. Vellios’ employment without cause or Mr. Vellios terminates his employment for good reason, in either case, after a Change of Control Transaction, Mr. Vellios will be entitled to receive:

severance payments, equal to thegreater of: (i) base salary in effect on the date of termination or resignation or (ii) unless Mr. Vellios approved a reduction in annual base salary, such higher annual base salary in effect prior to termination or resignation, such amount under (i) or (ii), as applicable paid for a period of 24 months;

the Medical Payment; and

the Medical Gross Up.

Pursuant to Mr. Vellios’ Employment Letter Agreement, “cause” is defined as one of the following:

the executive’s conviction of (or the entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to) a crime that prevents the executive from effectively managing us or that has a material adverse effect on our reputation or business activities;

the executive’s gross negligence, dishonesty, misappropriation of funds or other willful misconduct in the course of employment that has a material adverse effect on our reputation or business activities; or

the executive’s substance abuse, including abuse of alcohol or use of controlled drugs (other than in accordance with a physician’s prescription).

“Good reason” is defined as one of the following:

a material adverse change in the executive’s title, authority, responsibilities or duties;

a reduction or other material adverse change in the executive’s base salary or benefits;

a requirement that the executive report to anyone other than our board of directors;

a relocation of the executive’s principal offices by more than 25 miles; or

any other willful action or inaction by us that constitutes a material breach of the applicable Employment Letter Agreement.

However, no event described above will constitute “good reason” unless (i) the executive provides written notice of the event within the 60-day period following its occurrence and (ii) we fail to cure such event within 30 days after receipt of his notice.

A “Change of Control Transaction” is deemed to have occurred if:

any person or group acquires (in one or more transactions) beneficial ownership of our stock possessing 50% or more of the total power to vote for the election of our board of directors;

a majority of the members of our board of directors is replaced during any 12-month period by directors whose appointment or election is not endorsed by a majority of our board of directors prior to the date of the appointment or election;

a merger or consolidation with another corporation where our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction will not beneficially own stock possessing 50% or more of the total power to vote for the election of the surviving corporation’s board of directors (without consideration of the rights of any class of stock to elect directors by a separate class vote) immediately after such transaction;

any person or group acquires all or substantially all of our assets;

we complete a full liquidation or dissolution; or

-41-


our shareholders accept a share exchange, whereby shareholders immediately before such exchange do not (or will not) directly or indirectly own more than 50% of the combined voting power of the surviving entity immediately following such exchange in substantially the same proportion as their ownership immediately before such exchange.

Mr. Vellios is also subject to certain restrictive covenants, including non-competition, non-solicitation and confidentiality.

Termination Without Cause—Mr. Bull

If we terminate Mr. Bull’s employment without “cause” (as such term is defined below), Mr. BullAnderson will be entitled to receive:

 

base salary continuation for six12 months based on his base salary in effect on the date of termination less any amounts earned during the applicable six month post termination period;termination; and

 

monthly payments equal to continued health and dentalCOBRA benefits for a period of up to six12 months.

Pursuant to Mr. Bull’sAnderson’s employment agreement, “cause” is defined as one of the following:as:

 

the executive’s alcohol abuse or use of controlled drugs (other than in accordance with a physician’s prescription);

 

47


the executive’s refusal, failure or inability to perform any material obligation or fulfill any duty (other than a duty or obligation relating to confidentiality, noncompetition, nonsolicitation or proprietary rights) to us (other than due to a “disability” as defined in our Equity Incentive Plan)), which failure, refusal or inability is not cured by the executive within 10 days after receipt of notice;

 

the executive’s gross negligence or willful misconduct in the course of employment;

 

any material breach by the executive of any obligation or duty to us or any of our affiliates (whether arising by statute, common law, contract or otherwise) relating to confidentiality, noncompetition, nonsolicitation or proprietary rights;

 

other material conduct of the executive involving any type of disloyalty to us or any of our affiliates, including, without limitation, fraud, embezzlement, theft or proven dishonesty; or

 

the executive’s conviction of (or the entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to) a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.

Termination Without Cause; Resignation for Good Reason—Mr. Anderson

If we terminate Mr. Anderson’s employment without “cause” (as such term is defined below) or if Mr. Anderson resigns for “good reason” (as such term is defined below), in each case on or prior to January 20, 2016, Mr. Anderson will be entitled to receive:

base salary continuation for 24 months based on his base salary in effect on the date of termination;

monthly payments equal to continued health and dental benefits for a period of up to 24 months; and

continued vesting of the Replacement Grant (as described above).

If we terminate Mr. Anderson’s employment without “cause” or if Mr. Anderson resigns for “good reason,” in each case after January 20, 2016, Mr. Anderson will be entitled to receive:

base salary continuation for 12 months based on his base salary in effect on the date of termination; and

monthly payments equal to continued health and dental benefits for a period of up to 12 months.

-42-


The definition of “cause” in Mr. Anderson’s employment letter agreement is substantially the same as described above with respect to Mr. Bull’s employment letter agreement.

“Good reason” is defined in Mr. Anderson’s employment letter agreement as one of the following:as:

 

a material diminution in the executive’s base salary or performance bonus target;

 

a material adverse change in the executive’s title, authority, responsibilities or duties;

 

a requirement that youthe executive report to anyone other than the board;

 

any other willful action or inaction by us that constitutes a material breach of the applicable Employment Letter Agreement;employment agreement; or

 

a relocation of the executive’s principal offices by more than 50 miles.

However, no event described above will constitute “good reason” unless (i) the executive provides written notice of the event within the 60-day period following its occurrence, (ii) we fail to cure such event within 30 days after receipt of his notice and (iii) the executive resigns within 15 days of the expiration of the cure period.

Termination Without Cause; Resignation for Good Reason—Mr. Romanko and Ms. Werthauser

Under the Severance Plan, if we terminate the employment of Mr. Romanko without “cause,” or if he resigns for “good reason,” he will be entitled to receive:

base salary for 12 months based on the executive’s base salary in effect on the date of termination, payable in a lump sum; and

monthly payments equal to continued COBRA benefits for a period of up to 12 months.

“Cause” is defined under the Severance Plan as:

the executive’s refusal or repeated failure to perform the duties assigned;

willful or intentional act of the executive that materially injures our reputation or business;

felony conviction of executive;

misdemeanor conviction relating to or adversely affecting executive’s ability to perform duties and responsibilities;

executive’s act of gross misconduct, fraud, embezzlement or theft against the Company;

executive’s inability to meet reasonable expectations of executive’s position based on the evaluations of executive’s managers;

violation of Company policy applicable to executive; or

48


any action of such extreme nature that the Company determines to be grounds for immediate dismissal of executive.

“Good Reason” is defined under the Severance Plan as:

a material and adverse diminution in executive’s base salary;

a material, adverse change in executive’s duties or responsibilities;

any willful, material breach by the Company of any covenants or obligations under an applicable employment agreement; or

a relocation of the executive’s principal office by more than 50 miles.

However, no event described above will constitute “good reason” unless (i) the executive provides written notice of the event within the 30-day period following its occurrence, (ii) we fail to cure such event within 30 days after receipt of the executive’s notice and (iii) the executive resigns within 10 days of the expiration of the cure period.

Ms. Werthauser voluntarily resigned from the Company without “good reason,” and thus was not entitled to receive the severance described above.

Termination Without Cause—Mr. Bull

Pursuant to the terms of the Severance Plan and Mr. Bull’s employment agreement, if we terminate the employment of Mr. Bull without “cause” (as “cause” is defined in his employment agreement), he will be entitled to receive:

base salary equal to 12 months based on his base salary in effect on the date of termination – half paid in lump sum upon such termination under the Severance Plan and the remaining half paid as salary continuation for six months after such termination under the terms of his employment agreement;

monthly payments equal to continued COBRA benefits for a period of up to 12 months.

The definition of “cause” in Mr. Bull’s employment agreement is substantially the same as described above with respect to Mr. Anderson’s employment agreement.

Resignation for Good Reason—Mr. Bull

Under the Severance Plan, if Mr. Bull resigns for “good reason,” he will be entitled to receive:

base salary for 12 months based on his base salary in effect on the date of termination, payable in a lump sum; and

monthly payments equal to continued COBRA benefits for a period of up to 12 months.

The definition of “good reason” under the Severance Plan is described above with respect to the severance benefits of Mr. Romanko.

Termination Without Cause; Resignation for Good Reason—Mr. Specter

If we terminate Mr. Specter’s employment without “cause” (as such term is defined below) or if Mr. Specter resigns for “good reason” (as such term is defined below), Mr. Specter will be entitled to receive:

 

base salary continuation for 12 months based on his base salary in effect on the date of termination; and

 

monthly payments equal to continued health and dentalCOBRA benefits for a period of up to 12 months.

49


The definition of “cause” in Mr. Specter’s employment letter agreement is substantially the same as described above with respect to Mr. Bull’sAnderson’s employment letter agreement.

“Good reason” is defined in Mr. Specter’s employment letter agreement as one of the following:as:

 

a material diminution in the executive’s base salary or performance bonus target;

 

a material adverse change in the executive’s title, authority, responsibilities or duties;

 

any other willful action or inaction by us that constitutes a material breach of the applicable Employment Letter Agreement;employment agreement; or

 

a relocation of the executive’s principal offices by more than 50 miles.

However, no event described above will constitute “good reason” unless (i) the executive provides written notice of the event within the 60-day period following its occurrence, (ii) we fail to cure such event within 30 days after receipt of his notice and (iii) executive resigns within 15 days of the expiration of the cure period.

-43-


Potential Payments

The table below summarizes the payments and benefits that each of Messrs. Vellios, Anderson, Bull, Specter and Romanko would have been entitled to receive if histhe executive’s last day of employment with us had been January 31, 2015.28, 2023. Ms. Werthauser is omitted from this table because she voluntarily resigned from the Company, effective shortly after the end of fiscal 2022, and she was not entitled to severance benefits upon her resignation. For the purpose of calculating amounts in this table, we used a stock price of $195.23, which was the closing price of our stock on January 27, 2023, the last trading date before the end of fiscal 2022.

 

Name

 Cash
Severance
Payment
($)
 Accelerated
Restricted
Stock
Vesting
($)
 Accelerated
Option
Vesting
($)
 Health
Insurance
Coverage
($)
 Paid
Life
Insurance
Benefit
($)
 Total
($)
  Cash
Severance
Payment
($)
 Accelerated
Restricted
Stock Unit
Vesting
($)
 Health
Insurance
Coverage
($)
 Paid
Life
Insurance
Benefit
($)
 Total
($)
 

Thomas G. Vellios

      

Voluntary termination for good reason or involuntary termination without cause

  700,000    10,297,179(1)  —     55,200(13)  —      11,052,379  

No termination following a change in control

  —     10,297,179(1)  —     —      —      10,297,179  

Voluntary termination for good reason or involuntary termination without cause following a change in control

  1,400,000    10,297,179(1)  —     55,200(13)  —      11,752,379  

Death of Named Executive Officer

  —     —     —     —      10,000(16)  10,000  

Permanent Disability of Named Executive Officer

  —     —      —     —      —      —    

Joel D. Anderson

           

Voluntary termination for good reason or involuntary termination without cause

  1,400,000    1,485,206(2)   —      55,200(13)  —      2,940,406    1,250,000 (1)   —     12,877 (2)   —     1,262,877 

No termination following a change in control

  —      4,003,498(3)   —  (9)   —      —      4,003,498    —     23,266,642 (3)   —     —     23,266,642 

Voluntary termination for good reason or involuntary termination without cause following a change in control

  1,400,000    4,003,498(3)   —  (9)   55,200(13)  —      5,458,698    1,250,000 (1)   23,266,642 (3)   12,877 (2)   —     24,529,519 

Death of Named Executive Officer

  —      102,959(4)   —      —      10,000(16)  112,959  

Permanent Disability of Named Executive Officer

  —      102,959(4)   —      —      —      102,959  

Death

  —     27,642,722 (4)   —     500,000 (5)   28,142,722 

Disability

  —     27,642,722 (4)   —     —     27,642,722 

Kenneth R. Bull

           

Involuntary termination without cause

  200,000    —      —     13,800(14)   —      213,800  

Voluntary termination for good reason or involuntary termination without cause

  675,000 (6)   —     12,877 (2)   —     687,877 

No termination following a change in control

  —     150,606(5)   284,153(10)   —      —      434,759    —     4,020,686 (3)   —     —     4,020,686 

Involuntary termination without cause following a change in control

  200,000    150,606(5)   284,153(10)   13,800(14)   —      648,559  

Death of Named Executive Officer

  —     50,202(6)   —     —      10,000(16)   60,202  

Permanent Disability of Named Executive Officer

  —     50,202(6)   —     —      —      50,202 

Voluntary termination for good reason or involuntary termination without cause following a change in control

  675,000 (6)   4,020,686 (3)   12,877 (2)   —     4,708,563 

Death

  —     4,850,804 (4)   —     500,000 (5)   5,350,804 

Disability

  —     4,850,804 (4)   —     —     4,850,804 

Eric M. Specter

           

Voluntary termination for good reason or involuntary termination without cause

  475,000    —      —      27,600(15)   —      502,600    605,000 (1)   —     14,103 (2)   —     619,103 

No termination following a change in control

  —     333,200(7)   —  (11)   —      —      333,200    —     3,517,748 (3)   —     —     3,517,748 

Voluntary termination for good reason or involuntary termination without cause following a change in control

  475,000    333,200(7)   —  (11)   27,600(15)   —      835,800    605,000 (1)   3,517,748 (3)   14,103 (2)   —     4,136,851 

Death of Named Executive Officer

  —      —      —      —      10,000(16)   10,000  

Permanent Disability of Named Executive Officer

  —      —      —      —      —      —   

Death

  —     4,186,802 (4)   —     500,000 (5)   4,686,802 

Disability

  —     4,186,802 (4)   —     —     4,186,802 

Michael F. Romanko

           

Involuntary termination without cause

  —      —      —      —      —      —   

Voluntary termination for good reason or involuntary termination without cause

  675,000 (7)   —     9,803 (2)   —     684,803 

No termination following a change in control

  —      392,210(8)   —  (12)   —      —      392,210    —     4,961,695 (3)   —     —     4,961,695 

Involuntary termination without cause following a change in control

  —      392,210(8)   —  (12)   —      —      392,210  

Death of Named Executive Officer

  —      —      —      —      —      —   

Permanent Disability of Named Executive Officer

  —      —      —      —      —      —   

Voluntary termination for good reason or involuntary termination without cause following a change in control

  675,000 (7)   4,961,695 (3)   9,803 (2)   —     5,646,498 

Death

  —     6,699,437 (4)   —     500,000 (5)   7,199,437 

Disability

  —     6,699,437 (4)   —     —     6,699,437 

 

(1)This represents the accelerated gain on previously unvested PRSUs for 309,039 shares, using the closing price on January 30, 2015, the last trading date before the end of fiscal 2014 ($33.32).

Cash severance payments are made over 12 months.

(2)This represents the accelerated gain on previously unvested restricted stock units for 44,574 shares, using the closing price on January 30, 2015, the last trading date before the end of fiscal 2014 ($33.32). Further detail surrounding the vesting and delivery of such restricted stock units

Each executive is discussed under “Replacement Grant” set forth in the “Awards to Mr. Anderson” section of “Fiscal Year 2014 Awards”.

(3)This represents the accelerated gain on all outstanding time-based and PRSUs (at target) awarded to Mr. Anderson which become fully vested upon the occurrence of a change in control.
(4)This amount represents the accelerated gain on one-sixth of the value of the 17,441 shares and the 29,069 shares of otherwise unvested and unearned PRSUs, using the closing price on January 30, 2015, the last trading date before the end of fiscal 2014 ($33.32). For these purposes, it is assumed that the awards will be earned at target; however, the shares Mr. Anderson would actually receive in such termination would be dependent upon the actual performance of the Company through the performance period.
(5)This represents the accelerated gain on the PRSUs (at target) awarded to Mr. Bull which become fully vested upon the occurrence of a change in control.
(6)This amount represents one-third of the value of the 4,520 shares of otherwise unvested and unearned PRSUs, based on $33.32, the closing price of our Common Stock on January 30, 2015, the last trading date before the end of fiscal 2015. For these purposes, it is assumed that the awards will be earned at target; however, the shares Mr. Bull would actually receive in such termination would be dependent upon the actual performance of the Company through the performance period.
(7)This represents the accelerated gain on previously unvested restricted stock units for 10,000 shares, using the closing price on January 30, 2015, the last trading date before the end of fiscal 2014 ($33.32).
(8)This represents the accelerated gain on previously unvested restricted stock units for 11,771 shares, using the closing price on January 30, 2015, the last trading date before the end of fiscal 2014 ($33.32).

-44-


(9)The accelerated gain on the exercise for previously unvested time-based stock option for 36,269 shares is $0 because the closing price on January 30, 2015, the last trading date before the end of fiscal 2014, of $33.32 is less than the exercise price.
(10)This represents the accelerated gain on the exercise of previously unvested time-based stock options for 10,813 shares for Mr. Bull using the closing price on January 30, 2015, the last trading date before the end of fiscal 2014 ($33.32). The accelerated gain on the exercise of previously unvested time-based stock option for 24,392 shares is $0 because the closing price on January 30, 2015 is less than the exercise price.
(11)The accelerated gain on the exercise for previously unvested time-based stock option for 80,000 shares is $0 because the closing price on January 30, 2015, the last trading date before the end of fiscal 2014, of $33.32, is less than the exercise price.
(12)The accelerated gain on the exercise for previously unvested time-based stock option for 24,908 shares is $0 because the closing price on January 30, 2015, the last trading date before the end of fiscal 2014, of $33.32, is less than the exercise price.
(13)Messrs. Vellios and Anderson are entitled to a continuation of their health and dental benefits for up to 2412 months.

(14)(3)Mr. Bull is entitled

These amounts reflect 2020 PRSUs, 2021 PRSUs and 2022 PRSUs that will become vested upon a change in control. With respect to closed relative TSR performance periods under the 2020 PRSUs and 2021 PRSUs, the amount reflects the number of units earned based on actual performance. With respect to incomplete performance periods (including, without limitation, the operating income portion of the 2021 PRSUs, one-third of the relative TSR portion of the 2021 PRSUs, and the entirety of the 2022 PRSUs), the amount reflects assumed performance at the target level (although they could vest at a continuationhigher level based on actual performance).

50


(4)

These amounts reflect RSUs and PRSUs with accelerated vesting in the event of this healthdeath or disability. RSUs will become fully vested upon the executive’s death or disability. With respect to closed relative TSR performance periods under the 2020 PRSUs and dental benefits for up2021 PRSUs, the amount reflects the number of units earned based on actual performance. With respect to six months.incomplete performance periods under the PRSUs (including, without limitation, the operating income portion of the 2021 PRSUs, one-third of the relative TSR portion of the 2021 PRSUs, and the entirety of the 2022 PRSUs), the amount reflects vesting of units at the target level.

(15)(5)Mr. Specter is entitled to a continuation of this health and dental benefits for up to twelve months.
(16)

This represents life insurance premiumsa lump sum death benefit under our life insurance program.

(6)

Upon a resignation for good reason, Mr. Bull receives all of the cash severance payments in a lump sum. Upon a termination without cause, Mr. Bull receives half of the cash severance payments over a 6-month period and the remainder in a lump sum.

(7)

Cash severance payments are made to Mr. Romanko in a lump sum.

CEO Pay Ratio

Under rules adopted pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, we are required to calculate and disclose the ratio of the total annual compensation of our median crew member as compared to the total annual compensation of our CEO.

Similar to prior years, we began by determining that we had 18,605 crew members as of November 1, 2022. To determine our median crew member, we used the consistently applied compensation measure of “gross pay” (which we define as base salary (or base wages, if an hourly crew member) paid in the applicable period, incentives paid in the applicable period (even if earned in a prior period) and equity incentive value realized (due to option exercise or RSU settlement) during the applicable period). We annualized pay for full-time regular crew commencing work in Fiscal Year 2022 and used a valid statistical sampling methodology to provide a reasonable estimate of the median gross pay for the crew population considered. Then we identified crew who we expected were paid within a +/- 5% range of that value, based on our assumptions that the median crew member was likely to be within that group and that those within that group had substantially similar probabilities of being the median crew member. Next, we determined that our median crew member was a sales associate from within that group. Finally, we determined that median crew member’s total compensation, using the same methodology used for our Named Executive Officers in the Summary Compensation Table, to be $8,428, as compared to our CEO’s total compensation of $7,026,551.

Based upon this methodology, we estimate that the ratio of CEO pay to median crew member pay for fiscal 2022 is 834:1.

 

-45-51


Pay Versus Performance Outcomes
Pursuant to Section 953(a) of the Dodd-Frank Act, and Item 402(v) of Regulation
S-K,
we are required to provide the following information about the relationship between “Compensation Actually Paid,” defined by the SEC and referred to below as “CAP,” and certain financial performance of the Company. For further information concerning the Company’s variable
pay-for-performance
philosophy and how the Company’s aligns executive compensation with the Company’s performance, refer to “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Annual Incentive Bonus” and “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Long-term Equity Incentive Compensation.”
              
Value of Initial Fixed $100

Invested Based On:
       
Year
(a)
 
SCT Total
Compensation
for CEO (1)

(b)
  
Compensation
Actually Paid to
CEO (2)

(c)
  
Average SCT Total
Compensation for
Other NEOs (3)

(d)
  
Average
Compensation
Actually Paid to
Other NEOs (4)

(e)
  
Company
TSR (5)

(f)
  
Nasdaq US
Benchmark Retail
Index TSR (6)

(g)
  
Net Income
($M) (7)

(h)
  
Pre-lncentive Adjusted
Operating Income

($M) (8)

(i)
 
2022 $7,026,551  $10,728,894  $1,912,785  $2,722,276  $172.43  $138.03  $261.5  $352.5 
2021 $9,047,922  $5,755,350  $2,492,862  $1,927,477  $140.29  $163.44  $278.8  $412.1 
2020 $16,786,568  $13,521,989  $3,388,934  $3,164,338  $155.21  $141.08  $123.4  $171.7 
1The dollar amounts reported in column (b) are the amounts of total compensation reported in the Summary Compensation Table for Mr. Anderson, our President and CEO (the principal executive officer for each of the three fiscal years shown).
2The dollar amounts reported in column (c) represent the amount of CAP to Mr. Anderson. In accordance with the SEC methodology for determining CAP, the following adjustments were made to Mr. Anderson’s total compensation for each fiscal year shown:
Fiscal Year
 
Salary
  
Bonus and Non-
Equity Incentive
Compensation
  
Equity
Compensation
  
All Other
Compensation
  
Summary
Compensation
Table Total
  
Deductions from
Summary
Compensation
Table (a)
  
Adjustments to
Compensation
Table Total (b)
  
Compensation
Actually Paid
 
2022 $1,211,538  $0  $5,812,090  $2,923  $7,026,551  -$5,812,090  $9,514,432  $10,728,894 
2021 $1,000,000  $2,750,000  $5,279,695  $18,227  $9,047,922  -$5,279,695  $1,987,123  $5,755,350 
2020 $901,923  $937,500  $14,939,068  $8,077  $16,786,568  -$14,939,068  $11,674,489  $13,521,989 
(a)Represents the grant date fair value of equity awards reported in the “Stock Awards” column of the Summary Compensation Table for the applicable fiscal year.
(b)
The equity award adjustments for each applicable fiscal year include the addition (or subtraction, as applicable) of the following: (i) the fiscal
year-end
fair value of any equity awards granted in the applicable fiscal year that are outstanding and unvested as of the end of the fiscal year; (ii) the amount of change as of the end of the applicable fiscal year (from the end of the prior fiscal year) in fair value of any awards granted in prior fiscal years that are outstanding and unvested as of the end of the applicable fiscal year; (iii) for awards that are granted and vest in same applicable fiscal year, the fair value as of the vesting date; and (iv) for awards granted in prior fiscal years that vest in the applicable fiscal year, the amount equal to the change as of the vesting date (from the end of the prior fiscal year) in fair value; (v) for awards granted in prior fiscal years that are determined to fail to meet the applicable vesting conditions during the applicable fiscal year, a deduction for the amount equal to the fair value at the end of the prior fiscal year. The amounts deducted or added in calculating the equity award adjustments are as follows:
Fiscal Year
 
Addition of Fair Value
of Current Year
Equity Awards at FYE
  
Deduction for Awards
Granted in Prior
Years that Fail to

Meet Vesting Criteria
  
(Deductions) Additions
for Change in Value of
Prior Years’ Awards
Unvested at FYE
  
Additions (Deductions) for

Change in Value of Prior

Years’ Awards That Vested in

Fiscal Year
  
Equity Value
Included in

Compensation
Actually Paid
 
2022 $5,596,508  $0  ($151,797 $4,069,721  $9,514,432 
2021 $5,677,423  $0  ($4,098,584 $408,284  $1,987,123 
2020 $20,715,928  ($1,223,590 ($6,465,071 ($1,352,778 $11,674,489 
3The dollar amounts reported in column (d) represent the average of the amounts reported for the Company’s NEOs as a group (excluding Mr. Anderson, who has served as our CEO since February 2015) in the “Total” column of the Summary Compensation Table in each applicable fiscal year. The NEOs (excluding
52

Mr. Anderson) included for purposes of calculating the average amounts in each of the three fiscal years are Messrs. Bull, Specter and Romanko and Ms. Werthauser.
4The dollar amounts reported in column (e) represent the average amount of CAP to the NEOs as a group (excluding Mr. Anderson). In accordance with the SEC methodology for determining CAP, the following adjustments were made to average total compensation for the NEOs as a group (excluding Mr. Anderson) for each fiscal year shown:
Fiscal Year
 
Average Salary
  
Average Bonus

and Non-Equity

Incentive
Compensation
  
Average Equity
Compensation
  
Average All Other
Compensation
  
Average
Summary
Compensation
Table Total
  
Deductions from
Summary
Compensation
Table (a)
  
Adjustments to
Compensation
Table Total (b)
  
Average
Compensation
Actually Paid
 
2022 $628,042  $0  $1,259,721  $25,021  $1,912,785  -$1,259,721  $2,069,213  $2,722,276 
2021 $607,746  $1,077,767  $791,760  $15,590  $2,492,862  -$791,760  $226,375  $1,927,477 
2020 $547,894  $333,282  $2,498,587  $9,171  $3,388,934  -$2,498,587  $2,273,991  $3,164,338 
(a)Represents the grant date fair value of equity awards reported in the “Stock Awards” column of the Summary Compensation Table for the applicable fiscal year.
(b)The amounts deducted or added in calculating the total average equity award adjustments, using the same methodology as described in note 2(b) above, are as follows:
Fiscal Year
 
Addition of Fair Value
of Current Year
Equity Awards at FYE
  
Deduction for Awards
Granted in Prior Years
that Fail to Meet Vesting
Criteria
  
(Deductions)
Additions for
Change in Value of
Prior Years’ Awards
Unvested at FYE
  
Additions (Deductions) for
Change in Value of Prior
Years’ Awards That Vested in

Fiscal Year
  
Equity Value
Included in
Compensation
Actually Paid
 
2022 $1,278,099  $0  ($12,384 $803,497  $2,069,213 
2021 $851,424  $0  ($691,367 $66,319  $226,375 
2020 $3,221,508  $0  ($660,149 ($287,368) $2,273,991 
5As used herein, “TSR” means cumulative total shareholder return, as calculated in accordance with SEC rules.
6
The peer group we use for this purpose is the Nasdaq US Benchmark Retail Index, the same index we use for purposes of our performance graph disclosure pursuant to Item 201(e) of Regulation
S-K.
7The dollar amounts reported represent the amount of net income reflected in the Company’s audited financial statements for the applicable fiscal year.
8
Pre-Incentive
Adjusted Operating Income is a
non-GAAP
measure we use to determine the majority of our annual incentive opportunity and is defined as the Company’s operating income as reflected in the Company’s audited financial statements, adjusted to exclude the impact of: (a) all expense (net of reimbursement) incurred as part of a public offering of the Company’s securities, whether by the Company or by selling shareholders or both; (b) expenses incurred related to acquisition transaction costs; (c) income/expense incurred due to a change in accounting principles; (d) external expenses incurred during the
start-up
period for any new business venture; (e) bonuses payable under the Incentive Bonus Plan, and (f) any other adjustments that may be approved by the compensation committee. See Appendix
A-1
for a reconciliation of
Pre-Incentive
Adjusted Operating Income to operating income.
Graphical Relationship between CAP and Performance Measures
The charts below illustrate the relationship between the CAP to the CEO and the Average CAP to the NEOs other than the CEO in fiscal years 2020, 2021 and 2022 to each of the Company’s (1) TSR, (2) net income, and
53

(3) Pre-Incentive
Adjusted Operating Income, as well as the relationship between the Company’s TSR and the TSR of the Nasdaq US Benchmark Retail Index.
54

Tabular List of Performance Measures
The most important financial performance measures used by the Company to link executive CAP to the Company’s NEOs, for the most recently completed fiscal year, to the Company’s performance are as follows:
Pre-Incentive
Adjusted Operating Income (as defined above)
Net Sales
Relative TSR (the Company’s TSR as compared to the TSR of a peer group established by the Compensation Committee)

55


CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Investor Rights Agreement

In connection with our 2010 transaction, in which Advent acquired a majority interest in Five Below, Inc., we entered into an investor rights agreement with certain of our shareholders. In connection with our initial public offering, the parties amended the agreement to terminate all rights except for certain registration rights, which require us to register shares of our common stock held by David Schlessinger and Thomas Vellios in the event we register for sale, either for our own account or for the account of others, shares of our common stock in certain offerings. We are obligated to pay all expenses in connection with such registration other than underwriting commissions or discounts resulting from the sale of shares by our shareholders in connection with the registration. The investor rights agreement, as amended, requires a shareholder holding registration rights to execute a lock-up agreement with the underwriters in connection with the shareholder’s exercise of his or her registration rights in connection with certain offerings.

Agreements with Management

We and certain of our executive officers have entered into employment agreements. The terms and conditions of certain of these employment agreements are more fully described in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Employment Agreements.”

Indemnification of Officers and Directors

We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our executive officers and directors. The indemnification agreements provide the executive officers and directors with contractual rights to indemnification, expense advancement and reimbursement, to the fullest extent permitted under Pennsylvania law. Additionally, we may enter into indemnification agreements with any new directors or executive officers that may be broader in scope than the specific indemnification provisions contained in Pennsylvania law.

Our Policies Regarding Related Party Transactions

Our board of directors adopted a related party transactions policy for us. Pursuant to the related party transactions policy, we review all transactions with a dollar value in excess of $120,000 involving us in which any of our directors, director nominees, significant shareholders and executive officers and their immediate family members will be participants to determine whether such person has a direct or indirect material interest in the transaction. This policy was not in effect when we entered into the transactions described above. All directors, director nominees and executive officers will be required to promptly notify our Executive Chairman of any proposed transaction involving us in which such person has a direct or indirect material interest. Such proposed transaction will then be reviewed by the audit committee to determine whether the proposed transaction is a related party transaction under our policy. In reviewing any related party transaction, the audit committee will determine whether or not to approve or ratify the transaction based on all relevant facts and circumstances, including the following:

 

the materiality and character of the related person’s interest in the transaction;

 

the commercial reasonableness of the terms of the transaction;

 

the benefit and perceived benefit, or lack thereof, to us;

 

the opportunity costs of alternate transactions; and

 

the actual or apparent conflict of interest of the related person.

In the event that any member of the audit committee is not a disinterested member with respect to the related party transaction under review, that member will be excluded from the review and approval or rejection

-46-


of such related party transaction and another director may be designated to join the committee for purposes of such review. Whenever practicable, the reporting, review and approval will occur prior to entering into the transaction. If advance review and approval is not practicable, the audit committee will review and may, in its discretion, ratify the related party transaction. After any such review, the audit committee will approve or ratify the transaction based on a standard of whether the transaction is (a) in, or not inconsistent with, the best interests of us and our shareholders and (b) not in violation of our other policies or procedures. Our related party transaction policy is postedavailable on our website at http://investor.fivebelow.com, under the “Investor Relations” section of“Governance” section.

No related party transactions were identified during or subsequent to fiscal 2022 requiring review or approval under our website atwww.fivebelow.com.

related party transactions policy, and there are no related party transactions that are required to be reported in this Proxy Statement.

 

-47-56


SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

The following table contains information about the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 31, 2015April 18, 2023 by:

 

each person, or group of persons, who beneficially owns more than 5% of our capital stock;

 

each executive officer named in the summary compensation table;

 

each of our directors; and

 

all directors and executive officers as a group.

For further information regarding material transactions between us and certain of our shareholders, see “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”

Beneficial ownership and percentage ownership are determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC and include voting or investment power with respect to shares of stock. This information does not necessarily indicate beneficial ownership for any other purpose. In computing the number of shares beneficially owned by a person and the percentage ownership of that person, shares of common stock subject to restrictions, options or warrants held by that person that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2015April 18, 2023 are deemed outstanding. Such shares, however, are not deemed outstanding for the purposes of computing the percentage ownership of any other person. Except as indicated in the footnotes to the following table or pursuant to applicable community property laws, each shareholder named in the table has sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares set forth opposite such shareholder’s name. Our calculation of the percentage of beneficial ownership is based on 54,422,37755,663,461 shares of common stock outstanding on March 31, 2015.as of April 18, 2023.

-48-


Unless otherwise indicated in the footnotes, the address of each of the individuals named below is: c/o Five Below, Inc., 1818701 Market Street, Suite 2000,300, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.19106.

 

Name of Beneficial Owner

  Shares
Beneficially
Owned
   Percentage
of Shares
Beneficially
Owned
 

5% Shareholders Not Listed Below:

    

T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.(1)

   7,817,010     14.4

Capital World Investors(2)

   5,070,694     9.3

Wells Fargo & Company(3)

   4,674,737     8.6

AllianceBernstein L.P.(4)

   4,256,420     7.8

Citadel Advisors LLC(5)

   3,533,296     6.5

Goldman Sachs Asset Management(6)

   3,329,995     6.1

The Vanguard Group(7)

   3,016,094     5.5

SMALLCAP World Fund, Inc.(8)

   2,965,894     5.4

BlackRock, Inc.(9)

   2,890,553     5.3

FMR LLC(10)

   2,840,316     5.2

Named Executive Officers & Directors:

  

Joel D. Anderson

   13,113     *

Kenneth R. Bull(11)

   94,065     *

Kathleen S. Barclay

   —       *

Catherine E. Buggeln

   —       *

Michael F. Devine, III

   2,584     *

David M. Mussafer

   —       *

Thomas M. Ryan

   164,419     *

Ronald L. Sargent(12)

   270,847     *

Michael F. Romanko

   —       *

Eric M. Specter

   —       *

David Schlessinger

   555,810     1.0

Thomas G. Vellios

   645,837     1.2

All executive officers and directors as a group (12 persons)

   1,746,675     3.2

Name of Beneficial Owner

  Shares
Beneficially
Owned
   Percentage
of Shares
Beneficially
Owned
 

5% Shareholders Not Listed Below:

    

The Vanguard Group, Inc. (1)

   4,962,297    8.9

BlackRock, Inc. (2)

   4,833,074    8.7

FMR LLC (3)

   6,495,268    11.7

Named Executive Officers & Directors:

    

Joel D. Anderson (4)

   264,229    * 

Kenneth R. Bull

   76,646    * 

Kathleen S. Barclay (5)

   6,299    * 

Catherine E. Buggeln (5)

   7,141    * 

Michael F. Devine, III (5)

   16,647    * 

Bernard Kim (5)

   1,367    * 

Dinesh S. Lathi (5)

   6,554    * 

Richard L. Markee (5)

   10,468    * 

Michael F. Romanko

   822    * 

Thomas M. Ryan (6)

   113,180    * 

Ronald L. Sargent (7)

   104,818    * 

Eric M. Specter (8)

   45,408    * 

Thomas G. Vellios (9)

   341,409    * 

Zuhairah S. Washington (6)

   2,340    * 
  

 

 

   

All executive officers and directors as a group (14 persons) (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)

   997,328    1.8

57


 

*

Less than 1%

(1)These securities are owned by various individual and institutional investors including T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund, Inc. (which has sole voting power over 4,293,100 shares of our common stock, representing 7.9% of the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2015), which T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. (“Price Associates”) serves as an investment adviser with power to direct investments and/or sole power to vote these securities. For the purposes of the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, Price Associates is deemed to be a beneficial owner of such shares. The address of Price Associates is 100 E. Pratt Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202. This information is as disclosed in Amendment No. 2 to its Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 10, 2015.
(2)Capital World Investors, a division of Capital Research and Management Company, is deemed to be the beneficial owner of 5,070,694 shares, or 9.3% of Five Below, as a result of Capital Research and Management Company acting as investment adviser to various investment companies registered under Section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940. The address of Capital World Investors is 333 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, California 90071. This information is as disclosed in Amendment No. 1 to its Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 13, 2015.
(3)

Wells Fargo & Company is deemed to be the beneficial owner of 4,674,737 shares, or 8.6% of Five Below, held by it and certain of its subsidiaries. Wells Fargo & Company has sole voting and dispositive power over 36,974 shares, shared voting power over 4,465,506 shares and shared dispositive power over 4,637,763 shares. Of the 4,674,737 shares beneficially owned by Wells Fargo & Company, Wells Capital Management Incorporated is deemed to beneficially own 4,453,838 shares, or 8.2%, and Wells Fargo Funds

-49-


Management, LLC is deemed to beneficially own 4,132,610 shares, or 7.6%. The address of Wells Fargo & Company is 420 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California 94104. This information is as disclosed in its Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 10, 2015.
(4)AllianceBernstein L.P. is deemed to be the beneficial owner of 4,256,420 shares, or 7.8% of Five Below, and has sole voting power of 3,727,335 of the shares and sole investment power over 4,180,907 of the shares. AllianceBernstein L.P. is a majority owned subsidiary of AXA Financial, Inc. and an indirect majority owned subsidiary of AXA SA, which operates under independent management and makes independent decisions from AXA SA and AXA Financial, Inc. and their respective subsidiaries and AXA SA and AXA Financial, Inc. calculate and report beneficial ownership separately from AllianceBernstein L.P. However, AllianceBernstein L.P. may be deemed to share beneficial ownership with AXA SA and AXA Financial, Inc. by virtue of 75,513 shares of common stock acquired on behalf of the general and special accounts of the affiliated entities for which AllianceBernstein L.P. serves as a subadvisor. Each of AllianceBernstein L.P. and AXA SA and AXA Financial, Inc. acquired their shares of common stock for investment purposes in the ordinary course of their investment management and insurance businesses. The address of AllianceBernstein L.P. is 1345 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10105. This information is as disclosed in its Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 12, 2015.
(5)Citadel Advisors LLC (“Citadel Advisors”), Citadel Advisors Holdings II LP (“CAH2”), Citadel GP LLC (“CGP”), and Mr. Kenneth Griffin (collectively, the “Citadel Reporting Persons”), have shared dispositive and voting power over 3,533,296 shares, or 6.5% of Five Below, owned by Citadel Equity Fund Ltd. (“CEF”), Surveyor Capital Ltd. (“SC”), and Citadel Securities LLC (“Citadel Securities”). Citadel Advisors is the portfolio manager for CEF and SC. CAH2 was, until December 31, 2014, the managing member of Citadel Advisors. CALC III LP (“CALC3”), is the non-member manager of Citadel Securities. CGP is the general partner of CALC3 and CAH2. Mr. Griffin is the President and Chief Executive Officer of, and owns a controlling interest in, CGP. The address of each of the Citadel Reporting Persons is c/o Citadel LLC, 131 S. Dearborn Street, 32nd Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60603. This information is as disclosed in Amendment No. 1 to its Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 17, 2015.
(6)Goldman Sachs Asset Management, which includes Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. and GS Investment Strategies, LLC, is deemed to be the beneficial owner of 3,329,995 shares, or 6.1% of Five Below. The address of Goldman Sachs Asset Management is 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282. This information is as disclosed in its Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 12, 2015.
(7)The Vanguard Group, Inc. is deemed to be the beneficial owner of 3,016,094 shares, or 5.5% of Five Below, which includes 68,1784,962,297 shares of our common stock beneficially owned by Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Vanguard Group, Inc., and 3,800 shares of common stock beneficially owned by Vanguard Investments Australia, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Vanguard Group, Inc.stock. The Vanguard Group has sole voting power over 71,9780 shares, shared voting power over 24,896 shares, sole dispositive power over 2,947,9164,882,274 shares and shared dispositive power over 68,17880,023 shares. The address of the Vanguard Group, Inc. is 100 Vanguard Blvd., Malvern, Pennsylvania 19355. This information is as disclosed in Amendment No. 8 to its Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 10, 2015.9, 2023.

(8)SMALLCAP World Fund, Inc., an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which is advised by Capital Research and Management Company may be deemed to be beneficially own 2,965,894 shares, or 5.4% of Five Below, by virtue of its sole voting power over the shares. These shares may also be reflected in Capital World Investors’ beneficial ownership above. The address of SMALLCAP World Fund, Inc. is 333 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, California 90071. This information is as disclosed in SMALLCAP World Fund, Inc.’s Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 13, 2015.
(9)(2)

BlackRock, Inc. is deemed to be the beneficial owner of 2,890,5534,833,074 shares or 5.3% of Five Below,our common stock, which includes shares that are held or may be deemed to be beneficially owned by the following entities: BlackRock Advisors (UK)Life Limited, Aperio Group, LLC, BlackRock Advisors, LLC, BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V., BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, National Association, BlackRock Asset Management Ireland Limited, BlackRock Financial Management, Inc., BlackRock Asset Management Schweiz AG, BlackRock Investment Management, LLC, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Ireland Limited, BlackRock Fund Advisors, BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A., BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited, BlackRock Investment ManagementAdvisors (UK) Ltd,Limited, BlackRock Investment Management, LLC,Fund Advisors or BlackRock Japan CoFund Managers Ltd. BlackRock, Inc. has sole voting power over 2,781,3144,698,628 shares and sole dispositive power over 2,890,5534,883,074 shares. The address of BlackRock, Inc. is 55 East 52nd52nd Street, New York, New York 10022.10055. This information is as disclosed in Amendment No. 9 to its Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 3, 2015.January 25, 2023.

-50-


(10)(3)The funds managed by

FMR LLC areis deemed to be the beneficial owner of 2,840,316 shares, or 5.2% of Five Below. Members of the family of Edward C. Johnson 3d, Chairman of FMR LLC, including Abigail P. Johnson, are the predominant owners, directly or through trusts, of Series B voting common6,495,268 shares of FMR LLC, representing 49% of the voting power of FMR LLC. The Johnson family group and all other Series B shareholders have entered into a shareholders’ voting agreement underour common stock, which all Series B voting commonincludes shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Series B voting common shares. Accordingly, through their ownership of voting common shares and the execution of the shareholders’ voting agreement, members of the Johnson familythat are held or may be deemed under the Investmentto be beneficially owned by FIAM LLC, Fidelity Diversifying Solutions LLC, Fidelity Institutional Asset Management Trust Company, Act of 1940, to form a controlling group with respect to FMRFidelity Management & Research Company LLC, Fidelity Management Trust Company and Strategic Advisers LLC. Neither FMR LLC nor Edward C. Johnson 3d nor Abigail P. Johnson has the sole voting power to vote or direct theover 6,195,046 shares, shared voting of thepower over 0 shares, owned directly by the various investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act (“Fidelity Funds”) advised by Fidelity Managementsole dispositive power over 6,495,268 shares and Research Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of FMR LLC, whichshared dispositive power resides with the Fidelity Funds’ Boards of Trustees. Fidelity Management and Research Company carries out the voting of the shares under written guidelines established by the Fidelity Funds’ Boards of Trustees.over 0 shares. The address of FMR LLC and associated funds is 245 Summer Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02210. Abigail P. Johnson is a Director, the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of FMR LLC, and has dispositive power over the shares. This information is as disclosed in Amendment No. 3 to its Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 13, 2015.9, 2023 by FMR LLC and Abigail P. Johnson.

(11)(4)

Includes 43,033128,655 shares subject to optionsheld in trusts of which Mr. Anderson is the trustee or otherwise has or shares voting and investment power, and 67,336 shares held in trusts of which Mr. Anderson’s wife is the trustee, for the benefit of herself and her family members.

(5)

Includes 1,367 restricted stock units that are exercisablewill vest within 60 days of March 31, 2015.April 18, 2023.

(12)(6)

Includes 175,1741,367 restricted stock units that will vest within 60 days of April 18, 2023. Includes 104,050 shares of our common stock held in a trust of which Mr. Ryan is the trustee or otherwise has or shares voting and investment power.

(7)

Includes 1,367 restricted stock units that will vest within 60 days of April 18, 2023. Includes 93,674 shares of our common stock owned by Sargent Family Investment, LLC. Mr. Sargent, a member and the sole member and manager of Sargent Family Investment, LLC, exercises voting and investment power over the shares beneficially owned by Sargent Family Investment, LLC. Includes 5,914 shares of our common stock owned by Sargent Family Foundation, a charitable foundation. Mr. Sargent, as a trustee, has investment and voting power over the shares held by Sargent Family Foundation.

(8)

Includes 10,126 shares subject to options that are exercisable within 60 days of April 18, 2023.

(9)

Includes 2,610 restricted stock units that will vest within 60 days of April 18, 2023.

 

-51-58


EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION

Equity Compensation Plan Information Table (as of January 31, 2015)28, 2023)

 

  Number of
securities to
be issued
upon exercise
of outstanding
options,
warrants and
rights
(a)(1)
   Weighted-
average
exercise
price of
outstanding
options,
warrants and
rights
(b)(2)

($)
   Number of
securities
remaining
available for
future issuance
under equity
compensation
plans
(excluding
securities
reflected in
column (a))
(c)(3)
 

Plan Category

        Number of
securities to
be issued
upon exercise
of outstanding
options,
warrants and
rights
(a)(1)
   Weighted
average
exercise
price of
outstanding
options,
warrants and
rights
(b)(2)
($)
   Number of
securities
remaining
available for
future issuance
under equity
compensation
plans
(excluding
securities
reflected in
column (a))
(c)(3)
 

Equity compensation plans approved by securityholders(4)

   1,700,885     24.80     4,524,028  

Equity compensation plans approved by securityholders(4)

   702,477    34.92    3,945,738 

Equity compensation plans not approved by securityholders

   —       —       —       —      —      —   

Total

   1,700,885     24.80     4,524,028     702,477    34.92    3,945,738 
  

 

   

 

   

 

 

 

(1)

The amount in this column includes outstanding stock options, RSUs and PRSUs, but excludes purchase rights under the 2012 Employee Stock PurchaseESPP. For this purpose, PRSUs are counted at maximum. As of the end of fiscal 2022, the number of shares underlying awards outstanding under the Five Below, Inc. Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan (the “ESPP”“2016 Plan”). and the 2022 Plan were 680,295 and 22,182, respectively.

(2)

Represents the weighted-average exercise price of outstanding stock options, andbut does not include restricted stock unitsRSUs and PRSUs.PRSUs as they do not have an exercise price.

(3)

Includes 4,031,9383,488,954 shares that were available for future issuance under the Equity Incentive2022 Plan and 492,090456,784 shares that were available for issuance under the ESPP. An aggregate of 4,3456,489 shares of common stock were purchased under the ESPP in fiscal 2014.2022. For purposes of determining the availability of shares under the 2022 Plan, outstanding PRSUs were counted at maximum. No future grants may be made under the 2016 Plan, and therefore there are no shares remaining available for future issuance thereunder reflected in column (c).

(4)

Consists of the Company’s Equity Incentive2022 Plan, 2016 Plan and the ESPP.

SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE

Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires the Company’s officers and directors and persons who own more than 10% of a registered class of the Company’s equity securities to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the SEC. Such officers, directors and shareholders are required by SEC regulations to furnish the Company with copies of all such reports that they file. Based solely on a review of copies of reports filed with the SEC and of written representations by officers and directors, the Company believes that during fiscal 2014, all officers and directors subject to the reporting requirements of Section 16(a) filed the required reports on a timely basis, except Mr. Anderson, who had one late Form 4 filing with respect to a vesting event.59


-52-


PROPOSAL 1

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

At our Annual Meeting, shareholders will elect three Class III directors to hold office until our 2018 annual meeting of shareholders, one Class I director to hold office until our 2016 annual meeting of shareholders and two Class II directors to hold office for a one-year term, until our 20172024 annual meeting of shareholders. Nominees were recommended and approved for nomination by our nominating and corporate governance committee. The directors shall serve until their successors have been duly elected and qualified or until any such director’s earlier resignation or removal. Proxies cannot be voted for a greater number of persons than the number of nominees named. If you sign and return the accompanying proxy, your shares will be voted for the election of the six nominees recommended by our board of directors, unless you mark the proxy in such a manner as to withhold authority to vote or as to vote for one or more alternate candidates. If any nominee for any reason is unable to serve or will not serve, the proxies may be voted for such substitute nominee as the proxy holder may determine. We are not aware of any nominee who will be unable to or will not serve as a director.

Proxies cannot be voted for a greater number of persons than the number of nominees named. If you sign and return the accompanying proxy, your shares will be voted FOR the election of the three nominees recommended by our board of directors, unless you mark the proxy in such a manner as to vote AGAINST or ABSTAIN with respect to one or more nominees. See “What if I don’t vote for some of the items listed on my proxy card or voting instruction card?” on p. 6 of this proxy statement if you hold your shares in street name through a bank, broker, or other intermediary.

The following directors are being nominated for election to our board of directors: David M. Mussafer, David Schlessinger, and Thomas G. Vellios to serve as Class III directors through the 2018 annual meeting of shareholders; Catherine E. Buggeln to serve as a Class I director through the 2016 annual meeting of shareholders; and Joel D. Anderson, and Kathleen S. Barclay to serve as Class II directors through the 2017 annual meeting of shareholders. In 2014, the nominating and corporate governance committee engaged Spencer Stuart, an outside search firm, to help identify potential director candidates, including Mses. Buggeln and Barclay, and to assist by providing background information and assessments of qualifications on potential candidates.Thomas M. Ryan. Please see the discussion under “Board of Directors” in this Proxy Statement for information concerning each of our nominees for director.

Mr. Anderson is currently serving as a Class II director, having been elected by the board of directors effective February 1, 2015 to fill a vacancy created by an increase to its size. Mses. Buggeln and Barclay are currently serving as Class I and II directors, respectively, having been elected on March 10, 2015 by the board of directors to fill vacancies created by an increase to the size of the board and the resignation of Steven J. Collins. Pursuant to our bylaws, any Vacancy Director elected by the board of directors may only hold office until the next annual meeting of shareholders and until his or her successor has been duly elected and qualified, subject to his or her earlier death, resignation, disqualification or removal. At the annual meeting of shareholders following the election of a Vacancy Director, the shareholders will have the opportunity to elect a director to fill the vacancy having been filled by the Vacancy Director. The board will nominate a candidate to fill the vacancy, who may be the Vacancy Director. The candidate, if elected, will serve until the annual meeting of shareholders at which the term of office of the class in which the vacancy occurred expires and until such director’s successor shall have been duly elected and qualified, subject to his or her earlier death, resignation, disqualification or removal.

Required Vote

Our bylaws provide for a pluralitymajority voting standard for the uncontested election of directors. Under this voting standard, once a quorum has been established, any of the sixthree nominees receiving the highest number of affirmativemore FOR votes of the shares entitled to be voted for themthan AGAINST votes will be elected as a director to serve until thethe2024 annual meeting of shareholders at which the term of office of the class to which such director was elected expires and until their successors are duly elected and qualified. Votes withheldABSTAIN votes and broker non-votes shall have no legal effect.

In the event a director does not receive the required vote for election to the board of directors, such director is required to tender his or her resignation to the nominating and corporate governance committee. The nominating and corporate governance committee shall consider such resignation in accordance with its charter and make a recommendation to the board of directors as to whether or not to accept such resignation. At the Annual Meeting, proxies cannot be voted for a greater number of individuals than the sixthree nominees named in this Proxy Statement.

The board of directors recommends a vote FOR the election of each of the nominated directors.

 

-53-60


PROPOSAL 2

RATIFICATION OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

The audit committee has appointed KPMG LLP to serve as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending January 30, 2016.February 3, 2024. The Company is not required by its bylaws or applicable law to submit the appointment of KPMG LLP for shareholder approval. However, as a matter of good corporate governance, the board of directors has determined to submit the audit committee’s appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm to shareholders for ratification. If shareholders do not ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP, the audit committee may consider the appointment of another independent registered public accounting firm. In addition, even if shareholders ratify the audit committee’s selection, the audit committee, in its discretion, may appoint a different independent registered public accounting firm if it believes that such a change would be in the best interests of the Company and our shareholders.

Required Vote

The affirmative vote of a majority of votes cast is required to approve the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending January 30, 2016.February 3, 2024.

OurThe board of directors recommends that you vote FOR ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending January 30, 2016.February 3, 2024.

A representative of KPMG LLP is expected to attend the Annual Meeting. The representative will have the opportunity to make a statement if he or she desires to do so, and is expected to be available to answer appropriate questions.

Fee Information

The following table sets forth fees in connection with services rendered by KPMG LLP, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, for fiscal 20142022 and fiscal 2013.2021.

 

  Fiscal Year
2014
   Fiscal Year
2013
   Fiscal Year
2022
   Fiscal Year
2021
 

Audit Fees

  $925,000     1,405,000    $1,208,903   $1,149,000 

Audit-Related Fees

   —       —       —      —   

Tax Fees

   —       —       —      —   

All Other Fees

   —       —       —      —   
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Total Fees

  $925,000     1,405,000    $1,208,903   $1,149,000 
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

Audit Fees

Audit fees include fees for professional services rendered in connection with the annual audit of the Company’s financial statements, the audit of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting for fiscal 2014,2022, and the review of the Company’s interim financial statements included in quarterly reports, as well as fees for services that generally only the independent registered public accounting firm can be reasonably expected to provide, including comfort letters, consents, and review of registration statements filed with the SEC.

Audit-Related Fees

There were no amounts billed for audit-related fees during fiscal 2014 and2022 or fiscal 2013.2021.

Tax Fees

There were no amounts billed for tax fees during fiscal 2014 and2022 or fiscal 2013.

2021.

 

-54-61


All Other Fees

There were no amounts billed for other fees during fiscal 2014 and2022 or fiscal 2013.2021.

Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures

Under our audit committee’s charter, the audit committee must pre-approve all audit and other permissible non-audit services proposed to be performed by the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm. The audit committee is not authorized to delegate the pre-approval of permitted non-audit services to management. The audit committee approved a pre-approval policy for services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm. Under the policy, our audit committee has pre-approved the provision by the independent registered public accounting firm of certain services that fall within specified categories. Any services exceeding pre-approved cost levels or budgeted amounts, or any services that fall outside of the general pre-approved categories, require specific pre-approval by the audit committee. If the audit committee delegates pre-approval authority to one or more of its members, the member would be required to report any pre-approval decisions to the audit committee at its next scheduled meeting.

There were no non-audit services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm during the fiscal years 2014 and 2013.

2022 or fiscal 2021.

 

-55-62


PROPOSAL 3

ADVISORY (NON-BINDING) VOTE TO APPROVE THE COMPANY’S NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICER COMPENSATION

The Dodd-Frank Act enables our shareholders to vote to approve, on an advisory (non-binding) basis, the compensation of our Named Executive Officers as disclosed in this Proxy Statement in accordance with the SEC’s rules.

As described in detail under the heading “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” our executive compensation programs are designed to attract, develop, motivate, and retain our Named Executive Officers, who are critical to our success. Under these programs, our Named Executive Officers are rewarded for the achievement of specific annual, long-term and strategic goals, corporate goals, and the realization of increased shareholder value. Please read the “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” for additional details about our executive compensation programs, including information about the fiscal 2022 compensation of our Named Executive Officers.

We are asking our shareholders to indicate their support for our Named Executive Officers’ compensation as described in this Proxy Statement. This proposal, commonly known as a “Say-on-Pay” proposal, gives our shareholders the opportunity to express their views on our Named Executive Officers’ compensation. This vote is not intended to address any specific item of compensation, but rather the overall compensation of our Named Executive Officers and the philosophy, policies and practices described in this Proxy Statement.

In accordance with the requirements of Section 14A of the Exchange Act (which were added by the Dodd-Frank Act) and the related rules of the SEC, our board of directors will request your advisory vote on the following resolution at the Annual Meeting:

RESOLVED, that the compensation paid to the Named Executive Officers, as disclosed in this Proxy Statement pursuant to the SEC’s executive compensation disclosure rules (which disclosure includes the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, the compensation tables and the narrative discussion that accompanies the compensation tables), is hereby approved.

The Say-on-Pay vote is advisory, and therefore not binding on the Company, the compensation committee or our board of directors. Our board of directors and our compensation committee value the opinions of our shareholders and to the extent there is any significant vote against the Named Executive Officer compensation as disclosed in this Proxy Statement, we will consider our shareholders’ concerns and the compensation committee will evaluate whether any actions are necessary to address those concerns. The Company currently conducts a Say-on-Pay vote annually.

The board of directors unanimously recommends a vote FOR the approval of the compensation of the Named Executive Officers as disclosed in this Proxy Statement pursuant to Item 402 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, the compensation tables and narrative discussion that accompanies the compensation tables.

63


PROPOSAL 4

AMENDMENT TO ARTICLESTHE COMPANY’S AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS TO LIMIT THE LIABILITY OF INCORPORATION AND BYLAWSOFFICERS

Majority VotingThe board of directors is submitting for approval by shareholders a proposed amendment to the Amended and Restated Bylaws to limit the monetary liability of officers of the Company for certain actions or failure to take certain actions.

UnderIn accordance with Section 1713 of Pennsylvania Business Corporation Law of 1988 (the “BCL”), the Company’s Amended and Restated Bylaws currently provide that directors shall not be personally liable for monetary damages for any action taken, or any failure to take any action, unless the director has breached or failed to perform the duties of his or her office under our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation, Amended and Restated Bylaws or applicable provisions of law and the default voting standardbreach or failure to perform constitutes self-dealing, willful misconduct or recklessness. Historically, the BCL has not authorized the limitation of liability of officers in a comparable manner.

Changes to the BCL that became effective on January 2, 2023 included the addition of a new Section 1735, which authorizes shareholders to adopt a bylaw providing for the electionlimitation of liability of officers similar to the limitation of liability that has historically been available for directors. When the liability of directors by shareholders ishas been permitted to be limited and the liability of officers has not, shareholder plaintiffs have employed a tactic of bringing certain claims (that would otherwise be unable to be brought against directors) against individual officers to avoid dismissal of such claims. The addition of Section 1735 addresses this inconsistent treatment between officers and directors and addresses rising litigation and insurance costs for shareholders.

The board of directors believes that directors receivingadopting a provision in the highest numberAmended and Restated Bylaws that limits the liability of votes are elected. This is called the “plurality voting standard.” As a Pennsylvania corporation, the Company’s directors are currently elected under the plurality standard. This means a director may be elected without regard to how many votes he or she receives and how many votes were withheld.

After careful consideration andofficers in light of current corporate governance trends, the board believes itaccordance with Section 1735 is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders to approve an amendment to the Company’s articles of incorporation and bylaws to provide for majority voting in uncontested director elections. The board believes that the adoption of the proposed majority voting standard in uncontested director elections will give shareholders a greater voice in determining the composition of the board. Majority voting requires more shareholder votes for a nominee than against a nominee in order for the nominee to be elected to the board.

shareholders. Accordingly, on March 10, 2015, the board of directors has unanimously adopted,approved, subject to shareholder approval, an amendment to the Company’s articlesAmended and Restated Bylaws to add a new Section 3.20 that would provide for the limitation of incorporation and bylaws to adopt majority voting in an uncontested election. Underliability of officers as permitted by Section 1735. The board of directors has also adopted resolutions recommending that the proposed majority voting standard, each vote cast willamendment be counted either “for” or “against” the nominee’s election as a director. To be elected, the number of votes cast “for” such nominee’s election must exceed the number of votes cast “against” such nominee’s election. Abstentions will continuesubmitted to have no effect in determining whether the required affirmative majority vote has been obtained. If the amendments to the articles of incorporationshareholders and bylaws are approved by therecommending that shareholders they will be applicable starting with the 2016 annual meeting of shareholders.

Concurrently withapprove the proposed amendments, the board also amended the nominating and corporate governance committee charter to require any incumbent director who is nominated for re-election but does not receive the required vote for re-election to tender his or her resignation to the nominating and corporate governance committee and the board for its consideration. amendment.

The nominating and corporate governance committee will consider such tendered resignation and, within 30 days after certificationproposed new Section 3.20 of the election resultsAmended and Restated Bylaws is set forth as Appendix A-2 to this Proxy Statement. As permitted by Section 1735, the proposed amendment also clarifies the effect of any amendment, repeal, adoption or modification of such limitation of liability on the shareholders’ meeting at which a director failed to receive the number of votes required for re-election, will make a recommendation to the board as to the appropriate action. In determining its recommendation to the board, the nominating and corporate governance committee will consider all factors deemed relevant by the members of the committee including, without limitation, the stated reasonrights or reasons why shareholders voted against such director’s re-election, the qualifications of the director, whether acceptance of the resignation would result in a breachprotections of a material agreementcurrent or result in the Company having no directors or affect the Company’s ability to comply with stock exchange listing standards, and whether the director’s resignation from the board would generally be in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. The board will act on the nominating and corporate governance committee’s recommendation and publicly disclose its decision and the rationale behind such decision within 90 days after certification of the election results.

Under the proposed majority voting standard in uncontestedformer director elections, if a nominee who is not currently a member of the board receives fewer votes cast “for” than “against” his or her election, that nominee will not be elected to the Company’s board.

If the number of nominees for directors exceeds the number of directors to be elected, this is considered a contested election. In the event of a contested election, the plurality standard will continue to apply and votes may be cast only as “for” or “withhold” authority.

-56-


Amendment to Articles of Incorporation

The board hereby requests that you vote in favor of the following amendment to Paragraph B of Article Twelfth of the Company’s articles of incorporation (the text that will be deleted isitalicized and marked with brackets and the text to be added isbolded and underlined):

B. The directors, other than those who may be elected by the holders of any series of Preferred Stock or any other series or class of stock, as provided herein or in any Preferred Stock Designation, shall be divided into three classes, as nearly equal in number as possible. [One class of directors shall be initially elected for a term expiringexisting at the annual meeting of shareholders to be held in 2013, another class shall be initially elected for a term expiring at the annual meeting of shareholders to be held in 2014, and another class shall be initially elected for a term expiring at the annual meeting of shareholders to be held in 2015.] Members of each class shall hold office until their successors are duly elected and qualified, subject to their earlier death, resignation, disqualification or removal. At each annual meeting of the shareholders of the Corporation, [commencing with the 2013 annual meeting,] the successors of the class of directors whose term expires at that meeting shall be elected by [a plurality vote of all votes cast at such meeting]the shareholders in the manner set forth in the Bylaws of the Corporation,to hold office for a term expiring at the annual meeting of shareholders held in the third year following the year of their election. If the number of directors is changed, any increase or decrease shall be apportioned among the classes so as to maintain the number of directors in each class as nearly equal as possible, but in no case will a decrease in the number of authorized directors constituting the whole Board shorten the term of any incumbent director.

Amendment to Bylaws

The board hereby requests that you vote in favor of the following amendment to Article 3 of the Company’s bylaws (the text that will be deleted isitalicized and marked with brackets and the text to be added isbolded and underlined):

Section 3.2.Number, Elections and Term of Office. Subject to the provisions of the Articles (including, but not limited to, for purposes of these Bylaws, pursuant to any duly authorized certificate of designation), the number of directors of the Corporation shall be fixed from time to time exclusively by the Board pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the whole Board, but the size of the Board shall not be less than three or greater than eleven. The directors, other than those who may be elected by the holders of any series or class of stock, as provided in the Articles, shall be divided into three (3) classes, as nearly equal in [term]number as possible, shall be elected to serve a term of three (3) years and shall hold office until his or her successor shall have been duly elected and qualified, subject to his earlier death, resignation, disqualification or removal. No decrease in the number of authorized directors constituting the whole Board shall shorten the term of any incumbent director. At each annual meeting of the shareholders of the Corporation, [commencing with the 2013 annual meeting,] the successors of the class of directors whose term expires at that meeting shall be elected by [a plurality vote of all votes cast at such meeting]the shareholders, to hold office for a term expiring at the annual meeting of shareholders held in the third year following the year of their election.

Section 3.3. [Plurality Voting.When directors are to be elected at a meeting of Shareholders]Majority Voting. Each director shall be elected by the vote of the majority of the votes cast with respect to such director’s election at any meeting of the shareholders called for the purpose of the election of directors at which a quorum is present, provided that if as of a date that is ten (10) days in advance of the date the Corporation files its definitive proxy statement (regardless of whether or not thereafter revised or supplemented) with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the number of nominees exceeds the number of directors to be elected, the directors shall be elected by a plurality of [the] votes [of]cast by the shares [present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and] entitled to vote in the election. [of directors; provided that, whenever the holders of any class or series of common stock of the Corporation are entitled to elect one or more directors pursuant to the provisions of the Articles, such directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes of such classamendment, repeal, adoption or series present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote in the election of such directors.]

modification.

-57-


For the purposes of these Restated Bylaws, a “majority of the votes cast” means that the number of shares voted “for” a director must exceed the number of votes “against” with respect to that director.

Section 3.8. Resignation. Any director of the Corporation may resign at any time by giving written notice to the Board, to the Chairman of the Board (if one has been elected), to the President, or to the Secretary of the Corporation. Such resignation shall take effect at the date of the receipt of such notice or at any later time specified therein; and, unless otherwise specified therein, the acceptance of such resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective.

Director Removal

Under Pennsylvania law, the board is entitled to declare vacant the office of a director who has been judicially declared of unsound mind or who has been convicted of an offense punishable by imprisonment for a term of more than one year. In addition, the board may declare vacant the office of a director if, after a specified period of time after notice of his or her selection, he or she does not accept the office either in writing or by attending a meeting of the board and fulfill such other requirements of qualification as the bylaws may specify.

Our bylaws reflect the right of the board to vacate the office of a director consistent with Pennsylvania law, but our articles of incorporation did not specifically call out such right. Accordingly, on March 10, 2015, the board unanimously adopted, subject to shareholder approval, an amendment to the articles of incorporation to conform the articles of incorporation to the provisions of the bylaws and Pennsylvania law regarding removal as stated above.

Amendment to Articles of Incorporation

The board hereby requests that you vote in favor of the following amendment to Paragraph D of Article Twelfth of the Company’s articles of incorporation (the text that will be deleted isitalicized and marked with brackets and the text to be added isbolded and underlined):

D. Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock or any other series or class of stock, as provided herein or in any Preferred Stock Designation, any director may be removed from office at any time[, but only]in either of the following manners:

1. for cause [and] by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least eighty percent (80%) of the voting power of the then outstanding capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (the “Voting Stock”), voting together as a single class; and

2. the Board may declare vacant the office of a director who has been judicially declared of unsound mind or who has been convicted of an offense punishable by imprisonment for a term of more than one year, or if, within one hundred twenty days after notice of election, the director does not accept such office either in writing or by attending a meeting of the Board.

Required Vote

The affirmative vote of a majority of votes cast is required to approve this Proposal 4 to amend the Amended and Restated Bylaws to provide for the limitation of liability of officers as described above.

If approved, this proposal would become effective immediately, and the addition of Section 3.20 of the Amended and Restated Bylaws attached as Appendix A-2 to this Proxy Statement would be implemented.

The board of directors recommends a vote FOR the approval of the amendment to our articlesthe Amended and Restated Bylaws to limit the liability of incorporation and corresponding bylawofficers as described in this Proposal 4.

64


PROPOSAL 5

AMENDMENT TO THE COMPANY’S AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS TO AMEND THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY OF DIRECTORS PROVISION

The board of directors is submitting for approval by shareholders a proposed amendment to replace the plurality voting standard inAmended and Restated Bylaws to amend the uncontested electionlimitation of liability of directors with a majority voting standardprovision, currently set forth in Section 3.19 of the Amended and Restated Bylaws, to conform to Section 1713 of the provisionsPBCL as amended effective January 2, 2023.

As permitted by the recent changes to Section 1713, the proposed amendment would confirm that any amendment or repeal of Pennsylvania law regarding removalSection 3.19 of the Amended and Restated Bylaws will not diminish the liability limitation in effect before the amendment or repeal with respect to an act by a director occurring before the amendment or repeal. Further, in accordance with Section 1713 of the PBCL, the proposed amendment would provide that the limitation of liability conferred by Section 3.19 of the Amended and Restated Bylaws would not apply to the responsibility or liability of a director pursuant to any criminal statute or the liability of a director for the payment of taxes pursuant to federal, state or local law.

The board of directors believes that amending Section 3.19 of the Amended and Restated Bylaws to conform the language to Section 1713 of the PBCL as statedrecently amended is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. Upon shareholder approval of this proposal to amend the limitation of liability of directors provision, the current text of Section 3.19 would be amended as set forth in Appendix A-3 to this Proxy Statement.

Accordingly, the board of directors has unanimously approved, subject to shareholder approval, the proposed amendment to the Amended and Restated Bylaws to provide for amendment of the limitation of liability of directors provision as described above. The board of directors has also adopted resolutions recommending that the proposed amendment be submitted to shareholders and recommending that shareholders approve the proposed amendment.

Required Vote

The affirmative vote of a majority of votes cast is required to approve this Proposal 5 to amend the Amended and Restated Bylaws to amend the limitation of liability of directors provision as described above.

If approved, this proposal would become effective immediately, and the replacement of the current text in Section 3.19 of the Amended and Restated Bylaws with the text attached as Appendix A-3 to this Proxy Statement would be implemented.

The board of directors recommends a vote FOR the approval of the amendment to the Amended and Restated Bylaws to amend the limitation of liability of directors provision as described in this Proposal 5.

 

-58-65


OTHER MATTERS

Our board of directors does not presently intend to bring any other business before the meeting, and, so far as is known to our board of directors, no matters are to be brought before the meeting except as specified in the Notice of Annual Meeting. As to any business that may properly come before the meeting, however, it is intended that proxies, in the form enclosed, will be voted in respect thereof in accordance with the judgment of the persons voting such proxies.

SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS AND DIRECTOR NOMINATIONS FOR 20162024 ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

Shareholder proposals submitted to us pursuant to Rule 14a-8 promulgated under the Exchange Act for inclusion in our proxy statement and form of proxy for our 20162024 annual meeting of shareholders must be received by us no later than January 9, 20166, 2024 and must comply with the requirements of the proxy rules promulgated by the SEC.

In accordance with our current bylaws, for a proposal of a shareholder to be raised from the floor and presented at our 20162023 annual meeting of shareholders, other than a shareholder proposal intended to be included in our proxy statement and submitted pursuant to Rule 14a-8 promulgated under the Exchange Act, a shareholder’s notice must be delivered to, or mailed and received at, our principal executive offices, together with all supporting documentation required by our bylaws, (A)(a) not prior to March 20, 201615, 2024 nor later than April 19, 201614, 2024 or (B)(b) in the event that the 20162024 annual meeting of shareholders is held prior to May 19, 201614, 2024 or after August 17, 2016,12, 2024, notice by the shareholder must be so received not earlier than the 90th90th day prior to the annual meeting and not later than the later of the 60th60th day prior to the annual meeting or the 15th15th day following the day on which public announcement of the date of the meeting is first made. Shareholder proposals should be addressed to our Corporate Secretary, Five Below, Inc., 1818701 Market Street, Suite 2000,300, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.19106.

In addition, to comply with the universal proxy rules, shareholders who intend to solicit proxies in support of director nominees other than our nominees must provide notice that sets forth the information required by Rule 14a-19 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 no later than April 14, 2024.

ANNUAL REPORT TO SHAREHOLDERS

Our 20142022 Annual Report has been posted, and is available without charge, on our corporate website atwww.fivebelow.com. http://investor.fivebelow.com in the “Financial Information” section. For shareholders receiving a Notice of Internet Availability, such Notice will contain instructions on how to request a printed copy of our 20142022 Annual Report. For shareholders receiving a printed copy of this Proxy Statement, a copy of our 20142022 Annual Report has also been provided to you.you (including the financial statements and the financial statement schedules but excluding the exhibits thereto). In addition, we will provide, without charge, a copy of our 20142022 Annual Report (including the financial statements and the financial statement schedules but excluding the exhibits thereto) to any shareholder of record or beneficial owner of our common stock. Requests can be made by writing to Corporate Secretary, c/o Five Below, Inc., 1818701 Market Street, Suite 2000,300, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103.19106.

DELIVERY OF DOCUMENTS TO SHAREHOLDERS SHARING AN ADDRESS

We have adopted a procedure, approved by the SEC, called “householding.” Under this procedure, shareholders of record who have the same address and last name and did not receive a Notice of Internet Availability or otherwise receive their proxy materials electronically will receive only one copy of this Proxy Statement and the 20142022 Annual Report, unless we are notified that one or more of these shareholders wishes to continue receiving individual copies. This procedure will reduce our printing costs and postage fees.

66


If you are eligible for householding, but you and other shareholders of record with whom you share an address currently receive multiple copies of this Proxy Statement and the 20142022 Annual Report, or if you hold our stock in more than one account, and in either case you wish to receive only a single copy of each of these documents for your household, please contact our Corporate Secretary by mail, c/o Five Below, Inc., 1818

-59-


701 Market Street, Suite 2000,300, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1910319106 or by phone at (215) 546-7909. If you participate in householding and wish to receive a separate copy of this Proxy Statement and the 20142022 Annual Report, or if you do not wish to continue to participate in householding and prefer to receive separate copies of these documents in the future, please contact our Corporate Secretary as indicated above.

If your shares are held in street name through a broker, bank or other intermediary, please contact your broker, bank or intermediary directly if you have questions, require additional copies of this Proxy Statement or the 20142022 Annual Report or wish to receive a single copy of such materials in the future for all beneficial owners of shares of the Company’s common stock sharing an address.

67


Appendix A-1

RECONCILIATION OF PRE-INCENTIVE ADJUSTED OPERATING INCOME

TO OPERATING INCOME

(in $ thousands)  Fiscal 2022 

Operating Income

  $ 345,043 

Total Incentive Bonus

  $7,500 
  

 

 

 

Pre-Incentive Adjusted Operating Income

  $352,543 

A-1


Appendix A-2

PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE COMPANY’S AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS TO PROVIDE FOR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY OF OFFICERS

Section 3.20 is hereby added as shown below:

Section 3.20. Officers’ Liability. An officer of the Corporation shall not be personally liable, as such, for monetary damages (including, without limitation, any judgment, amount paid in settlement, penalty, punitive damages or expense of any nature (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees and disbursements)) for any action taken, or any failure to take any action, unless the officer has breached or failed to perform the duties of his or her office under the Articles, these Bylaws or applicable provisions of law and the breach or failure to perform constitutes self-dealing, willful misconduct or recklessness; provided however that this Section 3.20 shall not apply to the responsibility or liability of an officer pursuant to any criminal statute or the liability of an officer for the payment of taxes pursuant to federal, state or local law. Neither the amendment nor repeal of this Section 3.20, nor the adoption of any provision of these Bylaws, nor, to the fullest extent permitted by the 1988 BCL, any modification of law shall eliminate, reduce or otherwise adversely affect any right or protection of a current or former officer of the Corporation existing at the time of such amendment, repeal, adoption or modification.

 

-60-A-2


Appendix A-3

PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE COMPANY’S AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS TO AMEND THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY OF DIRECTORS PROVISION

Section 3.19 is hereby amended as shown below (with deletions highlighted in strike-through text and additions highlighted in underlined text):

Section 3.19. Directors’ Liability. A director of the BoardCorporation shall not be personally liable, as such, for monetary damages as such (including, without limitation, any judgment, amount paid in settlement, penalty, punitive damages or expense of any nature (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees and disbursements)) for any action taken, or any failure to take any action, unless the director has breached or failed to perform the duties of his or her officea director under the Articles, these Bylaws or applicable provisions of law and the breach or failure to perform constitutes self- dealing, willful misconduct or recklessness; provided however that this Section 3.19 shall not apply to the responsibility or liability of a director pursuant to any criminal statute or the liability of a director for the payment of taxes pursuant to federal, state or local law. Neither the amendment nor repeal of this Section 3.19, nor the adoption of any provision of these Bylaws, nor, to the fullest extent permitted by the 1988 BCL, any modification of law shall eliminate, reduce or otherwise adversely affect any right or protection of a current or former director of the Corporation existing at the time of such amendment, repeal, adoption or modification.

A-3


LOGOLOGO

SCAN TO FIVE BELOW, INC.

1818 VIEW MATERIALS & VOTE w 701 MARKET STREET

SUITE 2000

PHILADELPHIA, PA 19103

VOTE BY INTERNET -SUITE 300 Before The Meeting—Go to www.proxyvote.com

or scan the QR Barcode above PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106 Use the Internet to transmit your voting instructions and for electronic delivery of information up until 11:59 P.M.p.m. Eastern Time the day before the cut-off date or meeting date. Have your proxy card in hand when you access the web sitewebsite and follow the instructions to obtain your records and to create an electronic voting instruction form.

During The Meeting To vote during the virtual Annual Shareholder Meeting, shareholders must register in advance at https://viewproxy.com/fivebelow/2023/ prior to the deadline of 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on June 8, 2023. ELECTRONIC DELIVERY OF FUTURE PROXY MATERIALS If you would like to reduce the costs incurred by our company in mailing proxy materials, you can consent to receiving all future proxy statements, proxy cards and annual reports electronically via e-mail or the Internet. To sign up for electronic delivery, please follow the instructions above to vote using the Internet and, when prompted, indicate that you agree to receive or access proxy materials electronically in future years. VOTE BY PHONE - PHONE—1-800-690-6903

Use any touch-tone telephone to transmit your voting instructions up until 11:59 P.M.p.m. Eastern Time the day before the cut-off date or meeting date. Have your proxy card in hand when you call and then follow the instructions.

VOTE BY MAIL

Mark, sign and date your proxy card and return it in the postage-paid envelope we have provided or return it to Vote Processing, c/o Broadridge, 51 Mercedes Way, Edgewood, NY 11717.

TO VOTE, MARK BLOCKS BELOW IN BLUE OR BLACK INK AS FOLLOWS:

M89997-P64320 V08582-P91165 KEEP THIS PORTION FOR YOUR RECORDS

—  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —   —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —   —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —   —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —

DETACH AND RETURN THIS PORTION ONLY

THIS PROXY CARD IS VALID ONLY WHEN SIGNED AND DATED. DETACH AND RETURN THIS PORTION ONLY FIVE BELOW, INC. The Board of Directors recommends you vote FOR the following: 1. Election of Directors Nominees: For Against Abstain 1a. Joel D. Anderson ! ! ! 1b. Kathleen S. Barclay ! ! ! 1c. Thomas M. Ryan ! ! ! The Board of Directors recommends you vote FOR proposals 2, 3, 4 and 5. For Against Abstain 2. To ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the current fiscal year ending ! ! ! February 3, 2024. 3. To approve, by non-binding advisory vote, the Company’s Named Executive Officer compensation. ! ! ! 4. To approve an amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Bylaws to limit the liability of officers. ! ! ! 5. To approve an amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Bylaws to amend the limitation of liability of directors provision. ! ! ! NOTE: The shares represented by this proxy, when properly executed will be voted in the manner directed herein by the undersigned. If no direction is made, this proxy will be voted FOR the election of the nominees listed under proposal 1 above and FOR proposals 2, 3, 4 and 5. If any other matters properly come before the meeting, the persons named in this proxy will vote in their discretion. Please sign exactly as your name(s) appear(s) hereon. When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, or other fiduciary, please give full title as such. Joint owners should each sign personally. All holders must sign. If a corporation or partnership, please sign in full corporate or partnership name by authorized officer. Signature [PLEASE SIGN WITHIN BOX] Date Signature (Joint Owners) Date


FIVE BELOW, INC.For
All
Withhold
All
For All
Except
To withhold authority to vote for any individual nominee(s), mark “For All Except” and write the number(s) of the nominee(s) on the line below.

The Board of Directors recommends you vote

FOR the following:

1.Election of Directors

¨¨¨

Nominees:

01)   David M. Mussafer                 04)    Catherine E. Buggeln

02)   David Schlessinger                05)    Joel D. Anderson

03)   Thomas G. Vellios                 06)    Kathleen S. Barclay

The Board of Directors recommends you vote FOR proposals 2 and 3.
ForAgainstAbstain

 2.To ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the current fiscal year ending January 30, 2016.

¨¨¨

 3.    To vote on an amendment to the Company’s articles of incorporation and a corresponding amendment to the Company’s bylaws to replace the pluralityvoting standard in the uncontested election of directors with a majority voting standard and make conforming changes.

¨¨¨
NOTE:The shares represented by this proxy when properly executed will be voted in the manner directed herein by the undersigned shareholder(s). If no direction is made, this proxy will be voted FOR items 1, 2, and 3. If any other matters properly come before the meeting, or if cumulative voting is required, the persons named in this proxy will vote in their discretion.

For address change/comments, mark here.

(see reverse for instructions)

¨
Please indicate if you plan to attend this meeting¨¨
YesNo
Please sign exactly as your name(s) appear(s) hereon. When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, or other fiduciary, please give full title as such. Joint owners should each sign personally. All holders must sign. If a corporation or partnership, please sign in full corporate or partnership name by authorized officer.

Signature [PLEASE SIGN WITHIN BOX]DateSignature (Joint Owners)Date

LOGO


Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting:

The Notice and Proxy Statement and Annual Report are available atwww.proxyvote.com. www.proxyvote.com. V08583-P91165 FIVE BELOW, INC. THIS PROXY IS SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS June 13, 2023 The undersigned hereby appoints Kenneth R. Bull and Ronald J. Masciantonio, or either of them, as proxies, each with the power to appoint his substitute, and hereby authorizes them to represent and to vote, as designated on the reverse side of this ballot, all of the shares of common stock of Five Below, Inc. that the undersigned is entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held online at https://viewproxy.com/fivebelow/2023/ at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time on June 13, 2023 and at any adjournment or postponement thereof. THIS PROXY, WHEN PROPERLY EXECUTED, WILL BE VOTED AS DIRECTED BY THE UNDERSIGNED. IF NO SUCH DIRECTIONS ARE MADE, THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED FOR THE ELECTION OF THE NOMINEES LISTED ON THE REVERSE SIDE FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND FOR PROPOSALS 2, 3, 4 AND 5. PLEASE MARK, SIGN, DATE AND RETURN THIS PROXY CARD PROMPTLY USING THE ENCLOSED REPLY ENVELOPE. Continued and to be signed on reverse side

—  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —   —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —   —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —   —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —
M89998-P64320

FIVE BELOW, INC.

THIS PROXY IS SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

June 18, 2015

The undersigned hereby appoints Joel D. Anderson and Kenneth R. Bull, or either of them, as proxies, each with the power to appoint his substitute, and hereby authorizes them to represent and to vote, as designated on the reverse side of this ballot, all of the shares of common stock of Five Below, Inc. that the undersigned is entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held at 9:00 AM, Eastern Daylight Time on June 18, 2015, at the offices of Pepper Hamilton LLP, 3000 Two Logan Square, 18th and Arch Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19103, and any adjournment or postponement thereof. For directions to the meeting, please contact the company at 215-546-7909.

THIS PROXY, WHEN PROPERLY EXECUTED, WILL BE VOTED AS DIRECTED BY THE UNDERSIGNED. IF NO SUCH DIRECTIONS ARE MADE, THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED FOR THE ELECTION OF THE NOMINEES LISTED ON THE REVERSE SIDE FOR THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND FOR PROPOSALS 2 AND 3.

PLEASE MARK, SIGN, DATE AND RETURN THIS PROXY CARD PROMPTLY USING THE ENCLOSED REPLY ENVELOPE.

Address change/comments:

(If you noted any Address Changes and/or Comments above, please mark corresponding box on the reverse side.)

Continued and to be signed on reverse side