Chico’s FAS to launch new e-commerce site
Though it has yet to set a specific date, Chico’s FAS Inc. will launch a new e-commerce site sometime this fall. The new site, Soma.com, will sell the multi-channel retailer’s private label line of intimate apparel, sleepwear and activewear.
The new site will help Chico’s, No. 289 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide to Retail Web Sites , compete with other direct marketers and online retailers of intimate apparel such as Limited Brands Inc., No. 289 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide to Retail Web Sites , which owns and operates Victoria’s Secret Direct, says Chico’s chief financial officer Charlie Kleman. “These types of web sites are extremely important,” Kleman says. “When compared with our competitors, the growth opportunities are obvious.”
In August 2004 Chico’s opened 10 stores to test the market for the new intimate apparel concept; it now has 16 Soma stores. With the addition of Soma.com Chico’s will have web sites for all of its brands. The company also operates Chicos.com and WhiteandBlack.com. To entice customers to shop at Soma.com, shoppers will be able to enroll in Chico’s customer loyalty program. After loyalty club customers spend $500 across any channel, including the web, they are entitled to a permanent 5% discount on all future purchases.
Web sales totaled about $11.8 million for Chico’s in the first quarter and represented 3% of total sales of $392 million.
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