EXHIBIT 10.9

SECOND AMENDMENT TO CREDIT AGREEMENT

This Second Amendment to Credit Agreement (the "Second Amendment") is made as of
this 10th day of January, 2005 by and among

SPECIALTY RETAILERS (TX) LP (f/k/a SRI 2004 (TX) LP), a Texas limited
partnership, having its principal place of business at 10201 Main Street,
Houston, Texas 77025 (the "Borrower"); and

STAGE STORES, INC., a Nevada corporation, having its principal place of business
at 10201 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77025; and

SPECIALTY RETAILERS, INC., a Texas corporation, having its principal place of
business at 10201 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77025; and

SRI GENERAL PARTNER LLC, a Nevada limited liability company, having its
principal place of business at 10201 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77025; and

SRI LIMITED PARTNER LLC (f/k/a SRI 2004 LLC), a Nevada limited liability
company, having its principal place of business at 10201 Main Street, Houston,
Texas 77025; and

the LENDERS party hereto; and

FLEET NATIONAL BANK, as Issuing Bank, a national banking association having a
place of business at 100 Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110; and

FLEET RETAIL GROUP, INC. (f/k/a Fleet Retail Finance Inc.), as Administrative
Agent and as Collateral Agent for the Lenders, a Delaware corporation, having
its principal place of business at 40 Broad Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109;
and

THE CIT GROUP/BUSINESS CREDIT, INC., GENERAL ELECTRIC CAPITAL CORPORATION, AND
NATIONAL CITY COMMERCIAL FINANCE, INC., as Co-Documentation Agents; and

WELLS FARGO FOOTHILL, LLC, as Syndication Agent,

in consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained and benefits to be
derived herefrom.

W I T N E S S E T H:

WHEREAS, on August 21, 2003, certain of the parties hereto, among others,
entered into that certain Credit Agreement, as amended by that certain Limited
Waiver and First Amendment to Credit Agreement dated as of November 4, 2003 (as
amended and in effect, the "Credit Agreement"); and

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WHEREAS, pursuant to that certain Joinder to Credit Agreement dated as of
January 30, 2004, Specialty Retailers (TX) LP (f/k/a SRI 2004 (TX) LP) joined
the Credit Agreement as the Borrower thereunder, and SRI Limited Partner LLC
(f/k/a SRI 2004 LLC) joined the Credit Agreement as a Facility Guarantor
thereunder; and

WHEREAS, the Loan Parties have requested that the Agent and the Lenders modify
certain of the provisions of the Credit Agreement to provide for the Agent's and
the Lenders' consent to a proposed corporate restructuring as set forth herein.

NOW, THEREFORE, it is hereby agreed as follows:

1.         Capitalized Terms.  All capitalized terms used herein and not
otherwise defined shall have the same meaning herein as in the Credit Agreement.

2.         Amendments to Article I.  The provisions of Article I of the Credit
Agreement are hereby amended by adding the following new definition in
appropriate alphabetical order as follows:

"2005 Corporate Restructuring" shall mean the transactions described on Schedule
A hereto.

3.         Amendment to Article VI. The provisions of Section 6.03(c) of the
Credit Agreement are hereby amended by adding the words "and the 2005 Corporate
Restructuring" after the words "the Corporate Restructuring" in the second line
thereof.

4.         Ratification of Loan Documents.  Except as provided herein, all terms
and conditions of the Credit Agreement and of the other Loan Documents remain in
full force and effect.  The Loan Parties each hereby ratify, confirm, and
reaffirm all of the representations and warranties contained therein.

5.         Conditions to Effectiveness.   This Second Amendment shall not be
effective until each of the following conditions precedent have been fulfilled
to the satisfaction of the Administrative Agent:

(a)  This Second Amendment shall have been duly executed and delivered by the
respective parties hereto and, shall be in full force and effect and shall be in
form and substance satisfactory to the Administrative Agent and the Required
Lenders.

(b) All limited liability company, limited partnership, corporate and
shareholder action on the part of the Loan Parties necessary for the valid
execution, delivery and performance by the Loan Parties of this Second Amendment
shall have been duly and effectively taken and evidence thereof satisfactory to
the Administrative Agent shall have been provided to the Administrative Agent.

(c)  All documents and other instruments necessary to evidence the 2005
Corporate Restructuring shall have been duly executed and delivered by the
respective parties thereto and shall be in full force and effect and shall be in
form and substance as set forth on Schedule A or in such other manner
satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.

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(d)  The Agent shall have received a favorable legal opinion of the Borrower's
and Facility Guarantors' counsel addressed to the Agent and the other Secured
Parties, in form and substance satisfactory to the Agent.

(e)  No Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing.

(f)   The Borrower and Facility Guarantors shall have executed such additional
instruments, documents and agreements as the Administrative Agent may reasonably
request.

6.          Miscellaneous.

(a)  This Second Amendment may be executed in several counterparts and by each
party on a separate counterpart, each of which when so executed and delivered
shall be an original, and all of which together shall constitute one instrument.

(b) This Second Amendment expresses the entire understanding of the parties with
respect to the transactions contemplated hereby.  No prior negotiations or
discussions shall limit, modify, or otherwise affect the provisions hereof.

(c) Any determination that any provision of this Second Amendment or any
application hereof is invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect and in
any instance shall not effect the validity, legality, or enforceability of such
provision in any other instance, or the validity, legality or enforceability of
any other provisions of this Second Amendment.

(d) The Loan Parties shall pay all costs and expenses of the Agent, including,
without limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees in connection with the
preparation, negotiation, execution and delivery of this Second Amendment.

(e) The Loan Parties warrant and represent that the Loan Parties have consulted
with independent legal counsel of their selection in connection with this Second
Amendment and is not relying on any representations or warranties of the Agents
or the Lenders or their counsel in entering into this Second Amendment.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have hereunto caused this Second Amendment to be
executed and their seals to be hereto affixed as of the date first above
written.

SPECIALTY RETAILERS (TX) LP (f/k/a
SRI 2004 (TX) LP),
as Borrower   By:       SRI General Partner LLC, its
            General Partner   By:_/s/ Richard E Stasyszen____________
Name:  Richard E. Stasyszen
Title:     Manager   STAGE STORES, INC., as Facility Guarantor   By:_/s/ Richard
E Stasyszen____________
Name:  Richard E. Stasyszen
Title:     Senior Vice President, Finance and Controller   SPECIALTY RETAILERS,
INC.,
as Facility Guarantor   By:_/s/ Richard E Stasyszen____________ Name:  Richard
E. Stasyszen Title:     Senior Vice President and Controller   SRI GENERAL
PARTNER LLC ,
as Facility Guarantor   By:_/s/ Richard E Stasyszen____________
Name:  Richard E. Stasyszen
Title:     Manager 

 

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SRI LIMITED PARTNER LLC,
(f/k/a SRI 2004 LLC), as Facility Guarantor   By:__/s/ Philip B.
Sears_______________
Name:  Philip B. Sears
Title:     Manager

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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FLEET RETAIL GROUP, INC.
(f/k/a Fleet Retail Finance Inc.),
As Administrative Agent, as Collateral Agent,
as Swingline Lender and as Lender

By:_/s/ Daniel T. Platt________________
Name:  Daniel T. Platt
Title:     Vice President

 

FLEET NATIONAL BANK,
as Issuing Bank

 

By:_/s/ Daniel T. Platt________________
Name:  Daniel T. Platt
Title:     Vice President

 

 

 

 

 

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WELLS FARGO FOOTHILL, LLC,
As Syndication Agent and as Lender   By:_/s/ Lan Wong____________________
Name: Lan Wong
Title: Vice President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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THE CIT GROUP/BUSINESS CREDIT, INC.,
As Co-Documentation Agent and as Lender

 

By:  /s/ Deborah Rogut_________________
Name: Deborah Rogut
Title: Vice President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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GENERAL ELECTRIC CAPITAL
CORPORATION,
As Co-Documentation Agent and as Lender   By:_/s/ Craig Winslow_____________
Name: Craig Winslow
Title: Duly Authorized Signatory

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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NATIONAL CITY BUSINESS CREDIT, INC.
(f/k/a National City Commercial Finance, Inc.),
As Co-Documentation Agent and as Lender   By:_/s/ Joseph L. Kwasny______________
Name: Joseph L. Kwasny
Title: Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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GMAC COMMERCIAL FINANCE LLC,
As Lender   By:_/s/ Steven J. Brown______________
Name: Steven J. Brown
Title: Vice President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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WEBSTER BUSINESS CREDIT CORP.,
(f/k/a Whitehall Business Credit Corporation),
As Co-Documentation Agent and as Lender   By:_/s/ Evan Isrealson___________
Name: Evan Israelson
Title:  Vice President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Schedule A

Stage Stores, Inc.

2005 Corporate Restructuring

            The Corporate Restructuring of Stage Stores, Inc. will involve
Specialty Retailers (TX) LP and SRI Limited Partner LLC.  The restructuring will
be completed pursuant to the following actions, which will be completed by
December 31, 2004:

            1.        SRI Limited Partner LLC will form a wholly owned
subsidiary in Nevada named "SRI 2005 LLC" on December 15, 2004, with the same
Operating Agreement and manager that SRI Limited Partner LLC presently has.

            2.      SRI 2005 LLC and SRI General Partner LLC will form a new
Texas limited partnership named "SRI 2005 (TX) LP" on December 16, 2004, with
the same Limited Partnership Agreement, ownership structure and general partner
that Specialty Retailers (TX) LP presently has.

            3.       SRI Limited Partner LLC will merge into SRI 2005 LLC on
December 17, 2004, with an effective date of December 31, 2004.  SRI 2005 LLC
will be the surviving entity and will change its name to SRI Limited Partner LLC
as of December 31, 2004.

            4.       Specialty Retailers (TX) LP will merge into SRI 2005 (TX)
LP on December 17, 2004, with an effective date of December 31, 2004.  SRI 2005
(TX) LP will be the surviving entity and will change its name to Specialty
Retailers (TX) LP as of December 31, 2004.

            5.       After the restructuring the names of the entities, their
jurisdictions of organization, and their ownership will be as they were before
the restructuring as follows:

            Name

Organization

Ownership

Specialty Retailers, Inc.

Texas

Stage Stores, Inc.

Specialty Retailers (TX) LP (f/k/a SRI 2005 (TX) LP)

Texas

SRI General Partner LLC
(1% General Partner)
SRI Limited Partner LLC (f/k/a
SRI 2005 LLC)
(99% Limited Partner)

SRI General Partner LLC

Nevada

Specialty Retailers, Inc.

SRI Limited Partner LLC (f/k/a
SRI 2005 LLC)

Nevada

Specialty Retailers, Inc.

 

 

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