Bid made to purchase major employer

Fort Myers-based Chico’s FAS is looking for a new CEO — and possibly at a new owner.

The 36-year-old women’s fashion retailer — whose store brands include Chico’s, White House Black Market and Soma — has experienced declining sales the past three years while it struggles to compete with online sales and competitors evolving beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar retail model. Chico’s same-store sales dropped 4.9% in the last fiscal year, and total revenue fell 8.7% in 2018, from $2.3 billion to $2.1 billion