The culprit, he said, was low traffic in July, due primarily toa shift in the back-to-school calendar, including a move oftax-free shopping days from July to August in some states,particularly Florida. He said Casual Male's experience wasconsistent with reports by other retailers.

The company is now in businesses that did not exit a year ago,Levin noted. They are a made-to-measure suit business aimed at thehigher end of the market, B&T Factory Direct aimed at thelower-end customer, Jared M sportswear, the Living XL non-apparelproducts, and Shoes XL.

Both Living XL and Shoes XL are marketed primarily via catalogand are doing better than expected, Levin reported. A 36-page ShoesXL catalog with 570 designs in big, wide sizes, will be mailed thisSeptember. "We see it as one of our strongest growth areas for thefuture," he said and also noted that these category expansionscarry little additional overhead.