Charming Shoppes seeks alternatives for non-core assets

BANGALORE, April 25 (Reuters) - Women's plus-size apparel retailer Charming Shoppes Inc (CHRS.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said it is exploring strategic alternatives for its non-core apparel catalogs to focus on core brands, and cut its planned spending for fiscal 2009.

The company's intention is to raise money by selling its assets, which is an appropriate decision given the current challenging consumer environment, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC analyst Holly Guthrie said.

The company, whose core brands include Lane Bryant, Catherines and Fashion Bug, said it retained Banc of America Securities and Lehman Brothers as its financial advisers.

"We have received a number of inquiries from qualified third parties and are evaluating several alternatives for our non-core apparel catalog titles...," Chief Executive Dorrit Bern said in a statement.

The company, which had earlier this year cut jobs and planned to close stores, said it expects to reduce capital expenditures by an additional $20 million for fiscal 2009, bringing the total planned cuts to $63 million for the year.

Standard & Poor's Equity Research analyst Pearly Wang upgraded the stock to "sell" from "strong sell," saying the company's plans to enhance shareholder value and focus on core brands were encouraging.

Shares of the Bensalem, Pennsylvania-based company, which operated 2,409 retail stores in 48 U.S. states at Feb. 2, were up 3 percent at $4.99 in noon trade on Nasdaq. (Editing by Deepak Kannan)

Source: Reuters

Private Investor Pays $19M for Shopping Center

EAST HARTFORD, CT-Brokerage firm Sperry Van Ness has brokered the sale of the School Street Square shopping center here in a deal valued at $19.2 million. An affiliate of Trumbull, CT-based Woodgreen Management, Woodgreen East Hartford LP, sold the property to Abe Brach, a New York City private investor.

The 147,258-sf shopping center was 98.7% occupied at the close of escrow. The property, which sits on 14 acres, was built in 1965 and was expanded by 30,000 sf in 1990.

The largest tenants at School Street Square are: Big Y World Class Market, which leases 62,300 sf; Rite Aid, which maintains an 11,700-sf location; Fashion Bug, which leases 10,000 sf and Blockbuster, which leases 6,400 sf. Joseph C. French Jr., national director of retail for Sperry Van Ness, and his team working out of its White Plains office, represented Woodgreen in the transaction. Sperry Van Ness says that two-thirds of the property’s tenants have leased space at the center for more than 10 years.

Commenting on the deal, French says, "in a declining market with money sources disappearing, we were able to achieve a price that exceeded our seller's expectations." The investor bested approximately 20 other offers submitted for the property.

Source: GlobeSt.