We hope you will find all the information you need to make well-informed decisions about investing in Charming Shoppes, Inc.

Note: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Please refer to the Legal Terms governing the use of this site.

Safe Harbor Statement (Last Revised July 2008)

With the exception of historical information, statements or reports referenced within this Web site are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may include, but are not limited to, projections of revenues, income or loss, cost reductions, capital expenditures, liquidity, financing needs or plans, and plans for future operations, as well as assumptions relating to the foregoing. The words “expect,” “could,” “should,” “project,” “estimate,” “predict,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “intend,” “believes,” and similar expressions are also intended to identify forward-looking statements.

We operate in a rapidly changing and competitive environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for us to predict all risk factors that may affect us. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which we cannot predict or quantify. Future events and actual results, performance, and achievements could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they were made. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect actual results or changes in, or additions to, the factors affecting such forward-looking statements. Given those risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results.

Factors that could cause our actual results of operations or financial condition to differ from those described within this Web site include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following, which are discussed in more detail in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2008 and other Company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• Our business is dependent upon our ability to accurately predict rapidly changing fashion trends, customer preferences, and other fashion-related factors, which we may not be able to successfully accomplish in the future.
• A continuing slowdown in the United States economy, an uncertain economic outlook, and escalating energy costs could lead to reduced consumer demand for our products in the future.
• The women's specialty retail apparel and direct-to-consumer markets are highly competitive and we may be unable to compete successfully against existing or future competitors.
• We cannot assure the successful implementation of our business plan for Crosstown Traders, including our business plan for our LANE BRYANT WOMAN catalog.
• We cannot assure the successful implementation of our business plans for our outlet store distribution channel and expansion of our CACIQUE product line through new store formats.
• We cannot assure the successful implementation of our business plan for increased profitability and growth in our Retail Stores or Direct-to-Consumer segments. Recent changes in management may fail to achieve improvement in our operating results. We cannot assure the realization of our anticipated annualized expense savings from our restructuring announced in February 2008.
• Our business plan is largely dependent upon continued growth in the plus-size women's apparel market, which may not occur.
• Our success and our ability to execute our business strategy depend largely on the efforts and abilities of our executive officers and their management teams. We also must motivate employees to remain focused on our strategies and goals, particulary during a period of changing leadership for the Company and a number of our operating divisions. The inability to find a suitable permanent replacement for our Chief Executive Officer on a timely basis, as well as management personnel to replace departing executives, could have a material adverse effect on our business. We do not maintain key-person life insurance policies with respect to any of our employees.
• We depend on our distribution and fulfillment centers and third-party freight consolidators and service providers, and could incur significantly higher costs and longer lead times associated with distributing our products to our stores and shipping our products to our E-commerce and catalog customers if operations at any of these locations were to be disrupted for any reason.
• We depend on the availability of credit for our working capital needs, including credit we receive from our suppliers and their agents, and on our credit card securitization facilities. If we were unable to obtain sufficient financing at an affordable cost, our ability to merchandise our stores, E-commerce, or catalog businesses would be adversely affected.
• Natural disasters, as well as war, acts of terrorism, or other armed conflict, or the threat of any such event may negatively impact availability of merchandise and customer traffic to our stores, or otherwise adversely affect our business.
• We rely significantly on foreign sources of production and face a variety of risks generally associated with doing business in foreign markets and importing merchandise from abroad. Such risks include (but are not necessarily limited to) political instability; imposition of or changes in duties or quotas; trade restrictions; increased security requirements applicable to imports; delays in shipping; increased costs of transportation; and issues relating to compliance with domestic or international labor standards.
• Our Retail Stores and Direct-to-Consumer segments experience seasonal fluctuations in net sales and operating income. Any decrease in sales or margins during our peak sales periods or in the availability of working capital during the months preceding such periods could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, extreme or unseasonable weather conditions may have a negative impact on our sales.
• We may be unable to obtain adequate insurance for our operations at a reasonable cost.
• We may be unable to protect our trademarks and other intellectual property rights, which are important to our success and our competitive position.
• We may be unable to hire and retain a sufficient number of suitable sales associates at our stores. In addition, we are subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act and various state and Federal laws and regulations governing such matters as minimum wages, exempt status classification, overtime, and employee benefits. Changes in Federal or state laws or regulations regarding minimum wages or other employee benefits could cause us to incur additional wage and benefit costs, which could adversely affect our results of operations.
• Our manufacturers may be unable to manufacture and deliver merchandise to us in a timely manner or to meet our quality standards.
• Our Retail Stores segment sales are dependent upon a high volume of traffic in the strip centers and malls in which our stores are located, and our future retail store growth is dependent upon the availability of suitable locations for new stores.
• Inadequate systems capacity, a disruption or slowdown in telecommunications services, changes in technology, changes in government regulations, systems issues, security breaches, a failure to integrate order management systems, or customer privacy issues could result in reduced sales or increases in operating expenses as a result of our efforts or our inability to remedy such issues.
• Successful operation of our E-commerce websites and our catalog business is dependent on our ability to maintain efficient and uninterrupted customer service and fulfillment operations.
• We may be unable to manage significant increases in certain costs vital to catalog operations, including postage, paper, and acquisition of prospects, which could adversely affect our results of operations.
• Response rates to our catalogs and access to new customers could decline, which would adversely affect our net sales and results of operations.
• We may be unable to successfully implement our plan to improve merchandise assortments in our Retail Stores or Direct-to-Consumer segments.
• We cannot assure the realization of our anticipated benefits from our re-launch of the LANE BRYANT credit card program.
• We make certain significant assumptions, estimates, and projections related to the useful lives of our property, plant, and equipment and the valuation of goodwill and other intangible assets related to acquisitions. The carrying amount and/or useful life of these assets are subject to periodic and/or annual valuation tests for impairment. Impairment results when the carrying value of an asset exceeds the undiscounted (or for goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets the discounted) future cash flows associated with the asset. If actual experience were to differ materially from the assumptions, estimates, and projections used to determine useful lives or the valuation of property, plant, equipment, or intangible assets, a write-down for impairment of the carrying value of the assets, or acceleration of depreciation or amortization of the assets, could result. Such a write-down or acceleration of depreciation or amortization could have an adverse impact on our reported results of operations.
• Changes to existing accounting rules or the adoption of new rules could have an adverse impact on our reported results of operations.
• Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, we are required to include our assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in our annual reports. Our independent registered public accounting firm is also required to report on whether or not they believe that we maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting. If we are unable to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting we could be subject to regulatory sanctions and a possible loss of public confidence in the reliability of our financial reporting. Such a failure could result in our inability to provide timely and/or reliable financial information and could adversely affect our business.
• The holders of our 1.125% Senior Convertible Notes due May 1, 2014 could require us to repurchase the principal amount of the notes for cash before maturity of the notes under certain circumstances. Such a repurchase would require significant amounts of cash and could adversely affect our financial condition.
• The FASB has issued a proposed FSP that would apply to any convertible debt instrument that may be settled in whole or in part with cash upon conversion, which would include our 1.125% Notes. If the proposed FSP is approved in 2008 we would be required to adopt the proposal as of February 3, 2009 (the beginning of Fiscal 2010), with retrospective application to financial statements for periods prior to the date of adoption. As compared to our current accounting for the 1.125% Notes, adoption of the proposal would reduce long-term debt, increase stockholders' equity, and reduce net income and earnings per share. Adoption of the proposal would not affect our cash flows.
• We continually evaluate our portfolio of businesses and may decide to acquire or divest businesses or enter into joint venture or strategic alliances. If we fail to integrate and manage acquired businesses successfully or fail to manage the risks associated with divestitures, joint ventures, or other alliances, our business, financial condition, and operating results could be materially and adversely affected.