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Citing he wants "to pursue other interests," James M. Smith, Chief financial officer for AnnTalyor Store Corp. says he's leaving the company.

The company said Smith will stay in the position until the end of September or sooner if they find a replacement before then. The company has already started searching for his successor.

This year has been brutal for the Women's clothing retailer, as same-store sales plunged by 5 percent for the quarter, continuing its poor performance over the last year. Analysts had looked for a 3.4 percent drop. For the year, sales have had an average loss of 4.6 percent.

Lower end clothing was the major cause of the decline, as their LOFT unit underperformed. Most high end retailers did pretty well for the quarter.

In contrast, last year the company enjoyed an average of 2.9 percent gains in same-store sales.

Retail health is measured by same-store sales, which is defined as stores opened for more than a year.