events. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein after the date of this report, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise.
Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to The Container Store Group, Inc. and, where appropriate, its subsidiaries.
We follow a 4-4-5 fiscal calendar, whereby each fiscal quarter consists of thirteen weeks grouped into two four-week “months” and one five-week “month”, and our fiscal year is the 52- or 53-week period ending on the Saturday closest to March 31. Fiscal 2020 ends on April 3, 2021 and will include 53 weeks and fiscal 2019 ended on March 28, 2020 and included 52 weeks. The first quarter of fiscal 2020 ended on June 27, 2020 and the first quarter of fiscal 2019 ended on June 29, 2019, and both included thirteen weeks.
Overview
The Container Store® is the original and leading specialty retailer of storage and organization products and solutions in the United States and the only national retailer solely devoted to the category. We provide a collection of creative, multifunctional and customizable storage and organization solutions that are sold in our stores and online through a high-service, differentiated shopping experience. We feature The Container Store Custom Closets consisting of our elfa® Classic, elfa® Décor, Avera® and Laren® closet lines. Our vision is to be a beloved brand and the first choice for customized organization solutions and services. Our customers are highly educated, very busy and primarily homeowners with a higher than average household income. We service them with storage and organization solutions that help them accomplish projects, maximize their space, and make the most of their home.
Our operations consist of two operating segments:
● The Container Store (“TCS”), which consists of our retail stores, website and call center (which includes business sales), as well as our installation and organizational services business. As of June 27, 2020, we operated 93 stores with an average size of approximately 25,000 square feet (19,000 selling square feet) in 33 states and the District of Columbia. We also offer all of our products directly to customers through our website, responsive mobile site, and call center. Our stores receive substantially all of our products directly from one of our two distribution centers. Our first distribution center in Coppell, Texas, is co-located with our corporate headquarters and call center, and our second distribution center in Aberdeen, Maryland, became fully operational in fiscal 2019.
● Elfa, The Container Store, Inc.’s wholly-owned Swedish subsidiary, Elfa International AB (“Elfa”), designs and manufactures component-based shelving and drawer systems and made-to-measure sliding doors. Elfa was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Malmö, Sweden. Elfa’s shelving and drawer systems are customizable for any area of the home, including closets, kitchens, offices and garages. Elfa operates three manufacturing facilities with two located in Sweden and one in Poland. The Container Store began selling elfa® products in 1978 and acquired Elfa in 1999. Today our TCS segment is the exclusive distributor of elfa® products in the U.S. Elfa also sells its products on a wholesale basis to various retailers in approximately 30 countries around the world, with a concentration in the Nordic region of Europe.
Business Update Related to Coronavirus
The novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic had a negative impact on the Company’s first quarter of fiscal 2020 operations and financial results. We experienced significant disruptions in store operations, including the temporary closure of all stores which adversely affected our business, results of operations and financial condition, and saw a significant increase in our curbside pick-up and online selling. As of June 27, 2020, all 93 stores were reopened and operating at close to normalized schedules, with limited capacity. Therefore, we expect online sales to moderate, compared to the significant increase experienced while our stores were temporarily closed, as customers shift to purchasing in-store. However, we will continue to review local, state, and federal mandates as we may need to temporarily close some or all of the stores again, as COVID-19 and other uncertainties continue to unfold. The Company has taken actions to tightly manage costs, working capital and capital expenditures to preserve the Company’s financial health. As previously announced, the Company furloughed approximately 2,800 employees, primarily in its stores, as