Ann Taylor Case Study
Case 39 – Ann Taylor
Introduction
Ann Taylor was founded in 1954 as a wardrobe home for busy, socially upscale women by Robert Liebeskind. Its first stand-alone clothing store was started in New Haven, Connecticut. Ann Taylor was never a real person; it was a brand identity or a personality within the retail clothing industry.
Kay Krill, the current president/CEO, has been the leader of the company since 2004 and has faced many issues and challenges with the ANN legacy as a women’s specialty clothing retailer:
• When she was appointed “there was concern among commentators and customers that the Ann Taylor look was getting ‘stodgy,’ and the question was how to reestablish Ann Taylor as the preeminent brand for beautiful, elegant, and sophisticated occasion dressing.” (C308)
• The 2008 economic downturn had a profound effect on the retail industry as a whole. One industry group estimated that over 6,000 retail stores had closed in 2008 which was a 25% increase from the previous year. Macroeconomic conditions were worsening and the entire retail environment was threatened by less consumer demand.
• Also, Ann Taylor was a women’s specialty retailing store which engaged in retailing a specific line of women’s clothing. This single product focus includes a high risk for the company, because any loss in sales could not be recovered in another product area.
• Ann Taylor over the course of a few years had many different store concepts underneath the one defining Ann Taylor brand. At one point in its history the company had five separate store concepts. Cannibalization between the brands was disrupting overall sales volume. There was too much going on at the same time and analysts noted it was hard to get all the divisions moving forward simultaneously.
• Another major issue with Ann Taylor that Krill needed to deal with on a more personal level was the amount of management turnover. She dealt with seven resignations,
Introduction
Ann Taylor was founded in 1954 as a wardrobe home for busy, socially upscale women by Robert Liebeskind. Its first stand-alone clothing store was started in New Haven, Connecticut. Ann Taylor was never a real person; it was a brand identity or a personality within the retail clothing industry.
Kay Krill, the current president/CEO, has been the leader of the company since 2004 and has faced many issues and challenges with the ANN legacy as a women’s specialty clothing retailer:
• When she was appointed “there was concern among commentators and customers that the Ann Taylor look was getting ‘stodgy,’ and the question was how to reestablish Ann Taylor as the preeminent brand for beautiful, elegant, and sophisticated occasion dressing.” (C308)
• The 2008 economic downturn had a profound effect on the retail industry as a whole. One industry group estimated that over 6,000 retail stores had closed in 2008 which was a 25% increase from the previous year. Macroeconomic conditions were worsening and the entire retail environment was threatened by less consumer demand.
• Also, Ann Taylor was a women’s specialty retailing store which engaged in retailing a specific line of women’s clothing. This single product focus includes a high risk for the company, because any loss in sales could not be recovered in another product area.
• Ann Taylor over the course of a few years had many different store concepts underneath the one defining Ann Taylor brand. At one point in its history the company had five separate store concepts. Cannibalization between the brands was disrupting overall sales volume. There was too much going on at the same time and analysts noted it was hard to get all the divisions moving forward simultaneously.
• Another major issue with Ann Taylor that Krill needed to deal with on a more personal level was the amount of management turnover. She dealt with seven resignations,