Charming Shoppes to close 240 stores; $30M loss posted in 4Q

Bensalem retailer Charming Shoppes Inc. says that it will close 240 unprofitable stores in 2011 and that more than half of those will be Fashion Bug outlets.

The locations were not disclosed.

The company announced that all 30 of its Catherines Plus Sizes stores in outlet locations would be closing over a two-year period.

The Bensalem company also said it has appointed Anthony M. Romano as president and chief executive officer. He had been acting chief executive. Brian Woolf was named group president of the Lane Bryant division.

For the three months ending Jan. 29, Charming Shoppes' sales rose 6.8 percent to $575.8 million, fueled by higher same-store sales and a 41 percent boost in its online business.

The company, which operates 2,064 stores in 48 states, lost $30.4 million, or 26 cents a share, compared with a loss of $28 million, or 24 cents a share, in last year's fourth quarter.    - Bob Fernandez