(Source: PrimeNewswire)SECAUCUS, N.J., June 26, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Children's Place Retail Stores, Inc. (Nasdaq:PLCE) today mailed a letter to stockholders in support of its three highly qualified and independent incumbent directors up for election at the Company's 2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on July 31, 2009. The Children's Place urges stockholders to vote FOR the Company's nominees, Sally Frame Kasaks, Malcolm Elvey, and Norman Matthews, on the WHITE proxy card -- and to reject the three hand-picked nominees of former Chairman and CEO Ezra Dabah. Since Mr. Dabah and his father-in-law, Stanley Silverstein, are existing members of the Board, election of Mr. Dabah's three hand-picked nominees would result in five of the nine members of the Company's Board being Mr. Dabah's personal designees.

The letter outlines the decisive steps taken by the Board and management to successfully revitalize the business following Mr. Dabah's forced resignation in September 2007 after Deloitte & Touche, then the Company's auditors, told the Board it was no longer willing to rely on his representations in connection with its audits. The positive results from these steps are clearly demonstrated by numerous metrics including overall sales growth, comparable retail sales growth, expanding margins, increased liquidity and higher earnings per share during fiscal 2008. The Children's Place share price has outperformed all 15 companies in its peer group since the beginning of fiscal 2008.

The full text of the letter sent today to The Children's Place stockholders follows:

June 26, 2009

    YOUR BOARD AND MANAGEMENT TEAM ARE COMMITTED TO CREATING STOCKHOLDER              VALUE -- AND HAVE THE TRACK RECORD TO PROVE IT 

To Our Stockholders:

Your Board of Directors and management team have a track record of creating value for The Children's Place stockholders and ask for your support to continue to build on the Company's recent successes. Ezra Dabah was asked to resign as CEO in September 2007 after Deloitte & Touche, the Company's auditors at the time, told the Board it was no longer willing to rely on Mr. Dabah's representations.

Following Mr. Dabah's departure, The Children's Place has made substantial positive changes that have improved corporate governance and fueled a strong operational and financial turnaround.

    * The Company's focus on achieving measured, profitable growth since    Mr. Dabah's resignation is clearly demonstrated by numerous metrics    including overall sales growth, comparable retail sales growth,    expanding margins, increased liquidity, higher earnings per share    (EPS) and improved stock price.   * These achievements are even more notable given that your Board and    management were able to deliver them in a very difficult retail and    economic environment. This progress was made in the wake of    Mr. Dabah's disregard of accepted corporate governance standards    and strategic errors -- including his undisciplined pursuit of    rapid growth at all costs, an onerous licensing agreement with The    Walt Disney Company, and the aggressive launch of expensive and    untested concepts. 

The Children's Place is proud of its achievements since September 2007 and urges you to vote in support of the Company's highly qualified, independent nominees -- Sally Frame Kasaks, Malcolm Elvey and Norman Matthews -- and enable the Company to continue moving forward successfully.

A chart accompanying this release is available at http://media.primezone.com/cache/7632/file/7044.pdf

          THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE -- VOTE THE WHITE PROXY CARD TODAY 

The actions undertaken by your Board and management have resulted in strong fundamental performance based on any number of relevant metrics. For example, in fiscal 2008, revenue grew 7%, gross margin expanded 200 basis points on lower markdowns and better inventory management, and SG&A expenditures grew more slowly than revenues, improving by approximately 70 basis points. Moreover, 2008 adjusted operating income increased more than 70% year-over-year, and adjusted EPS increased 59%.(1)

                DO NOT BE FOOLED BY EZRA DABAH'S STATEMENTS --     HE NEARLY RUINED THE COMPANY AND IS NOW TRYING TO GAIN CONTROL 

While Mr. Dabah has noted his "accomplishments" prior to his ouster, the facts paint a starkly different picture. Thirsty for growth in the mid-2000s, he orchestrated an undisciplined pursuit of rapid growth and put in place a number of high-risk, poorly developed strategies designed to accelerate top-line sales at any cost.

In 2004, Mr. Dabah signed an onerous licensing agreement to operate Disney Stores in North America. The Board approved this burdensome contract based on Mr. Dabah's aggressive projections which the Company was unable to achieve under his leadership. The contract called for extensive store remodels, which became a significant cash drain on the Company as well as a major distraction to management. Additionally, under Mr. Dabah's supervision, the Company hastily constructed 68 stores with an untested prototype whose design and construction was costly, poorly executed, and ultimately deemed to be not in compliance with the contract. As a result, the Company had to record impairment charges and agree to remodel these stores at great expense to stockholders.

From 2006 to 2007, Mr. Dabah rushed square footage growth. This resulted in less rigorously chosen site locations, much larger stores and more expensive build-outs. These stores, based on Mr. Dabah's concepts, were 14% larger and nearly 50% more expensive to construct compared with the stores the Company built from 2003 to 2005. Furthermore, in their first full year of operations, these stores vastly underperformed the average first full year performance of stores opened in the prior three-year period.

In 2007, Mr. Dabah led the roll out of an untested shoe store concept to 54 stores and signed leases for additional larger footprint stores to accommodate further expansion throughout 2007 and 2008.