New Cato store opening in Charlotte

A new Cato store is set to open Wednesday, Jan. 25, in the University City area.

The discount women's apparel store is in the University Pointe Shopping Center, at 5700 University Pointe Boulevard. The store will carry sizes 6 to 26 and girls' sizes 7 to 16, with new styles delivered weekly, Cato says.

Charlotte-based Cato Corp. chain operates more than 1,200 stores, under its main Cato brand, It's Fashion, and Versona, a new line of accessory stores recently launched at the Arboretum shopping center in south Charlotte. The company has four Cato stores in Charlotte, and 102 throughout North Carolina.

Cato has been struggling to find its footing lately, suffering from a bit of a recession hangover. In November, the company reported sales through Oct. 29, 2011 were up slightly, from $689 million in 2010 last year to $699 in 2011. But sales at stores open a year or more fell 1 percent, a trend that picked up speed in the third quarter, as they fell 3 percent.