Survival in Specialty Retail

Unit 8: Ann Taylor: Survival in Specialty Retail Case Study Analysis

Kaplan University

School of Business

MT460 Management Policy and Strategy

Author: Miché Jones

Professor: William Quisenberry

Date: August 4, 2015

Ann Taylor: Survival in Specialty Retail

Company Name: Ann Taylor

Topic of the Week: Strategic Control Systems

Synopsis of the Situation

Established in 1954, Ann Taylor was developed to appeal to socially, upscale women who had limited free time on their schedules. The company started off with a clothing line but later expanded its products to include fragrances, free standing shoe stores, and a mail order catalog. Ann Taylor introduced a lower-priced apparel strategy called Ann Taylor LOFT in 1995 after the mail order catalog attempt failed. Ann Taylor LOFT offered Ann Taylor products cheaper than high end Ann Taylor stores. This concept was designed to appeal to consumers who were interested in good quality products at discounted prices.

Kay Krill took over as President of the high end Ann Taylor stores and Ann Taylor LOFT stores in 2004. Krill had plans to continue to expand the companies as she felt the need to improve profitability and enhance the brands at both operations. Challenges in the economy in the summer of 2008 caused Krill to renovate her strategic plans that she had for the companies. It was reported that approximately 6,000 retail stores would shut down their operations in 2008 which was a 25% increase of stores that shut down in the year before. A number of commentators and consumers complained that the Ann Taylor brand was getting a bit old. Krill had to determine how she could reestablish the brand so that it could continue to appeal to its target market.

Alternative Solutions

1. Krill should consider expanding the Ann Taylor brand to appeal to socially, upscale men. She can devise a strategic plan that will enable her to develop a collection line called Ann Taylor for Men. The brand...