Boston Proper Launching Stores

Boston Proper, the direct retailer acquired by Chico’s FAS Inc. (Fort Myers, Fla.) in 2011, is launching a chain of boutiques.

After opening Florida locations in Coconut Point in March and Boca Raton in April, the fashion apparel catalog house has said it will open two more Florida stores this year, in Sarasota and Naples, with 15-20 more units planned in 2014.

“Over the next six or seven years you will see at least 300 stores,” Chico’s president and ceo David Dyer told Women’s Wear Daily. “This could be as big as White House|Black Market or Chico’s in terms of stores.”

Chico’s purchased Boston Proper (which is neither from Boston nor especially proper) for $205 million.

“We feel we’re fashion’s best kept secret,” Boston Proper president Sheryl Clark told WWD. “We’re obviously not from Boston, we’re based in Boca Raton. Our clothes are sophisticated and sexy but age and fit-appropriate for the woman 35 to 55 who is very confident. She wants to go out and be noticed. It couldn’t be further away from Talbots.”