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CHARMING SHOPPES CLOSING 207 SITES

Charming Shoppes, Bensalem, Pa., is closing 207 stores and converting 44 others to Lane Bryant, the plus-size women’s apparel chain it acquired last July for $335 million. The company will take a $37.5 million pretax charge in the fourth quarter related to the move. The closures include 77 units belonging to its Added Dimensions/The Answer division and 130 Fashion Bug stores; the stores to be converted are all Fashion Bugs. Developers Diversified Realty and Pan Pacific Realty have the largest exposure to the chain, which accounts for 0.8 percent of each developer’s annualized base rent, according to Merrill Lynch. Charming Shoppes plans to complete the Fashion Bug closures during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2002 and the Added Dimensions and Answer store closings by the end of the second quarter of fiscal year 2003.

TOYS “R” US SHUTTING 64 OLDER STORES

Toys “R” Us, Paramus, N.J., is closing 37 Kids “R” Us stores and 27 Toys “R” Us locations this year and took $237 million in pretax charges in connection with the move. None of the stores to be closed have been updated to the chain’s new format, called Mission Possible, upon which the retailer has pinned its hopes for a turnaround.

SEARS CONTINUES ITS REBOUND

Sears, Roebuck and Co., America’s fourth-largest retailer, is opening 15 new full-line stores and remodeling 50 existing ones this year. The Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based retailer also announced plans to renovate 600 of its 860 department stores over the next four years.

This marks a contrast to Sears’ announcement one year ago that it was closing 89 stores — four department stores and 85 specialty locations that included its auto centers. Analysts praised the plans as part of a successful effort to improve the company’s fortunes.

Wall Street has been supportive. After hitting a low of $29.90 during the weeks following Sept. 11, Sears stock rebounded to a 52-week high as of press time.

L.A. MALLS TEAM FOR MARKETING EFFORT

In an unusual move, 19 competing Los Angeles County malls combined forces to launch a joint Shop LA County marketing campaign in an effort to boost sales. The malls offered discounts of up to 70 percent and other incentives in late January. Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn helped spearhead the campaign, which will also generate funds for a local literacy nonprofit organization.

AIA HONORS TVS

The American Institute of Architects has named Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates (TVS) winner of the 2002 AIA Architecture Firm Award. The award, the highest honor the association confers, recognizes a firm’s contributions to “distinguished architecture consistently for at least 10 years,” according to the AIA. Atlanta-based TVS has designed living, working and shopping spaces for more than 30 years and was responsible for the innovative Mall of Georgia, near Atlanta, which combines an outdoor town center with an enclosed regional center. Among the firm’s other mall projects are Phipps Plaza, Atlanta; The Plaza at King of Prussia, Pa.; and Plaza Tobalaba, Santiago, Chile, where TVS incorporated an entertainment center and a children’s play area into the overall structure.