For the third quarter of fiscal 2008 ended November 1, 2008, comparable store sales decreased 8.3% compared with the prior year period. Total sales decreased 7.2% to $724.9 million compared with $780.8 million for the prior year period.

Year-to-date comparable store sales decreased 6.3% compared with the prior year period. Year-to-date total sales decreased 5.8% to $2,098.6 million compared with $2,227.0 million for the same period last year.

Tony Buccina, Vice Chairman and President - Merchandising, commented, "In October, our best performing businesses were outerwear, children's, accessories and intimate apparel. Cooler weather in the last two weeks gave a boost to cold-weather related businesses. Our weakest businesses were better, large size and petite sportswear and furniture. While sales improved as we moved to the second half of October, the benefit of cooler temperatures was not enough to mitigate the sales shortfall early in the month. Weather was clearly not the main issue behind the sales decline; the macroeconomic environment is uppermost in the consumer's mind and we continue to respond to this challenging environment by keeping our inventories fresh and in line with our sales trend. We ended the month with comparable store inventories down 9% from the prior year, providing us the opportunity to reorder best sellers, as well as make advantageous purchases that offer even greater values to our customers. We expect the competitive environment to remain highly promotional and spending for apparel to remain challenged."

Keith Plowman, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, stated, "We ended October with excess borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facility of $214 million, well above the $75 million covenant. We expect our excess borrowing capacity will increase substantially in the fourth quarter, similar to the prior year, reflecting the higher sales volume generated after Thanksgiving through the end of the holiday selling season."

The Company's quarterly conference call to discuss third quarter fiscal 2008 results will be broadcast live Thursday, November 20, 2008, 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.