Charming Shoppes has been bought out by the Ascena Retail Group, which already owns the Dress Barn, Maurices, and Justice women's apparel stores. Since Charming Shoppes owns Lane Bryant, Catherine's Plus Sizes and the Fashion Bug, Ascena will pretty much control women's apparel, with a total of almost 4,000 stores.
This means that plus-size customers better hope Ascena has a real interest in the plus-size market. Ascena already announced it will close the Fashion Bug stores. The CEO of Ascena said, "The Lane Bryant and Catherines businesses are extremely complementary to our other concepts and we expect them to integrate seamlessly. Though this process will take time, we believe there is an excellent opportunity to streamline the business, capture efficiencies and to share resources."
This means that plus-size customers better hope Ascena has a real interest in the plus-size market. Ascena already announced it will close the Fashion Bug stores. The CEO of Ascena said, "The Lane Bryant and Catherines businesses are extremely complementary to our other concepts and we expect them to integrate seamlessly. Though this process will take time, we believe there is an excellent opportunity to streamline the business, capture efficiencies and to share resources."
