Retailer, college form valuable partnership

Some of the clothes made and sold by Chico’s FAS are geared toward an older clientele — at least older than traditional millennials.

But that doesn’t mean the Fort Myers-based retailer, with $2.28 billion in sales, overlooks the younger sect. To the contrary. The company, through a partnership with Florida Gulf Coast University, recently worked on a bevy of projects with some 50 students, from blogs to software to recruiting. This comes on top of Chico’s hiring some 100 Eagles alumni over the past three years, says Chico’s Senior Director of Recruiting Kristy Knupp.