Charlotte Russe Opens on Both Coasts

SAN DIEGO—Retailer Charlotte Russe Holding Inc. eased up on store openings through the first half of its fiscal year, concentrating on the sales side of the business in a campaign that yielded double-digit revenue growth compared to FY 2006′s beginning. Revenue jumped to $370 million for the six months ended March 31, an 11.5% hike to accompany a 3.1% gain in comparable store sales.

“The strong customer response builds our confidence in the spring selling season,” CEO Mark Hoffman said yesterday in delivering the mid-year results of the mall-based specialty retailer, a chain whose clothing and accessories cater to teens and young women in their 20′s. “With our fashion content on target and new receipts arriving at stores, I believe we are well-positioned for the balance of the third quarter,” Hoffman said. That should translate to a “low single-digit” comp store increase, he relayed, “assuming no significant change in the overall retailing environment.”

Even in preparing to launch an e-commerce platform by July, a medium that the retailer is admittedly coming into “late in the game,” Charlotte Russe plans 50 new brick-and-mortar locations in FY 2007, says Hoffman. The count as of mid-year was just 11, although a total of 41 have opened during the past 12 months.