Chico’s Slips

Chico's FAS Inc. (Fort Myers, Fla.) reported a 10 percent decline in net earnings for its first quarter ended May 5, 2007.

Revenues rose 16 percent but same-store sales fell 1.6 percent. Chico's brand same-store sales decreased by approximately 1 percent and the White House | Black Market brand's same-store sales fell by 2 percent.

“Our first quarter income from continuing operations . . . is in line with our expectations,” said president and ceo Scott Edmonds, “considering the softness in sales during the quarter, particularly in April.

“We are pleased to see first quarter merchandise margins at record levels for Chico's and White House | Black Market as we continue to focus on providing our customers with a more compelling product offering,” Edmonds continued. “As we expected, we have seen improvement in the WH|BM product offerings and the resulting sales. Chico's May sales trends continue to show softness; however, we are pleased with our gross margins. As previously stated, we expect to see steady improvement in the Chico's same store sales performance as we move closer to the fall selling period.”

During the quarter, Chico’s opened 39 new stores and closed 5 stores, in addition to the closure of certain Fitigues stores. The retailer said it expects to open between 16 and 20 additional stores during the second quarter and to expand or relocate between 14 and 16 stores.