Soma Announces New Partnership that Brings its Innovations in Form, Fabric and Fit to Even More Customers and Loyal Fans

FORT MYERS, Fla., July 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Chico's FAS' (NYSE: CHS) intimate apparel brand, Soma, today announced its partnership with retail concept, b8ta and an expanded partnership with QVC that will enable the brand's innovation in form and fit to be available to even more customers and loyal fans.

Starting this month, the SOMAINNOFIT bra will be available for sale through several b8ta store locations, including New York City, Chicago, San Jose and Houston, as well as on b8ta.com.

SOMAINNOFIT is a fit-measuring bra that helps women find their perfect Soma bra fit by connecting via Bluetooth to an app, quickly capturing four key body measurements. With the rise of femtech innovations, Soma is leading the charge in intimate apparel with the launch of SOMAINNOFIT earlier this year.

Additionally, Soma's relationship with multi-platform retailer QVC has performed above expectations, and the brand is today announcing additional sales initiatives to further build on this successful relationship. In particular, the Soma brand will participate in its first-ever Today's Special Value® on QVC. The broadcast will feature Soma's Vanishing Back Full Coverage bra on Monday, July 22 with brand guests Jené Luciani and Jenny Altman.

"We are excited about our new partnership with b8ta and the opportunity to further build on our record of success with QVC," says Mary van Praag, President of the Intimate Apparel Group of Chico's FAS. "b8ta is paving the way as the next generation of retail as a service company and we are thrilled to add SOMAINNOFIT to their innovative product offerings. We expect this will help us drive new customer acquisition, sales, brand awareness and consideration. Our partnerships further Soma's commitment to break new ground with innovation for women and help them find their perfect bra fit."

Carrie Kelly, SVP of Partnerships and Business Development at b8ta says, "Our partnership with Soma is a great example of how brands benefit from launching innovative products in b8ta stores. We've designed our stores to drive product discovery and education, while allowing the brand to gather critical insights and customer feedback around the new product. We're excited to be leaning into categories beyond consumer electronics and increasing our efforts to include more female products in our stores." 

ABOUT SOMA
The Soma® brand was founded in 2004 for the woman who refuses to compromise – who wants pretty and practical, soft and supportive. Soma offers bras, panties, sleep and loungewear with ingenious solutions that balance beauty and brains. The brand currently operates 280 boutiques and outlets nationwide and is available online at www.soma.com.

ABOUT b8ta
b8ta, a software-powered retailer designed to make physical retail accessible for all, was founded in 2015 by Nest alums Vibhu Norby (CEO), William Mintun (COO), and Phillip Raub (CMO). b8ta helps people discover, try, and buy about new tech products while empowering makers with a simple Retail as a Service model that puts them in control. The company is headquartered in San Francisco.

This release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The statements relate to, among other things, expectations and projections regarding the expected benefits of the Company's new innovative bra fit technology and are identified by use of the words "anticipate," "believe," "could," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "should," "strategy," "will," "would," "potential" and similar terms. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to: customer response to the engagement tools and our ability to successfully introduce them. Other risk factors for the Company's business are detailed from time to time in the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Annual Report on Form 10-K and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These factors should be considered in evaluating forward looking statements contained herein.

SOURCE Chico's FAS, Inc.