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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowHandbag and luggage maker Vera Bradley Inc. is planning an expansion in Fort Wayne that is expected to mean about 100 more jobs.
The company is renovating a building near its distribution center for a new design center. Company spokeswoman Melissa Schenkel says employees will likely move into that building by September.
The Journal Gazette reports that Vera Bradley expects to fill 101 clerical and management jobs with salaries ranging from $53,000 to $125,000 within the next year.
Vera Bradley has more than 1,500 employees, including 800 in northeastern Indiana.
Andi Udris of the Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance says he's glad the home-grown company is expanding in the city.
Founded in 1982 by friends Patricia Miller and Barbara Bradley Baekgaard, the company went public in October. Shares of Vera Bradley Inc. closed Monday at $40.17, nearly three times more than the company’s initial stock price.
The company sells online as well as through 3,300 independent retailers and 28 of its own full-price stores. It reported profit in its latest fiscal year of $43.2 million on $288.9 million in revenue.
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