Ann Taylor Survival in Specialty Retail Essay - 951 Words

Established in 1956 by Robert Liebeskind, Ann Taylor, an upscale woman’s clothier began operation in New Harford Connecticut. Ann Taylor was established to cater to working women who wanted style and class to be their trademark. Ann Taylor or ANN is in the retail clothing industry. According to the ANN website, their purpose is to, â€Å"inspire and connect with women who put their best selves’ forward each day.† (Ann Taylor) Kay Krill, CEO of Ann Taylor states on their website that, â€Å"At ANN Inc. we share a profound commitment to our clients. For more than half a century, we have evolved with the needs of real women, who live full active lives. Our values are her values. We understand that a woman expresses herself by what she wears- at work,†¦show more content†¦The recent recession has hurt the entire retail market and regaining profits will be a constant challenge for the entire industry. In order to remain competitive, Ann Krill states,† value and versatility have become very important. She needs an incentive to shop.† (Hymowitz, 2012) Ms. Krill goes on to say,† I think in uncertain economic times, value becomes more important...† (Hymowitz, 2012) Although has seen some growth in certain segments of their company, such as Loft and Outlet, the Ann Taylor stores have not fared as well. As stated by Katherine Krill, â€Å"sales for the fourth quarter increased 10% to $567 million with comparable sales up 5%. Excluding charges, net income was $5.5 million or $0.10 per diluted share compared to net income of $11 million or $0.19 per share a year ago. Overall, the results reflected strong performance across all channels of the LOFT brand and in the e-commerce and factory channels of the Ann Taylor brand, offset by significantly lower-than-anticipated results in the Ann Taylor stores channel .† (Seeking Alpha, 2012) Due to the competitive focus of the fashion retail industry using differentiation strategy makes the most sense. In order to draw consumers to the ANN brand of clothingShow MoreRelatedEssay about Ann Taylor685 Words   |  3 PagesCase 2 Ann Taylor: Survival in Speciality Retail 1. What industry is Ann in? Ann Taylor is a specialty retail clothing store for ladies only. The quality of Ann Taylor is similar to that of Talbots, Abercrombie Fitch, or Banana Republic. Keep in mind Ann Taylor was never a person like Elizabeth Taylor. Ann Taylor is only the brand identity. 2. Using Porter’s five forces model, identify the key issues in the competitive environment that affect ANN and its rivals. 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