Bensalem, Pa.

To avoid Burlington Coat Factory reallocating its headquarters out of Burlington County, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority has approved giving the Burlington Coat Factory more than $41 million in tax credits over the next 10 years. The company plans to use the credit as capital to build an 180,000-square-foot corporate headquarters on 50 acres of undeveloped land in Florence that would accommodate 626 existing jobs and an additional 120 full-time positions. In return for the tax credits, the Burlington Coat Factory will agree to keep its corporate headquarters in New Jersey for 15 years rather than move to

Bensalem, Pa. -- Charming Shoppes reported Friday that net income for the first quarter plummeted 31.7% to $17.8 million, from $26 million in the year-ago period. Sales dropped 4.6% to $481.3 million, largely due to the shuttering of 157 stores. E-commerce was a strength in the quarter, up 18% over the prior-year period. Same-store sales were flat in the first quarter, including a 1% comparable-store sales increase for Lane Bryant, a 5% comparable-store sales increase for Catherines, and a 3% comparable-store sales decrease for Fashion Bug. “Our gross margins continued to be impacted by increases in product costs compared

Bensalem, Pa. -- Charming Shoppes has promoted Bryan Eshelman to executive VP, chief supply chain officer. Eshelman started with the chain in 2010 as senior VP operations. Eshelman retains his previous duties of overseeing technology, logistics, technical...

Bensalem, Pa. -- Charming Shoppes said Thursday that its first-quarter net income more than quintupled, but its revenue was flat and the profit rise was driven largely by cost cutting. The CEO sounded a cautious tone for the future, saying the company needs to reignite store traffic and cope with rising cotton costs. The company, which operates Lane Bryant, Catherines and Fashion Bug stores, said its net income for February through April was $26 million, up from $3.9 million in the same period last year. CEO Anthony Romano credited "more fashionable" offerings and an increase in online sales. The

Charming Shoppes said it would close 240 unprofitable stores in 2011, or nearly 12 percent of its total outlets. More than half of those closures would be Fashion Bug stores. The locations were not disclosed.

Charming Shoppes Inc., a multibrand apparel retailer specializing in women’s plus-size apparel, has appointed Ahold USA EVP and CFO Paula A. Price to its board of directors. In her role at Quincy, Mass.-based Ahold USA, whose supermarket businesses are Stop & Shop, Giant-Landover, Giant-Carlisle and Peapod, Price is responsible for finance, strategy and planning, real estate development and construction, and technology functions. She joined Ahold USA in 2009 as CFO of Stop & Shop/Giant-Landover. Before coming to the company, she was the chief accounting officer, controller, and a SVP of Woonsocket, R.I.-based CVS Caremark Corp. from 2006 until 2008.

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