Five Below's Net Sales Jump 22.9% as Trend-Chasing Flywheel Gains Speed

Five Below's net sales rose 22.9% in the second quarter versus 2025, and same-store sales climbed 14.1% year over year — a sharp reversal for a chain that looked wounded in 2024.

Two years ago, the discount retailer faced declining same-store sales in its final quarter of momentum, the departure of its longtime CEO, and rising losses from shrink. CEO Winifried Park now credits a three-part "flywheel" for the turnaround: merchants hunting down trends, marketing teams amplifying their story, and store associates executing through merchandising.

"As our capabilities grow, the flywheel becomes more powerful, driving continued customer engagement and durable growth," Park told shareholders during an earnings call in September.

Why does the flywheel need three parts?

Each component works, but the connections between them drive results, Park said.

"While each stands on its own in terms of importance to the model, the relationship and connectivity between all three is key to unleashing the full power of the Five Below brand and driving durable growth," Park said.

Making the model run requires close collaboration with brands, aggressive marketing, and active merchandising in stores to move product.

How does Five Below stay on trend?

Sakar International, a global electronics company, has worked with Five Below's electronics department for the last 16 years, Stefan Betesh, senior vice president and director of business development at Sakar, told Retail Brew.

"They are a very aggressive buying team," Betesh said. "They want the hottest thing and they want it yesterday."

Retail Brew reached out to Five Below multiple times for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.

Betesh said mass retailers often set and forget a product, sticking to their planograms. That has not been his experience with Five Below.

"They find a hot item, they can put it in," Betesh said. "They make room. They figure it out."

What changed in marketing?

Newness has always been central to Five Below's strategy, Park noted on the latest earnings call. The difference now is the added marketing push behind each drop.

"Along with the newness drops, we're actually engaging in marketing," Park said. "We're messaging it. We're talking about it, and it's working."

Who moves the product in stores?

Once buyers pick the products and the marketing money is spent, retailers still have to merchandise — and store associates are essential to that step, Melissa Wong, CEO of Zipline, told Retail Brew.

Zipline provides software that communicates corporate directives to employees across a retailer's footprint, and it contracts with Five Below. Wong described Zipline as the infrastructure companies like Five Below use to "communicate with and align the frontline teams."

"If you can get your store teams involved in a product launch, that enthusiasm, that loyalty, that excitement totally translates into a better customer experience," Wong said.

For marketers, the lesson from Five Below's rebound is structural: trend-chasing buys attention, but sustained same-store sales growth comes from marketing, merchandising, and frontline execution reinforcing one another.