Catherines History
Earlier company descriptions, brand line-ups, store counts and photographs from the history of Catherines, kept for historical reference.
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The Company Description of Its Time
With more than 450 stores nationwide, the Catherines brand is a leading plus size specialty retailer targeting women age 45+. Catherines offers classic and current plus size fashion and accessories for career and casual lifestyles in sizes 0X-5X, and its customers can shop on the web at catherines.com. This page describes the range in product terms - sizes, categories and store counts - which is how the historical record files it. Catherines is part of Charming Shoppes Inc., a leading multi-brand specialty apparel retailer primarily focused on plus-size women's apparel and parent of three distinct store brands: Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug and Catherines Plus Sizes.
A Brief History of Catherines, As Recorded
1960s-1970s: the Catherines business originated in Memphis in 1960, with a single store owned by Catherine Weaver, whose goal was to bring style to the plus-size market. As the concept became successful, more stores opened throughout the South. In 1960, a group of investors bought the chain, then called Catherines Stout Shoppes, and formed Catherines, Inc. 1980s: growth continued, and by 1980 the company opened its 100th store; a new store, PS - Plus Sizes, Plus Savings, debuted in 1980. Both dates in the founding paragraph - the 1960 origin and the 1960 investor purchase - are kept as recorded rather than reconciled.
1990s: Catherines, Inc. went public in July 1991 and became Catherines Stores Corporation. It acquired Virginia Specialty Stores, the operators of Added Dimensions and The Answer, in 1992, and became the third-largest specialty plus-size women's retailer in the country with more than 300 stores. 2000: on January 7, Charming Shoppes, Inc. acquired Catherines Stores Corporation. 2002: in March, Catherines became Charming Shoppes' first online retailer, launching e-commerce at catherines.com; the Added Dimensions and The Answer chains - 77 plus-size stores in 23 states - were closed or converted to Catherines Plus Sizes stores by midyear. 2008: Catherines relocated its brand home offices to Bensalem, Pennsylvania.
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