Sales fall at women's apparel retailer

FORT MYERS — Women's apparel retailer Chico's FAS suffered a decline in sales and a net loss in the fourth quarter compared with the same quarter one year ago.

In the fourth quarter ending Jan. 30, Chico's reported a net loss of $21.1 million on sales of $627.4 million. That compares with a net loss of $31.8 million on sales of $656.9 million in the same quarter one year ago.

“While we are disappointed with our fourth-quarter sales, we are pleased that our responsiveness and disciplined inventory management in this intensely promotional environment allowed us to achieve positive gross margin leverage and a slight decline in total inventories over last year,” says Shelley Broader, Chico's president and CEO, in a statement.