Chico's reports slow growth

FORT MYERS — Women's retailer Chico's FAS says sales at stores opened longer than one year fell 1.6% in the third quarter ending Nov. 1 compared with the same quarter one year ago.

But because the company opened 87 net new stores, Chico's overall sales grew 1.5% to $665.6 million in the third quarter compared with the same quarter one year ago. Fort Myers-based Chico's FAS operates 1,557 stores under the brands Chico's, White House | Black Market, Soma Intimates and Boston Proper.

Chico's reported net income of $26.5 million in the third quarter compared with a net loss of $28.5 million in the same quarter in 2013. The loss in the third quarter last year was due to a one-time impairment charge due to the Boston Proper acquisition.

“In addition to our brand strategies, fiscal discipline is an important driver of value creation,” says Todd Vogensen, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Chico's, in a statement accompanying the earnings.

“We remain focused on inventory management and ensuring SG&A and capital investments are aligned with meaningful growth opportunities,” Vogensen says in the earnings statement. “We are making progress on the initiatives discussed at our analyst day to achieve these objectives and expect the benefits to become more visible in our results over the coming quarters.”