Ann Taylor (NYSE: ANN) is an American group of specialty apparel retail chain stores for women, headquartered in New York City, (7 Times Square Tower, New York, NY 10036). The stores offer classic styled suits, separates, dresses, shoes and accessories. The brand is marketed under four divisions, Ann Taylor, LOFT (formerly Ann Taylor LOFT), Ann Taylor Factory and LOFT Outlet.
Richard Liebeskind, the founder of Ann Taylor Stores Corp., opened his first store in 1954. The first Ann Taylor store (Store 0001) was opened two years later in New Haven, Connecticut. "Ann Taylor" was the name of a best-selling dress at the founder's father's store. Both the best-selling dress and the name "Ann Taylor" were given from the father to his son, Richard Liebeskind [3], for good luck. [4] Liebeskind decided to go with the name Ann Taylor because "Ann" was considered a very New England name, and "Taylor" evoked the image of tailored clothing. The name created the ideal identity of classic woman's apparel.
As of the end of fiscal 2008, Ann Taylor had 935 stores consisting of 320 Ann Taylor stores, 510 LOFT stores, 91 Ann Taylor Factory stores, and 14 LOFT Outlet stores.[5] Total revenue was $2.4 billion, of which $1.09 billion came from the company's Ann Taylor Loft division, $689 million from Ann Taylor, and $417 million from Ann Taylor Factory Store. [6]
AnnTaylor Stores Corp., through its wholly owned subsidiaries, is a specialty retailer of women’s apparel, shoes and accessories sold primarily under the Ann Taylor and LOFT brands. The Company’s Ann Taylor and LOFT stores offer a range of career and casual separates, dresses, tops, weekend wear, shoes and accessories. Ann Taylor offers wear-now and wear-to-work fashion, and LOFT offers casual wear for women. As of January 30, 2010, it operated 907 retail stores in 46 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, of which 291 were Ann Taylor stores, 506 were LOFT stores, 92 were Ann Taylor Factory stores and 18 were LOFT Outlet stores. The Company’s clients can also shop online at www.anntaylor.com and www.LOFTonline.com, or by phone at 1-800-DIAL-ANN. In May 2010, the Ann Taylor brand closed three Ann Taylor stores and converted five Ann Taylor stores to LOFT stores. At the LOFT brand, the Company closed one LOFT store. As of May 21, 2010, the Company had 903 stores, comprising 283 Ann Taylor stores, 92 Ann Taylor Factory stores, 510 LOFT stores, and 18 LOFT Outlet stores.
An average Ann Taylor store is approximately 5,300 square feet in size. The Company also has two Ann Taylor flagship stores, one located in New York City and one located in Chicago, both of which offer the Ann Taylor merchandise. In fiscal 2009, the Company did not open any new Ann Taylor stores. LOFT stores average approximately 5,900 square feet. It also has one LOFT flagship store on the ground floor of 7 Times Square, its corporate headquarters, in New York City. In fiscal 2009, the Company opened nine LOFT stores that averaged approximately 5,600 square feet and converted 11 Ann Taylor stores to LOFT stores that averaged 5,000 square feet. Its Ann Taylor Factory stores average approximately 7,300 square feet. In fiscal 2009, the Company opened one Ann Taylor Factory store that is approximately 6,500 square feet. The LOFT Outlet stores average approximately 6,800 square feet.
Substantially all of the Company’s merchandise is developed by its in-house product design and development teams, which design merchandise exclusively for the Company. A small percentage of its merchandise is purchased through branded vendors, which is selected to complement its in-house assortment. During the fiscal year ended January 30, 2010 (fiscal 2009), the Company sourced merchandise from approximately 180 manufacturers and vendors in 18 countries. Approximately 50% of its merchandise purchases originated in China, 13% in the Philippines, 12% in Indonesia, 10% in India, and 6% in Vietnam.
In October 2008, the Company launched an enhanced credit card program, which offers eligible clients the choice of a private-label or a co-branded credit card. Both cards can be used at any Ann Taylor or LOFT store location, including Ann Taylor Factory and LOFT Outlet, as well as at anntaylor.com and LOFTonline.com. The co-branded credit card can also be used at any other business where the card is accepted. Both cards are offered in an Ann Taylor version and a LOFT version, depending upon where a client enrolls in the program, however the benefits offered to clients are the same for each.
The Loft was also an attempt to compete with discount apparel stores, the most potent threat to apparel specialty stores at that time because of the price deflation they caused in the moderate and lower priced lines. By early 1995, AnnTaylor was feeling this threat as it was forced to cut prices by 10 to 15 percent. The board, in an attempt to maintain the company's growth, tripled its capital spending budget as plans were undertaken for further aggressive expansion. By the end of the year, however, AnnTaylor's spectacular comeback was being labeled a flop. The spring line, which included cropped T-shirts and leather jackets in an attempt to woo the younger customer, had not sold well.
Kasaks attributed the company's sales problems to the difficult retail environment, but others attributed them to Kasaks herself. Known for her mercurial disposition, she had ostensibly shaken up more than one staff meeting. More than a dozen executives, including the company's senior vice-president and general merchandising manager, had resigned as AnnTaylor's stock dipped from its December 1994 high of almost $45 to a low of $10 in October 1995. The company became unable to meet the conditions of its loans.
In April 1996, two shareholders filed a class-action suit accusing the company of concealing its financial problems and hiding inventory. In September 1996, in an effort to salvage its ailing principal supplier, AnnTaylor bought Cygne's 60 percent stake in CAT and Cygne's AnnTaylor Woven Division. After 14 straight months of declining sales and losses or lower profits in five of six quarters, Kasaks resigned under pressure from the board in August 1996, replaced by J. Patrick Spainhour, former chief financial officer of Donna Karan International, as chief executive, and Patricia DeRosa, former president of Gap Kids, as president and chief operating officer.
In 1997, AnnTaylor invested heavily in advertising for its fall line of clothes, the more conservatively stylish, businesslike attire with which it had made its name. Sales remained sluggish through most of 1997, when sales for the entire company fell 2.1 percent. By 1998, however, the company seemed to have solidified its comeback. For this, AnnTaylor had its loyal customer base to thank, who, according to at least one analyst in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, kept coming back to browse the racks even after styles disappointed them. Sales for the year increased to $912 million, yielding profits of $39.3 million.
Sales at AnnTaylor continued to improve, albeit slowly, throughout 1999 and into 2000, when there was talk of a company buyout by May Department Stores. The company's share price continued to be volatile throughout this period, reaching an April 1999 high of about $53, but dropping as low as about $15 in early 2000. By mid-2000, when AnnTaylor offered a new Internet shopping service to customers, the future of the company was still far from certain.
The end of the1990s was spent expanding AnnTaylor's Loft spinoff which proved both popular and profitable for the company. As industry analysts predicted, some market share of the company's more expensive retail AnnTaylor stores was lost when AnnTaylor shoppers defected, becoming loyal Loft shoppers instead. AnnTaylor was not alone in "losing" customers; The Gap experienced the same effect when it opened its lower priced and trendier Old Navy stores. The company took note of the Loft stores' burgeoning success and by May 2000 AnnTaylor had 70 loft stores throughout the United States, with plans for further expansion.
In the early 2000s AnnTaylor was shoring up its internet business by partnering with a variety of internet service providers including ProfitLogic, Interworld, Convergys Corporation and Delano Technology. Internet retailing made the shopping experience easier for the average woman career professional and AnnTaylor capitalized on its appeal to working women, drawing them in with aggressive marketing and giving them the excellent customer service they demanded.
The company reached agreements with J.C. Penney's subsidiary JCP Logistics in June 2000 to provide distribution for its web-based retailing at www.anntaylor.com. In November 2000 AnnTaylor chose Interworld Commerce Suite to help power the company's growing e-tail business. AnnTaylor's reputation as a top-notch customer service provider at its retail stores was transferred to its web-based business as through its association with Interworld. Even more emphasis was placed on its internet shop when in January 2001 AnnTaylor chose Delano Velocity Marketing to assist with its e-marketing and client relations.
Sales had declined in the 1990s and by 2000 the company looked to recapture its lost market share. A campaign began with an emphasis on a return to its signature look and style--a classic style with solid wardrobe pieces for the career minded woman. The company was known for its classic mix and match outfits but had strayed toward trendier styles in the 1990s. Cathy Rano was hired at the AnnTaylor division as vice-president of design and charged to bring back the basics while updating color scheme trends and modernizing inventory along traditional fashion variations such as hemline length, lapel width, and jacket style.
The company decided to consolidate some of its operations in 2004. AnnTaylor's data center and some of its back-office work would move to Milford, Connecticut. The new building provided 42,000 square feet with a six-year lease. That same year marked the 50th anniversary of AnnTaylor and the company celebrated its milestone with a new advertising campaign shot by world renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz. The slogan chosen for the campaign was "I AM ANN TAYLOR" with ads featuring fashion icons from the past, as well as beautiful women who were beginning to grace the pages of fashionable women's magazines. The ads captured the return of the classic AnnTaylor look with a focus on its timeless yet modern design. AnnTaylor was refashioning itself and, despite inconsistent sales, attempting to solidify its market share by the mid-2000s.
Principal Subsidiaries: AnnTaylor Inc.
Principal Divisions: AnnTaylor Loft; Anntaylor.com; AnnTaylor Factory Stores.
Principal Competitors: The Gap Inc.; Liz Claiborne Inc.; Donna Karan International Inc.; The Talbots Inc.; Chicos FAS, Inc.
OVERALL
Beta: 1.83
Market Cap (Mil.): $1,617.98
Shares Outstanding (Mil.): 51.84
Annual Dividend: --
Yield (%): --
FINANCIALS
ANN Industry Sector
P/E (TTM): 25.26 18.44 9.39
EPS (TTM): 484.34 -- --
ROI: 11.54 12.45 0.84
ROE: 17.15 14.44 1.53
Statistics:
Public Company
Incorporated: 1988
Employees: 13,000
Sales: $1.58 billion (2004)
Stock Exchanges: New York
Ticker Symbol: ANN
NAIC: 448120 Women's Clothing Stores
Key Dates:
1954: Robert Liebskind opens the first AnnTaylor store in New Haven, Connecticut.
1977: Liebskind sells his stores to Garfinckel, Brooks Brothers, Miller Rhodes Corporation.
1981: AnnTaylor, as part of Garfinckels, is acquired by Allied Stores Corporation.
1983: Sally Frame Kasaks becomes president of the company.
1985: Mark Shulman replaces Kasaks as chief executive officer.
1987: The Campeau Corporation implements a hostile takeover of Allied Stores.
1988: The Campeau Corporation sells AnnTaylor to Merrill Lynch Capital Partners, Inc. and some of AnnTaylor's management.
1991: AnnTaylor goes public.
1992: Sally Frame Kasaks returns to head AnnTaylor.
1996: AnnTaylor buys Cygne Designs' stock in its joint ventures; J. Patrick Spainhour and Patricia DeRosa replace Kasaks.
1998: AnnTaylor expands its AnnTaylor Loft Stores.
2001: Katherine Lawther Krill is appointed president of Loft Division.
2002: Loft stores rapidly expand; company posts most profitable third quarter in its history.
2003: Kim Roy resigns as president of AnnTaylor Division.
2004: Company moves back office work to Milford, Connecticut; celebrates 50th "ANNiversary."
Name Age Since Current Position
Hovsepian, Ronald 50 2005 Non-Executive Independent Chairman of the Board
Krill, Kay 56 2005 President, Chief Executive Officer, Director
Nicholson, Michael 44 2007 Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President, Treasurer
Lynch, Brian 53 2008 President - Corporate Operations
Beauchamp, Christine 41 2008 President - Ann Taylor Stores
Muto, Gary 51 2008 President - LOFT
Eisenberg, Barbara 65 2005 Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary
Burke, James 59 1989 Independent Director
Trapp, Michael 71 2003 Independent Director
Hilpert, Dale 68 2004 Independent Director
Huett, Linda 66 2005 Independent Director
Yih, Daniel 52 2007 Independent Director
Gass, Michelle 43 2008 Independent Director
Rauch, Stacey 53 2011 Independent Director
Address:
142 West 57th Street
New York, New York 10019
U.S.A.
Richard Liebeskind, the founder of Ann Taylor Stores Corp., opened his first store in 1954. The first Ann Taylor store (Store 0001) was opened two years later in New Haven, Connecticut. "Ann Taylor" was the name of a best-selling dress at the founder's father's store. Both the best-selling dress and the name "Ann Taylor" were given from the father to his son, Richard Liebeskind [3], for good luck. [4] Liebeskind decided to go with the name Ann Taylor because "Ann" was considered a very New England name, and "Taylor" evoked the image of tailored clothing. The name created the ideal identity of classic woman's apparel.
As of the end of fiscal 2008, Ann Taylor had 935 stores consisting of 320 Ann Taylor stores, 510 LOFT stores, 91 Ann Taylor Factory stores, and 14 LOFT Outlet stores.[5] Total revenue was $2.4 billion, of which $1.09 billion came from the company's Ann Taylor Loft division, $689 million from Ann Taylor, and $417 million from Ann Taylor Factory Store. [6]
AnnTaylor Stores Corp., through its wholly owned subsidiaries, is a specialty retailer of women’s apparel, shoes and accessories sold primarily under the Ann Taylor and LOFT brands. The Company’s Ann Taylor and LOFT stores offer a range of career and casual separates, dresses, tops, weekend wear, shoes and accessories. Ann Taylor offers wear-now and wear-to-work fashion, and LOFT offers casual wear for women. As of January 30, 2010, it operated 907 retail stores in 46 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, of which 291 were Ann Taylor stores, 506 were LOFT stores, 92 were Ann Taylor Factory stores and 18 were LOFT Outlet stores. The Company’s clients can also shop online at www.anntaylor.com and www.LOFTonline.com, or by phone at 1-800-DIAL-ANN. In May 2010, the Ann Taylor brand closed three Ann Taylor stores and converted five Ann Taylor stores to LOFT stores. At the LOFT brand, the Company closed one LOFT store. As of May 21, 2010, the Company had 903 stores, comprising 283 Ann Taylor stores, 92 Ann Taylor Factory stores, 510 LOFT stores, and 18 LOFT Outlet stores.
An average Ann Taylor store is approximately 5,300 square feet in size. The Company also has two Ann Taylor flagship stores, one located in New York City and one located in Chicago, both of which offer the Ann Taylor merchandise. In fiscal 2009, the Company did not open any new Ann Taylor stores. LOFT stores average approximately 5,900 square feet. It also has one LOFT flagship store on the ground floor of 7 Times Square, its corporate headquarters, in New York City. In fiscal 2009, the Company opened nine LOFT stores that averaged approximately 5,600 square feet and converted 11 Ann Taylor stores to LOFT stores that averaged 5,000 square feet. Its Ann Taylor Factory stores average approximately 7,300 square feet. In fiscal 2009, the Company opened one Ann Taylor Factory store that is approximately 6,500 square feet. The LOFT Outlet stores average approximately 6,800 square feet.
Substantially all of the Company’s merchandise is developed by its in-house product design and development teams, which design merchandise exclusively for the Company. A small percentage of its merchandise is purchased through branded vendors, which is selected to complement its in-house assortment. During the fiscal year ended January 30, 2010 (fiscal 2009), the Company sourced merchandise from approximately 180 manufacturers and vendors in 18 countries. Approximately 50% of its merchandise purchases originated in China, 13% in the Philippines, 12% in Indonesia, 10% in India, and 6% in Vietnam.
In October 2008, the Company launched an enhanced credit card program, which offers eligible clients the choice of a private-label or a co-branded credit card. Both cards can be used at any Ann Taylor or LOFT store location, including Ann Taylor Factory and LOFT Outlet, as well as at anntaylor.com and LOFTonline.com. The co-branded credit card can also be used at any other business where the card is accepted. Both cards are offered in an Ann Taylor version and a LOFT version, depending upon where a client enrolls in the program, however the benefits offered to clients are the same for each.
The Loft was also an attempt to compete with discount apparel stores, the most potent threat to apparel specialty stores at that time because of the price deflation they caused in the moderate and lower priced lines. By early 1995, AnnTaylor was feeling this threat as it was forced to cut prices by 10 to 15 percent. The board, in an attempt to maintain the company's growth, tripled its capital spending budget as plans were undertaken for further aggressive expansion. By the end of the year, however, AnnTaylor's spectacular comeback was being labeled a flop. The spring line, which included cropped T-shirts and leather jackets in an attempt to woo the younger customer, had not sold well.
Kasaks attributed the company's sales problems to the difficult retail environment, but others attributed them to Kasaks herself. Known for her mercurial disposition, she had ostensibly shaken up more than one staff meeting. More than a dozen executives, including the company's senior vice-president and general merchandising manager, had resigned as AnnTaylor's stock dipped from its December 1994 high of almost $45 to a low of $10 in October 1995. The company became unable to meet the conditions of its loans.
In April 1996, two shareholders filed a class-action suit accusing the company of concealing its financial problems and hiding inventory. In September 1996, in an effort to salvage its ailing principal supplier, AnnTaylor bought Cygne's 60 percent stake in CAT and Cygne's AnnTaylor Woven Division. After 14 straight months of declining sales and losses or lower profits in five of six quarters, Kasaks resigned under pressure from the board in August 1996, replaced by J. Patrick Spainhour, former chief financial officer of Donna Karan International, as chief executive, and Patricia DeRosa, former president of Gap Kids, as president and chief operating officer.
In 1997, AnnTaylor invested heavily in advertising for its fall line of clothes, the more conservatively stylish, businesslike attire with which it had made its name. Sales remained sluggish through most of 1997, when sales for the entire company fell 2.1 percent. By 1998, however, the company seemed to have solidified its comeback. For this, AnnTaylor had its loyal customer base to thank, who, according to at least one analyst in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, kept coming back to browse the racks even after styles disappointed them. Sales for the year increased to $912 million, yielding profits of $39.3 million.
Sales at AnnTaylor continued to improve, albeit slowly, throughout 1999 and into 2000, when there was talk of a company buyout by May Department Stores. The company's share price continued to be volatile throughout this period, reaching an April 1999 high of about $53, but dropping as low as about $15 in early 2000. By mid-2000, when AnnTaylor offered a new Internet shopping service to customers, the future of the company was still far from certain.
The end of the1990s was spent expanding AnnTaylor's Loft spinoff which proved both popular and profitable for the company. As industry analysts predicted, some market share of the company's more expensive retail AnnTaylor stores was lost when AnnTaylor shoppers defected, becoming loyal Loft shoppers instead. AnnTaylor was not alone in "losing" customers; The Gap experienced the same effect when it opened its lower priced and trendier Old Navy stores. The company took note of the Loft stores' burgeoning success and by May 2000 AnnTaylor had 70 loft stores throughout the United States, with plans for further expansion.
In the early 2000s AnnTaylor was shoring up its internet business by partnering with a variety of internet service providers including ProfitLogic, Interworld, Convergys Corporation and Delano Technology. Internet retailing made the shopping experience easier for the average woman career professional and AnnTaylor capitalized on its appeal to working women, drawing them in with aggressive marketing and giving them the excellent customer service they demanded.
The company reached agreements with J.C. Penney's subsidiary JCP Logistics in June 2000 to provide distribution for its web-based retailing at www.anntaylor.com. In November 2000 AnnTaylor chose Interworld Commerce Suite to help power the company's growing e-tail business. AnnTaylor's reputation as a top-notch customer service provider at its retail stores was transferred to its web-based business as through its association with Interworld. Even more emphasis was placed on its internet shop when in January 2001 AnnTaylor chose Delano Velocity Marketing to assist with its e-marketing and client relations.
Sales had declined in the 1990s and by 2000 the company looked to recapture its lost market share. A campaign began with an emphasis on a return to its signature look and style--a classic style with solid wardrobe pieces for the career minded woman. The company was known for its classic mix and match outfits but had strayed toward trendier styles in the 1990s. Cathy Rano was hired at the AnnTaylor division as vice-president of design and charged to bring back the basics while updating color scheme trends and modernizing inventory along traditional fashion variations such as hemline length, lapel width, and jacket style.
The company decided to consolidate some of its operations in 2004. AnnTaylor's data center and some of its back-office work would move to Milford, Connecticut. The new building provided 42,000 square feet with a six-year lease. That same year marked the 50th anniversary of AnnTaylor and the company celebrated its milestone with a new advertising campaign shot by world renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz. The slogan chosen for the campaign was "I AM ANN TAYLOR" with ads featuring fashion icons from the past, as well as beautiful women who were beginning to grace the pages of fashionable women's magazines. The ads captured the return of the classic AnnTaylor look with a focus on its timeless yet modern design. AnnTaylor was refashioning itself and, despite inconsistent sales, attempting to solidify its market share by the mid-2000s.
Principal Subsidiaries: AnnTaylor Inc.
Principal Divisions: AnnTaylor Loft; Anntaylor.com; AnnTaylor Factory Stores.
Principal Competitors: The Gap Inc.; Liz Claiborne Inc.; Donna Karan International Inc.; The Talbots Inc.; Chicos FAS, Inc.
OVERALL
Beta: 1.83
Market Cap (Mil.): $1,617.98
Shares Outstanding (Mil.): 51.84
Annual Dividend: --
Yield (%): --
FINANCIALS
ANN Industry Sector
P/E (TTM): 25.26 18.44 9.39
EPS (TTM): 484.34 -- --
ROI: 11.54 12.45 0.84
ROE: 17.15 14.44 1.53
Statistics:
Public Company
Incorporated: 1988
Employees: 13,000
Sales: $1.58 billion (2004)
Stock Exchanges: New York
Ticker Symbol: ANN
NAIC: 448120 Women's Clothing Stores
Key Dates:
1954: Robert Liebskind opens the first AnnTaylor store in New Haven, Connecticut.
1977: Liebskind sells his stores to Garfinckel, Brooks Brothers, Miller Rhodes Corporation.
1981: AnnTaylor, as part of Garfinckels, is acquired by Allied Stores Corporation.
1983: Sally Frame Kasaks becomes president of the company.
1985: Mark Shulman replaces Kasaks as chief executive officer.
1987: The Campeau Corporation implements a hostile takeover of Allied Stores.
1988: The Campeau Corporation sells AnnTaylor to Merrill Lynch Capital Partners, Inc. and some of AnnTaylor's management.
1991: AnnTaylor goes public.
1992: Sally Frame Kasaks returns to head AnnTaylor.
1996: AnnTaylor buys Cygne Designs' stock in its joint ventures; J. Patrick Spainhour and Patricia DeRosa replace Kasaks.
1998: AnnTaylor expands its AnnTaylor Loft Stores.
2001: Katherine Lawther Krill is appointed president of Loft Division.
2002: Loft stores rapidly expand; company posts most profitable third quarter in its history.
2003: Kim Roy resigns as president of AnnTaylor Division.
2004: Company moves back office work to Milford, Connecticut; celebrates 50th "ANNiversary."
Name Age Since Current Position
Hovsepian, Ronald 50 2005 Non-Executive Independent Chairman of the Board
Krill, Kay 56 2005 President, Chief Executive Officer, Director
Nicholson, Michael 44 2007 Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President, Treasurer
Lynch, Brian 53 2008 President - Corporate Operations
Beauchamp, Christine 41 2008 President - Ann Taylor Stores
Muto, Gary 51 2008 President - LOFT
Eisenberg, Barbara 65 2005 Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary
Burke, James 59 1989 Independent Director
Trapp, Michael 71 2003 Independent Director
Hilpert, Dale 68 2004 Independent Director
Huett, Linda 66 2005 Independent Director
Yih, Daniel 52 2007 Independent Director
Gass, Michelle 43 2008 Independent Director
Rauch, Stacey 53 2011 Independent Director
Address:
142 West 57th Street
New York, New York 10019
U.S.A.
Last edited: