Vera Bradley, which designs, produces and sells handbags and accessories for women, filed on Thursday with the SEC to raise up to $175 million in an initial public offering. The Fort Wayne, IN-based company, which was founded in 1982, booked a profit of $53 million on $303 million in sales for the 12 months ended May 1. The retailer sells its products indirectly to 3,300 independent retailers, as well as through its own 28 full-price stores. Vera Bradley plans to list on the NASDAQ. Baird is the lead underwriter on the deal, for which terms and timing were not disclosed.
