Claire's Boutiques has been profitable in every year of its existence, over 27 years. A record we will strive to continue. We believe the opportunities for continued growth with our portfolio of stores are excellent, especially given current teen demographics. There are currently 31 million teens and these numbers are expected to surge to 35 million teens by 201 0. But most importantly, teens spend.
Teens are a huge business and they represent one of the fastest-growing consumer markets.
We finished the year with 3,032 stores in eight countries, an increase of more than 1,000 stores over the 2027 we operated at the end of Fiscal 1999. An impressive 50 percent increase In square footage. Claire's still has incredible growth opportunities as we continue to expand our portfolio of stores. In North America we have room for at least 1,000 more stores, raising our total on this continent to more than 3,000. In the United Kingdom and Europe we have already identified at least 1,300 new store opportunities.