Business Organization And Significant Accounting Policies (Policy)

12 Months Ended

Jan. 28, 2012

Business Organization And Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Fiscal Year

Fiscal Year

     Our fiscal years end on the Saturday closest to January 31 and are designated by the calendar year in which the fiscal year commences. The periods presented in these financial statements are the fiscal years ended January 28, 2012 ("fiscal 2011" or "current period"), January 29, 2011 ("fiscal 2010" or "prior period") and January 30, 2010 ("fiscal 2009"). Fiscal 2011, 2010, and 2009 all contained 52 weeks.

Principles Of Consolidation

Principles of Consolidation

     The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Segment Information

Segment Information

     Our brands, Chico's, Soma Intimates, WH|BM, and Boston Proper, have been identified as separate operating segments and aggregated into one reportable segment due to the similarities of the economic and operating characteristics of the operations represented by the brands.

Use Of Estimates

Use of Estimates

     The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Reclassifications

Reclassifications

     Reclassifications of certain prior year balances were made in order to conform to the current year presentation.

Cash And Cash Equivalents

Cash and Cash Equivalents

     Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand and in banks and short-term highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less.

Marketable Securities

Marketable Securities

     Marketable securities are classified as available-for-sale and are carried at fair value, with the unrealized holding gains and losses, net of income taxes, reflected as a separate component of stockholders' equity until realized. For the purposes of computing realized and unrealized gains and losses, cost is determined on a specific identification basis. We consider all securities available-for-sale, including those with maturity dates beyond 12 months, and therefore classify these securities within current assets on the consolidated balance sheets as they are available to support current operational liquidity needs.

Inventories

Inventories

     We use the weighted average cost method to determine the cost of merchandise inventories. We identify potentially excess and slow-moving inventories by evaluating inventory agings, turn rates and inventory levels in conjunction with our overall sales trend. Further, exposure to inadequate realization of carrying value is identified through analysis of gross margins and markdowns in combination with changes in current business trends. We provide lower of cost or market adjustments for such identified excess and slow-moving inventories. We estimate our expected shrinkage of inventories between physical inventory counts by using average store shrinkage experience rates, which are updated on a regular basis. Substantially all of our inventories consist of finished goods.

     Purchasing, merchandising, distribution, and product development costs are generally expensed as incurred, and are included in the accompanying consolidated statements of income as a component of cost of goods sold.

Property And Equipment

Property and Equipment

     Property and equipment is stated at cost. Depreciation of property and equipment is provided on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of their estimated useful lives (generally 10 years or less) or the related lease term plus one anticipated renewal when there is an economic cost associated with non-renewal.

     Our property and equipment, net at January 28, 2012 and January 29, 2011 consist of the following (in millions):

	January 28, 2012			January 29, 2011
Land and land improvements	$	44,768		$	42,468
Building and building improvements		98,905			89,328
Equipment, furniture and fixtures		504,567			428,217
Leasehold improvements		450,784			426,141
Total property and equipment		1,099,024			986,154
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization		(548,794	)		(468,777	)
Property and equipment, net	$	550,230		$	517,377

Our property and equipment is depreciated using the following estimated useful lives:

	Estimated Useful Lives
Land improvements Building and building improvements Equipment, furniture and fixtures Leasehold improvements	15– 35 years 20 – 35 years  2 – 20 years 5 – 10 years or term of lease, if shorter

     Maintenance and repairs of property and equipment are expensed as incurred, and major improvements are capitalized. Upon retirement, sale or other disposition of property and equipment, the cost and accumulated depreciation or amortization are eliminated from the accounts, and any gain or loss is charged to income.

Operating Leases

Operating Leases

     We lease retail stores and office space under operating leases. The majority of our lease agreements provide for tenant improvement allowances, rent escalation clauses and/or contingent rent provisions. Tenant improvement allowances are recorded as a deferred lease credit within deferred liabilities and amortized as a reduction of rent expense over the term of the lease, which includes the construction period and one renewal when there is a significant economic cost associated with non-renewal. Landlord incentives, "rent-free" periods, rent escalation clauses, and other rental expenses are amortized on a straight-line basis over the terms of the leases, which includes the construction period, typically 60-90 days prior to the store opening date, during which we generally begin improvements in preparation for our intended use.

     Certain leases provide for contingent rents, in addition to a basic fixed rent, which are determined as a percentage of gross sales in excess of specified levels. We record a contingent rent liability in accrued liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets and the corresponding rent expense when specified levels have been achieved or when management determines that achieving the specified levels during the fiscal year is probable.

Goodwill And Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

     Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination. Impairment testing for goodwill is done at a reporting unit level. Reporting units are defined as an operating segment or one level below an operating segment, called a component. Using these criteria, we identified our reporting units and concluded that the goodwill related to the territorial franchise rights for the state of Minnesota should be allocated to the Chico's reporting unit, the goodwill associated with the WH|BM acquisition should be assigned to the WH|BM reporting unit and the goodwill associated with the Boston Proper acquisition should be assigned to the Boston Proper reporting unit.

     In 2011, we early adopted guidance that provides companies with an option to use a qualitative assessment to test goodwill for impairment. If the results of the qualitative assessment indicate that it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, the two-step impairment test will be performed. If we conclude that this is not the case, then the two-step impairment test will not be required. For 2011, we performed the qualitative assessment and concluded that the fair values of our reporting units were not less than their carrying amounts.

The changes in the Company's goodwill consist of the following:

Balance at January 29, 2011	$	96,774
Goodwill related to acquisition of Boston Proper, Inc		141,919
Balance at January 28, 2012	$	238,693

The following table summarizes our intangible assets for the fiscal years ended as follows:

	Fiscal 2011			Fiscal 2010
Indefinite-Lived Intangibles:
WH|BM trademark	$	34,000		$	34,000
Minnesota territorial franchise rights		4,930			4,930
Boston Proper tradename		51,200			–
Total indefinite-lived intangibles	$	90,130		$	38,930
Definite-Lived Intangibles:
Boston Proper customer relationships		43,580			–
Amortization expense recorded in fiscal 2011		(1,598	)		–
Total definite-lived intangibles	$	41,982		$	–

     Our indefinite-lived intangible assets are tested for impairment at least annually. We are not amortizing these intangible assets, as each has an indefinite useful life. We perform our annual impairment test during the fourth quarter, or more frequently should events or circumstances change that would indicate that an impairment may have occurred. The values of the indefinite-lived intangible assets were determined using a discounted cash flow method, based on a relief from royalty concept. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 and 2010, we performed an analysis to compare the fair values of each of these intangible assets, using a discounted cash flow method, to each of their respective carrying values and concluded that these intangible assets were not impaired.

     Intangible assets subject to amortization consist of $43.6 million in customer relationships and are being amortized, on a straight-line basis, over a period of 10 years. Amortization expense for fiscal 2011 was approximately $1.6 million. For fiscal years 2012 through 2016, we expect to record annual amortization expense of approximately $4.4 million in each fiscal year.

Accounting For The Impairment Of Long-Lived Assets

Accounting for the Impairment of Long-lived Assets

     Long-lived assets are reviewed periodically for impairment if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. If future undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated by the asset are less than its carrying amount, an asset is determined to be impaired, and a loss is recorded for the amount by which the carrying value of the asset exceeds its fair value. See Note 2 for a discussion of impairment charges for long-lived assets.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

     Income taxes are accounted for in accordance with authoritative guidance, which requires the use of the asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized based on the difference between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Additionally, we follow a comprehensive model to recognize, measure, present, and disclose in our financial statements the estimated aggregate tax liability of uncertain tax positions that we have taken or expect to take on a tax return. This model states that a tax benefit from an uncertain tax position may be recognized if it is "more likely than not" that the position is sustainable, based upon its technical merits.

     The tax benefit of a qualifying position is the largest amount of tax benefit that has greater than a 50% likelihood of being realized upon the ultimate settlement with a taxing authority having full knowledge of all relevant information.

Fair Value Of Financial Instruments

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

     Our financial instruments consist of cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities, trade receivables and payables. The carrying values of these assets and liabilities approximate their fair value due to the short-term nature of the instruments.

Self-Insurance

Self-Insurance

     We are self-insured for certain losses relating to workers' compensation, medical and general liability claims. Self-insurance claims filed and claims incurred but not reported are accrued based upon management's estimates of the aggregate liability for uninsured claims incurred based on historical experience. Although management believes it has the ability to adequately accrue for estimated losses related to claims, it is possible that actual results could significantly differ from recorded self-insurance liabilities.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition

     Retail sales by our stores are recorded at the point of sale and are net of estimated customer returns, sales discounts under the Passport Club and The Black Book loyalty programs and company issued coupons, promotional discounts and associate discounts. For sales from our websites and catalogs, revenue is recognized at the time we estimate the customer receives the product, which is typically within a few days of shipment.

     Under our current program, gift cards do not have expiration dates. We account for gift cards by recognizing a liability at the time a gift card is sold. The liability is relieved and revenue is recognized for gift cards upon redemption. In addition, we recognize revenue on unredeemed gift cards when it can be determined that the likelihood of the gift card being redeemed is remote and there is no legal obligation to remit the unredeemed gift cards to relevant jurisdictions (commonly referred to as gift card breakage). We recognize gift card breakage under the redemption recognition method. This method records gift card breakage as revenue on a proportional basis over the redemption period based on the historical gift card breakage rate. We determine the gift card breakage rate based on our historical redemption patterns.

     As part of the normal sales cycle, we receive customer merchandise returns related to store and website sales.  To account for the financial impact of potential customer merchandise returns, we estimate future returns on previously sold merchandise.  Reductions in sales and gross margin are recorded for estimated merchandise returns based on return history, current sales levels and projected future return levels.

     Our policy towards taxes assessed by a government authority directly imposed on revenue producing transactions between a seller and a customer is, and has been, to exclude all such taxes from revenue.

Supplier Allowances

Supplier Allowances

     From time to time, we receive allowances and/or credits from certain of our suppliers. The aggregate amount of such allowances and credits is immaterial to our results of operations.

Shipping And Handling Costs

Shipping and Handling Costs

     Shipping and handling costs to transport goods between stores or directly to customers, net of amounts paid to us by customers, amounted to $10.5 million, $11.2 million, and $9.6 million in fiscal 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively, and are included within selling, general and administrative expenses ("SG&A") in the accompanying consolidated statements of income. Amounts paid by customers to cover shipping and handling costs are immaterial.

Store Pre-Opening Costs

Store Pre-opening Costs

     Operating costs (including store set-up, rent and training expenses) incurred prior to the opening of new stores are expensed as incurred and are included within SG&A in the accompanying consolidated statements of income.

Advertising Costs

Advertising Costs

     Costs associated with the production of advertising, such as writing, copy, printing, and other costs are expensed as incurred. Costs associated with communicating advertising that has been produced, such as television and magazine, are expensed when the advertising event takes place. For fiscal 2011, 2010 and 2009, advertising expense was approximately $110.6 million, $86.8 million, and $65.0 million, respectively, and is included within SG&A in the accompanying consolidated statements of income.

     Catalog expenses consist of the cost to create, print, and distribute catalogs. Such costs are amortized over their expected period of future benefit, which is typically less than nine weeks.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-Based Compensation

     Stock-based compensation for all awards is based on the grant date fair value of the award. The fair value of stock option grants is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The fair value of restricted stock awards is determined by using the closing price of the Company's common stock on the date of the grant. We recognize expense related to stock options and restricted stock grants over the requisite service period on a straight-line basis. The total compensation expense is reduced by estimated forfeitures expected to occur over the vesting period of the award.

     Compensation expense for performance-based awards is recorded based on the amount of the award ultimately expected to vest and, depending on the level and likelihood of the performance condition to be met, on a straight-line basis over the vesting period.

Earnings Per Share

Earnings Per Share

     In accordance with guidance, unvested share-based payment awards that include non-forfeitable rights to dividends, whether paid or unpaid, are considered participating securities. As a result, such awards are required to be included in the calculation of basic earnings per common share pursuant to the "two-class" method. For us, participating securities are comprised of unvested restricted stock awards.

     Basic EPS is determined using the two-class method and is computed by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period including the participating securities. Diluted EPS reflects the dilutive effect of potential common shares from securities such as stock options.

     The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted EPS shown on the face of the accompanying consolidated statements of income:

	January 28, 2012			January 29, 2011			January 30, 2010
Numerator
Net income	$	140,874		$	115,394		$	69,646
Net income allocated to participating securities		(1,834	)		(943	)		–
Net income available to common shareholders	$	139,040		$	114,451		$	69,646
Denominator
Weighted average common shares outstanding – basic		169,152,870			176,777,953			177,498,862
Dilutive effect of stock options outstanding		1,097,574			1,255,676			1,358,678
Weighted average common and common equivalent
shares outstanding – diluted		170,250,444			178,033,629			178,857,540
Net income per common share:
Basic	$	0.82		$	0.65		$	0.39
Diluted	$	0.82		$	0.64		$	0.39

     In fiscal 2011, 2010 and 2009, 3,823,166, 3,280,324 and 3,132,586 potential shares of common stock, respectively, were excluded from the diluted per share calculation relating to stock option awards, because the effect of including these potential shares was antidilutive.