Chico's Boston Proper opens first store

ESTERO — Women's retailer Chico's FAS plans to open the first Boston Proper store at Coconut Point March 22.

Chico's acquired online retailer Boston Proper in fall 2011 for $213 million and has been planning to open stores. Chico's other branded stores include the flagship Chico's, White House | Black Market and Soma Intimates. In total, the company owns and operates nearly 1,400 stores.

“For years Boston Proper has been a leading women's direct apparel and accessory retailer available only through catalog and online,” says Sheryl Clark, Boston Proper's brand president. The division says it has 1 million customers.

For the 53 weeks ending Feb. 2, Chico's says Boston Proper sales totaled $124 million. That represented 4.8% of Chico's total sales of $1.6 billion last year.

Fort Myers-based Chico's is publicly traded (symbol: CHS; recent price: $18).