Charming Shoppes, Inc. to Participate in the 14th Annual ICR XChange Conference 2012

BENSALEM, Pa., Jan. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Charming Shoppes, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHRS) a leading apparel retailer specializing in women's plus-size apparel, is scheduled to participate at the 14th Annual ICR XChange Conference on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. eastern time at The Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.

Anthony M. Romano, President and Chief Executive Officer of Charming Shoppes, Inc., and Eric M. Specter, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will represent the Company at the conference. 

The Company's slide and audio presentation will be available at http://investor.shareholder.com/icr/2012/eventdetail.cfm?eventid=107093&ticker=CHRS beginning at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 12, 2012.  The presentation will be available for replay for 90 days.

At October 29, 2011, Charming Shoppes, Inc. operated 1,929 retail stores in 48 states under the names LANE BRYANT®, CACIQUE®, LANE BRYANT OUTLET®, FASHION BUG®, FASHION BUG PLUS® and CATHERINES PLUS SIZES®.  The Company also operates the Figi's family of brands, including the holiday food and gifts catalog Figi's® Gifts in Good Taste®, the home and gifts catalog Figi's® Gallery and its wholesale unit Figi's Business Services. For more information about Charming Shoppes and its brands, please visit www.charmingshoppes.com, www.lanebryant.com, www.cacique.com, www.fashionbug.com, www.catherines.com, www.loop18.com, www.figis.com, and www.figisgallery.com.

The Company's presentation may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 concerning the Company's operations, performance, and financial condition. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Such risks and uncertainties may include, but are not limited to: the Company's strategic review (including its plan to divest its Fashion Bug brand) may not result in any specific course of action or transaction; the failure to successfully execute our business plans could result in lower than planned sales and profitability, the failure to successfully execute or realize the projected benefits from our real estate strategy relating to store openings and relocations to strip shopping centers could result in lower than planned sales and profitability, the failure to divest Fashion Bug on a favorable or timely basis could distract the Company's management, cause the Company to continue to sustain losses and affect the execution of other components of its business plan, the failure to realize the benefits from the operation of our credit card program by our third-party provider, the impact of changes in laws and regulations governing credit cards could limit the availability of, or increase the cost of, credit to our customers, the failure to enhance the Company's merchandise and marketing and accurately predict fashion trends, customer preferences and other fashion-related factors, the failure of growth in the women's plus apparel market, the failure to continue receiving financing at an affordable cost through the availability of credit we receive from our bankers, suppliers and their agents, the failure to effectively implement our store closing plans, the failure to continue receiving accurate and compliant e-commerce and third-party processing services, the failure to achieve improvement in the Company's competitive position, the failure to maintain efficient and uninterrupted order-taking and fulfillment in our e-commerce and direct-to-consumer businesses, extreme or unseasonable weather conditions, economic downturns, escalation of energy and transportation costs, adverse changes in the costs or availability of fabrics and raw materials, a weakness in overall consumer demand, the failure to find suitable store locations, increases in wage rates, the ability to hire and train associates, trade and security restrictions and political or financial instability in countries where goods are manufactured, the failure of our vendors to deliver quality and timely shipments in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, the interruption of merchandise flow from the Company's centralized distribution facilities and third-party distribution providers, inadequate systems capacity, inability to protect trademarks or other intellectual property, competitive pressures, and the adverse effects of natural disasters, war, acts of terrorism or threats of either, or other armed conflict, on the United States and international economies. These, and other risks and uncertainties, are detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other Company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Charming Shoppes assumes no duty to update or revise its forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes make it clear that any projected results expressed or implied therein will not be realized.

SOURCE Charming Shoppes, Inc.