Chico's and Demand

Chico's FAS Inc. (For Myers, Fla.) has announced it will launch a new concept called Pazo with eight new stores in the first quarter beginning Feb. 3, 2003. Pazo, a boutique atmosphere with European and American fashion at what the retailer called “impulse” prices, will be targeted at younger (25- to 35-year-old) women.

A spokesman for the company said the new stores will be in southern states, with planned openings in Atlanta; Houston; Washington, D.C.; Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Florida. The spokesman, who declined to give a revenue estimate for the new stores, said they will mostly be located in malls, where he believes the target customer shops. Less than one-third of Chico's 338 stores are currently in malls.

Chico's regular stores, carrying private label apparel and accessories, target the 30-to-60-year-old middle- and upper-income woman shopper.