Proprietary Credit Card Programs
Charming Shoppes offers a variety of proprietary credit card programs to its customers that add value to the shopping experience by providing a convenient way to purchase, as well as engender loyalty. Our programs directly contribute to Charming Shoppes’ sales and profitability, because our proprietary credit customers spend significantly more per visit than our noncredit customer base and they visit more frequently.

With more than 10 million cards issued, Charming Shoppes’ Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines and Petite Sophisticate proprietary credit programs rank among the largest in-house retail card programs in the United States. We issue the credit cards through our wholly-owned national credit card bank, Spirit of America National Bank, and control credit policies and service this card base through various third-party arrangements and use of securitization funding programs that help improve the Company’s liquidity. We offer our customers various loyalty card programs. Customers who join these programs are entitled to benefits including discounts and rebates on purchases during the membership period.

We also offer a fee-based card program, linked exclusively to our proprietary card programs, that includes an enhanced loyalty option to further promote the use of the proprietary card though additional value-added features for the customers who take advantage of this program.