The Buckle (BKL) is a mall-based casual clothing retailer whose business has been challenged by several factors, including the lack of compelling new jeans styles for women, some excess inventory, the unseasonably warm fall and winter, lower mall traffic, and rampant discounting, especially in the all-important fourth quarter. We like its long history of successful execution and shareholder-friendly capital allocations, such as the $1 per share special dividend the company paid in December in addition to its regular quarterly payout.
From Royce Funds' Small-Cap Leaders Fund 2015 annual shareholder letter.
