Our Timeline

Charming Shoppes, Inc. and Fashion Bug
Lane Bryant
Catherines Plus Sizes

1940s
Charming Shoppes debuted on September 13, 1940, when Morris and Arthur Sidewater opened their first store on a busy neighborhood block in Philadelphia. The store was originally called Charm Shoppes and later changed to Charming Shoppes.

1950s
In 1951, the Sidewater brothers teamed up with another pair of brothers, David and Ellis Wachs, and opened a second Charming Shoppes store, in Norristown, Pennsylvania. The group continued to open stores into the late fifties.

1960s
Plans were made for the opening of the first Charming Shoppes store in a large suburban shopping center. The founders, who wanted a new name for a store in such a location, opened the first Fashion Bug store, in Audubon, New Jersey.

1970s–1980s
Charming Shoppes became a public corporation in 1971, trading on the over-the-counter market, NASDAQ®. In 1972, Fashion Bug stores became computerized. Among the first in the retailing industry to have computerized registers, Charming Shoppes pioneered the use of the point-of-sale register. During the late 1970s Fashion Bug entered a period of rapid store expansion, which continued into the early 1990s.

Early 1990s
The 1,000th Fashion Bug store opened in 1990, as Charming Shoppes continued to expand by about 100 stores per year. In 1991, Charming Shoppes recorded $1 billion dollars in sales—its most successful year ever at the time. Starting in 1993, the entire retail industry began a downward spiral, forcing many notable established retailers out of business. Charming Shoppes halted plans for continued expansion and struggled to survive. As an innovator, Charming Shoppes opened an on-site child-care facility and wellness center for the benefit of Charming Shoppes employees in 1993.

1996
Charming Shoppes championed social responsibility, launching several charitable programs designed to provide assistance and information to women and children in need. The programs included clothing and monetary donations as well as the establishment of Fashion Bug’s Community Center, an in-store display housing free literature on health, education, finances and family matters. The Dominis Social Index rated Charming Shoppes one of the top socially responsible companies in the region.

1998
Charming Shoppes purchased 28 valuable locations from the Petrie clothing chain. In an effort to focus on Fashion Bug’s core female customer, the men’s division was phased out of all Fashion Bug stores.

1999
The Company began the execution of its strategy to expand its focus on the women’s plus-size apparel business. Charming Shoppes acquired the 137-store Modern Woman plus-size apparel chain.

2000
The 433-store Memphis-based Catherines Stores Corporation was added to the Company, with the strategic plan of integrating Modern Woman into Catherines' plus-size platform. Charming Shoppes now operated more than 1,750 women’s specialty stores in 48 states.

2001
Charming Shoppes acquired America’s number-one plus-size specialty apparel provider, Lane Bryant, with 651 stores. Now the country’s largest women’s plus-size specialty apparel provider, Charming Shoppes is also the third-largest women's specialty retailer, operating more than 2,200 stores, with 72 percent of revenues from plus sizes. Also in 2001, Charming Shoppes acquired the Web site assets of alight.com and used the acquired assets to form its Charming Shoppes Interactive, Inc. subsidiary. Charming Interactive was chartered to provide an Internet Web site presence for Charming Shoppes' family of brands.

2002
In January, Charming Shoppes announced a restructuring plan, including a number of initiatives designed to position the Company for increased profitability and growth in the plus-size business. The major components of this plan included closing the Added Dimensions/Answer chain, closing underperforming Fashion Bug stores and converting several Fashion Bug store locations to Lane Bryant stores.

2004
Fashion Bug launched e-commerce at fashionbug.com.

2005
Charming Shoppes acquired Crosstown Traders, Inc., a direct marketer of women's apparel, footwear, accessories and specialty gifts.

Also in 2005, Charming Shoppes announced plans to assume the leases on approximately 75 outlet store locations previously operated by Casual Corner Annex. The agreement provided an entry into many of the country's leading outlet centers for the Lane Bryant brand.

2006
In July 2006, the Company launched Lane Bryant Outlet ™ with the opening of the Company's first outlet store at Franklin Mills in Philadelphia. The Company opened 82 Lane Bryant Outlet stores during 2006.

2007
In October, 2007, the trademark for the Lane Bryant Catalog reverted to Charming Shoppes, Inc., and our first Lane Bryant Woman Catalog and www.lanebryantcatalog.com were launched.

2008
Charming Shoppes sells its non-core misses apparel catalog titles (Crosstown Traders) to Orchard Brands and announces plans to discontinue the Lane Bryant Woman Catalog.

2009
Charming Shoppes sells its credit card receivables program to Alliance Data Systems Corporation.

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1900
Lena Bryant founded Lane Bryant in New York as the first women’s apparel retailer in America devoted exclusively to plus-sizes.

1900s–1980s
The first Lane Bryant store opened on Fifth Avenue in New York City in 1904. Lane Bryant eventually grew to 222 stores nationwide, offering a wide selection of fashion apparel. In 1982, The Limited, Inc. acquired Lane Bryant. During a period of rapid expansion, Lane Bryant grew to 720 stores.

1990s
Lane Bryant’s progressive new marketing and promotional efforts focused on the celebration and empowerment of women. In 1997, Lane Bryant held its first-ever fall fashion show in New York City and chose the winner of its national Search for Real Women campaign. Fashion shows continued through 2003.

2001
On August 16, Charming Shoppes acquired America’s number-one women’s plus-size specialty apparel provider, Lane Bryant, with 651 stores.

2003
Lane Bryant’s existing Web site, lanebryant.com, began e-commerce activity.

2004
Lane Bryant returned to the Big Apple, celebrating more than 100 years in business by opening a store at 7 West 34th Street in Manhattan.

2006
In July 2006, the Company launched Lane Bryant Outlet™ with the opening of the Company’s first outlet store at Franklin Mills in Philadelphia. The Company opened 82 Lane Bryant Outlet stores during 2006.

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1960s–1970s
The Catherines business originated in Memphis in 1960, with a single store owned by Catherine Weaver, whose goal was to bring style to the plus-size market. As the concept became successful, more stores opened throughout the South. In 1960, a group of investors bought the chain, then called Catherines Stout Shoppes, and formed Catherines, Inc.

1980s
Growth continued, and by 1980 the company opened its 100th store. A new store, PS…Plus Sizes, Plus Savings, debuted in 1980.

1990s
Catherines, Inc. went public in July 1991, and became Catherines Stores Corporation. Catherines Stores Corporation acquired Virginia Specialty Stores, the operators of Added Dimensions and The Answer, in 1992, and became the third-largest specialty plus-size women’s retailer in the country with more than 300 stores.

2000
On January 7, Charming Shoppes, Inc. acquired Catherines Stores Corporation.

2002
In March, Catherines became Charming Shoppes’ first online retailer, launching e-commerce at catherines.com. Also in 2002, the Company announced the closing of the Added Dimensions and The Answer chains. Catherines had operated these 77 plus-size stores in 23 states, concentrated in the Southeast and the Northeast. By midyear, these stores were closed or converted to Catherines Plus Sizes stores.

2008
Catherines relocates its brand home offices to Bensalem, Pennsylvania.