The Fashion Bug store in Harborcreek will close in the next six to eight months, a store manager there said.

All of the roughly 600 Fashion Bug stores nationwide will be closed by early 2013 now that Ascena Retail Group Inc. has completed its acquisition of Charming Shoppes Inc., which owns Fashion Bug, Lane Bryant, Catherines Plus Sizes and other brands.

In a news release issued Tuesday, Ascena said it will close all 600 Fashion Bug stores. When and how many employees will be affected was not disclosed.

These new closures follow the closure of 124 Fashion Bug locations in 2011.
The store closures are part of Bensalem, Pa.-based Charming Shoppes that Ascena doesn’t want to keep in the $900 million deal that gave the new parent company access to the plus-size clothing market.