The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. Announces October Sales

November 5, 2009 7:30 AM EST

~Comparable Store Sales Increased 3.1%~

YORK, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: BONT) today announced comparable store sales for the four weeks ended October 31, 2009 increased 3.1% compared with the prior year period. Total sales for the four weeks increased 2.5% to $224.0 million compared with $218.4 million for the prior year period.

For the third quarter of fiscal 2009 ended October 31, 2009, comparable store sales decreased 2.6% compared with the prior year period. Total sales decreased 2.9% to $703.9 million compared with $724.9 million for the prior year period.

Year-to-date comparable store sales decreased 6.9%. Year-to-date total sales decreased 6.7% to $1,957.7 million compared with $2,098.6 million for the same period last year.

Tony Buccina, Vice Chairman and President - Merchandising, commented, "We are very pleased with October sales, which exceeded both our expectations for the month and last year's results. We are encouraged by the sustained improvement in our sales trend, which began in August. Moderate missy, petites and large-size sportswear led the sales performance, along with coats, accessories, soft home and children's. Cold weather outerwear, accessories and boots performed extremely well as cooler temperatures drove traffic. Our weakest performing businesses were furniture and hard home. October ending inventories were down 9% on a comparable store basis and clearance inventories were down 20% from the prior year period. We believe we are well positioned for the holiday shopping season."

Keith Plowman, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, stated, "We ended the month with excess borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facility of approximately $246 million, well above the required minimum availability of $75 million. October excess borrowing capacity was positively impacted by a change in the reporting process under our revolving credit facility. At our request, the borrowing base certificate reporting frequency has been changed to weekly during the period of October through December. This will permit borrowing availability to more accurately match the fluctuations in the Company's inventory, as seasonal inventory builds in October and November and is subsequently converted to cash to reduce borrowings in late November and December."

The Company's quarterly conference call to discuss third quarter fiscal 2009 results will be broadcast live Thursday, November 19, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. To access the call, please visit the investor relations section of the Company's website at http://investors.bonton.com. An online archive of the broadcast will be available within two hours after the conclusion of the call. Additional information will follow.

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. operates 279 stores, including 12 furniture galleries, in 23 states in the Northeast, Midwest and upper Great Plains under the Bon-Ton, Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's and Younkers nameplates and, in the Detroit, Michigan area, under the Parisian nameplate. The stores offer a broad assortment of brand-name fashion apparel and accessories for women, men and children, as well as cosmetics and home furnishings. For further information, please visit the investor relations section of the Company's website at http://investors.bonton.com.

Certain information included in this press release contains statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements, which may be identified by words such as "may," "could," "will," "plan," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "project," "intend" or other similar expressions, involve important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect results in the future and, accordingly, such results may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of the Company. Factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to, risks related to retail businesses generally; a significant and prolonged deterioration of general economic conditions which could negatively impact the Company, including the potential write-down of the current valuation of intangible assets and deferred taxes; changes in the terms of the Company's proprietary credit card program; potential increase in pension obligations; consumer spending patterns, debt levels, and the availability and cost of consumer credit; additional competition from existing and new competitors; inflation; changes in the costs of fuel and other energy and transportation costs; weather conditions that could negatively impact sales; uncertainties associated with expanding or remodeling existing stores; the ability to attract and retain qualified management; the dependence upon relationships with vendors and their factors; a security breach; the ability to reduce SG&A expenses; the incurrence of unplanned capital expenditures; the ability to realize the expected benefits from our planned changes in operating structure and the ability to obtain financing for working capital, capital expenditures and general corporate purposes. Additional factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ from those contained in these forward-looking statements are discussed in greater detail under Item 1A of the Company's Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Source: The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc.

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