This May, the company acquired five store leases from April Cornell, which is operating under bankruptcy protection, and will open the units under the Cache brand later this month. "They're in premiere locations," Woolf said, "and they fell into our lap." Among the locations are Pasadena, CA, Scottsdale, AZ and Woodbury Commons in New York, a destination Woolf says Cache has wanted to enter.

In all, it will open 11 new stores in second quarter and is on track to open between 15 and 20 a year for the next few years. "We don't want to be overly aggressive," Woolf said, "but if an opportunity arises, we can go up to 25 a year." During the first quarter, Cache opened two stores and closed six. It also remodeled six units, which puts 64% of the Cache store base in the new store format.

While the Cache brand picked up momentum, performance at the 30-some Lillie Rubin stores within the company continued to flounder. Of Lillie Rubin, Woolf said, "it's been challenging, and the turnaround is a work in progress." The design team is working on re-merchandising the assortment, and Woolf declined to comment further, but said improvements should be realized in the third and fourth quarters.