Dorrit Bern Out at Charming Shoppes

Woman's apparel manufacturer/marketer Charming Shoppes announced today that Dorrit J. Bern has resigned as president/CEO and a member of the board of directors, effective immediately.

The company’s chairman of the board Alan Rosskamm will serve as CEO on an interim basis. Rosskamm is former chairman/ CEO of Jo-Ann Stores, and has been on Charming Shoppes' board for 15 years. The board of directors has formed a special committee to start looking immediately for a permanent CEO.

Charming Shoppes also announced that Brian P. Woolf, former chairman/CEO of Cache, has been appointed president of the Lane Bryant brand, effective immediately. Woolf will succeed LuAnn Via, who has resigned for position at another retailer.

The company said in April it is considering selling off its noncore catalogs to focus on its Lane Bryant, Catherines, and Fashion Bug brands. It mailed its first 112-page Lane Bryant catalog USA in October, when it got back the trademark to that title from Redcats USA.

Charming Shoppes had acquired the Crosstown Traders stable of catalogs in 2005. Crosstown’s apparel titles include Old Pueblo Traders, Intimate Appeal, Coward Shoe, Bedford Fair Lifestyles, Willow Ridge, Lew Magram, Brownstone Studio, and Monterey Bay Clothing Co., as well as the Figi's food and gifts book.