Charlotte Russe Announces Review of Strategic Alternatives.

SAN DIEGO -- Charlotte Russe Holding, Inc. (Nasdaq: CHIC) today announced that its Board of Directors is engaged in a process to evaluate strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the Company. The Company said it has received potential expressions of interest from third parties. No timetable has been set for completion of the review and there can be no assurance that any transaction will result. Cowen and Company, LLC is providing financial counsel and Covington & Burling LLP and Cooley Godward Kronish LLP are providing legal counsel to Charlotte Russe.

Jennifer Salopek, Chairman of Charlotte Russe, said, "For more than a year, Charlotte Russe has been working to develop, and more recently has begun to implement, a new strategic plan designed to increase long-term growth and profitability. While we remain confident in our ability to successfully implement the plan and improve performance, the Board is evaluating all alternatives to achieve maximum value for Charlotte Russe shareholders."

The Company does not plan to make any further comment on the review until the review is complete. Given this announcement, the Company has determined that it will cancel its analyst and investor day event, previously scheduled for Wednesday, January 28, 2009.

As previously announced, Charlotte Russe will release its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2009 and hold a conference call after the market close on Wednesday, January 21, 2009.

About Charlotte Russe

Charlotte Russe Holding, Inc. is a mall-based specialty retailer of fashionable, value-priced apparel and accessories targeting young women in their teens and twenties. As of December 27, 2008 the Company operated 495 stores in 45 states and Puerto Rico. For more information about the Company, please visit http://www.charlotterusse.com.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995: Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our business and promotional strategies. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks that the Company will not achieve anticipated financial results or comparable store sales increases, the Company will not be able to execute its new strategic plan as intended, the Company will not open new Charlotte Russe stores or remodel existing stores in the numbers or on the schedule anticipated, general and regional economic conditions, industry trends, consumer demands and preferences, competition from other retailers and uncertainties generally associated with women's apparel and accessory retailing. A complete description of these factors, as well as others that could affect the Company's business, is set forth in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.