Retailer, with sales drop, promises more cuts

FORT MYERS — First quarter sales at Chico's FAS fell 8% over the first quarter last year, and the company announced an expansion of its ongoing cost-cutting plan.

Sales dropped from $697.76 million in the 2015 first quarter to $642.97 million this past quarter, according to an earnings report.

The company, in the statement, says the cuts “are expected to reduce complexity and standardize processes across the organization,” so it can respond faster to what customers want. The moves include improving the supply chain and enhancing marketing efforts, the company adds. The marketing realignment and cuts, combined with a separate cost-reduction plan announced in April, is expected to bring $65 million to $85 million in annual savings, with $15 million of those savings coming in fiscal 2016, the company says. The previous cuts, designed to decentralize its marketing and digital commerce units, “places the decision makers directly into the company's three brands,” the company says.