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Headquartered in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, Charming Shoppes, Inc. is a multichannel specialty apparel retailer. They primarily focus on apparel for plus-size women. The company lists and trades on the NASDAQ and is the parent company of four store brands: Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines Plus Sizes, and Petite Sophisticate. They also have their Crosstown Traders, Inc., which is a direct marketer of women’s apparel.

Founded in 1940, Charming Shoppes Inc. operates 2,409 stores in 48 states, as of February 2, 2008. Their corporate mission is to be the company known for celebrating the lives and fashion image of women wearing plus sizes. They are the third-largest specialty-retail apparel holding company in the U.S. as measured by store units. Their network of stores is in strip shopping centers, mall locations, and outlet centers.

Headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, the company’s Crosstown Traders subsidiary is a direct marketer of women’s apparel, footwear, accessories, and specialty gifts. This subsidiary has additional facilities in Wilmington, North Carolina and central Wisconsin. Crosstown Traders offers quality women’s apparel through their Old Pueblo Traders, Intimate Appeal, Coward Shoe, Bedford Fair Lifestyles, Bedford Fair Shoestyles, Willow Ridge, Lew Magram, Brownstone Studio, and Monterey Bay Clothing Company catalog titles. They also have their Figi’s catalog. Headquartered in Marshfield, Wisconsin, Figi sell food and specialty gift products.

Charming Shoppes Inc. acquired their Lane Bryant brand in 2001, and today this division has 900 stores across America. They offer stylish, sophisticated, and high-quality fashion in sizes 14 to 28. In July 2006, Charming Shoppes launched Lane Bryant Outlet.

The company’s Fashion Bug and Fashion Bug Plus are Charming Shoppes’ largest brands with almost 1,000 stores in the U.S. They are a women’s fashion apparel leader in strip shopping centers. They offer fashion apparel and accessories in plus, misses, juniors, and girls’ sizes.

Catherines Plus Sizes is Charming’s plus-size specialty retailer with more than 450 stores across America. This brand targets women 40 to 65 years old and offers classic apparel and accessories for career and casual lifestyles. In addition, Charming has their Petite Sophisticate brand. Petite Sophisticate Outlet is a petite-size specialty retailer with approximately 50 outlet store locations in the U.S. They focus on women 35 to 55 years old and offer traditional, updated classic and contemporary apparel for women wearing sizes 0p to14p.

Charming Shoppes Inc. continues to offer their diverse line of apparel to their select target markets. Through their different store brands, they offer fashion quality that meets the needs of their varied customer base. They offer personality plus, through their charming stores, to their customers’ and shareholders’ delight.

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