Despite rosy long-term outlook, women’s retailer’s stock gets punished

Wall Street investors who sold off Chico’s FAS shares might have missed some notable progress the company made in year one of an ambitious three-year plan, including reaching $2.5 billion in sales.

By Mark Gordon
| 5:00 a.m. January 13, 2023
| 0 Free Articles Remaining!

Molly Langenstein was named CEO of Fort Myers-based Chico's in June 2020 after a 30-year career at Macy’s.

Strategies

Executives with women’s retailer Chico’s FAS were touting some celebratory vibes during a Jan. 9 call with investors. Wall Street crushed those happy feelings in mere hours.

In a presentation at the ICR Conference in Orlando, both Chico’s President and CEO Molly Langenstein and CFO PJ Guido talked up what they consider the company’s robust outlook. Much of that optimism stems from a three-year plan at the company to transform from a store-focused retailer to a digital-first, fashion brand, with some big goals in tow. Launched in early 2022 at the conclusion of another three-year plan that was more turnaround than transformative, the goals in the new plan include hitting $2.5 billion in revenue by 2025. That would be up 38% from $1.8 million in fiscal 2021. The new plan also includes reaching $1 billion in digital sales and an operating margin of 7.5%, more than double 2021.