David R. Jaffe, President and Chief Executive Officer commented, “We are pleased with our performance in a challenging environment due largely to effective merchandising that has communicated an appealing combination of fashion and value to consumers. At the same time, we have continued to carefully control costs and inventory levels and remain focused on generating cash.”

Mr. Jaffe continued, “This year, we generated $115 million of free cash flow. Our long-held belief continues to be that a highly liquid balance sheet positions us well to continue to grow our business.

We are awaiting completion of our previously announced merger with Tween Brands, whose dominant position in the tween specialty retailing market can further extend our demographic reach and create significant value for our shareholders.”

Mr. Jaffe concluded, “As we move forward, we believe that there remains an excellent opportunity for our concepts to perform well and for our company to expand the scope of its business. We will continue to have significant untapped liquidity and look to maximize the performance of our operations in the year ahead. While we expect the consumer environment to remain challenging, we believe we are in the right position to make the most of the opportunities for growth.”