Peter Edison, chairman and CEO, blamed the company's troubles onan aggressive pricing for clearance of sandals, as well asunseasonably warm weather in the third quarter that held off bootsales. However, Edison said during a conference call that thefourth quarter is already tacking better, with same-store salesdown only 1.4%. "The big driver for the fourth quarter is boots,"he said. "(Boots) represent about 50% of our sales and this year isno different."

The company, a mall-based retailer which specializes in shoesfor women ages 16 to 35 years old, is also slowing down itsnew-store count. With more than 250 stores, the firm will not openany more locations this year, and plans only two to four new storesand four remodels for 2008. The company also recently sold anoperating lease for $5 million to help reduce debt. "We believe wehave addressed the issues that negatively affected our recentresults," Edison said.

Also, CFO Lawrence Spanley Jr. said he plans to retire effectivein February. The company has promoted Charles Daniel III to theposition of VP-finance.