This is not the first time Chico's has acquired an interest in another chain. Nearly two years ago, the retailer bought the White House, operator of the White House/Black Market chain, for $90 million. Since then, Chico's has grown its store count from 107 units to 180.
Chico's is also expanding its Soma brand, a chain of 10 lingerie stores geared toward women 35 and older, which the company launched last summer. The retailer is also expanding its flagship Chico's chain, which currently operates 471 stores and 27 outlets in North America and plans to open 110 to 120 new units this year.
Marie Driscoll, a retail analyst at Standard & Poor, predicts that Chico's isn't planning ambitious growth for Lucy right away. "I think they're going to sit and watch it for a year or two," she tells GSR.
But future expansion would not be unrealistic she says, since it is a new growth area for Chico's and there is little competition in women's sports apparel in specialty retail. "Sports apparel is definitely a growing category," Driscoll says.
Chico's had a strong June financially. The company's year-over-year same-store sales were up 18.8% for the month. Total sales increased 40%, to $131 million.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
