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Chico's buys Boca's Boston Proper for $205 million
By Palm Beach Business.com
BOCA RATON — Fort Myers-based Chico's FAS has agreed to buy Boston Proper, the Boca Raton-based women's apparel catalog and Internet retailer, for $205 million.
Shares of Chico's fell 31cents Wednesday to close at $12.30. Chico's also reported earnings during the day. Boston Proper is privately owned.
"Boston Proper has grown and thrived by offering women daring, modern fashion with a sensual feel through compelling catalogs, direct marketing campaigns and its on-line channel,” Chico’s CEO David Dyer said. “Boston Proper's brand focus is highly complementary to our existing brands' customer experience, adds significant volume to our direct-to-consumer channel and provides us new opportunities to grow market share."
Boston Proper will operate as a stand-alone division within Chico's under the leadership of current CEO Sheryl Clark. Boston Proper founder Michael Tiernan, who has served as company chairman, will retire. Operations will continue in Boca Raton.
"We are excited to become part of the Chico's FAS family,” Clark said. “Working closely with Dave and his management team, our focus will be to accelerate our growth by delivering more value to our customer base and attracting new customers to our brand."
Boston Proper is known for its "Wear It Like No One Else" tagline. It generated revenue of about $110 million in 2010, a double-digit percentage increase over the prior year. Revenue and profit have grown over the past three years. So far this year, the company has seen revenue increase by 13 percent.
The deal, which faces regulatory reviews, is expected to close in 45 days.
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