Ann Taylors A Wardrobe Source From Busy Socially Upscale...

Founded in 1954, Ann Taylor was designed as a â€Å"wardrobe source from busy socially upscale women† (Assenza, Eisner, Kuperman, 2009, pg. 2-4). By 1994 the Ann Taylor Company ventured into the New York stock exchange launching into the â€Å"mail catalog business, fragrance line and free standing shoe stores positioned to supplement the Ann Taylor Store† (Assenza et al., 2009, pg. 2-4). By 1995 the company decided to end the mail order attempt and launch a new branch called the Ann Taylor LOFT that focused on lower priced apparel. The LOFT stores focused on a different market and were located in discount outlet malls and were eventually moved to the Ann Taylor Factory. This Ann Taylor Factory approached was a strategy offered â€Å"customers direct†¦show more content†¦2-5). With the stakes high the company continued to flourish until 2008 Krill â€Å"announced a restructuring plan† (Assenza et al., 2009, pg. 2-5) due to the economic crises. Krillâ⠂¬â„¢s strategy was to differentiate the Ann Taylor Company and continue to dominate the market for long term success. Krill’s approach and strategy focused on three key areas; â€Å"the evolution of our brands and channels, the reduction of our overall cost structure and the continued pursuit of growth† (Assenza et al., 2009, pg. 2-5). The company continued to put fourth resources and efforts to improve the company’s information systems. The store levels focused on inventory of the stores and the percentage of turn over recognizing the customer’s wants and needs. The company also focused on â€Å"improving supply chain speed, flexibility and efficiency† (Assenza et al., 2009, pg. 2-16). The focuses of these strategies were to see â€Å"fewer markdowns and higher margins† (Assenza et al., 2009, pg. 216) that would result in increased floor merchandise to increase revenue sales. The company also â€Å"initiated a real estate reinvestment pro gram focused on enhancing the look and feel of 43 stores in 2005, in a more toward the â€Å"store of the future† (Assenza et al., 2009, pg. 2-16). With this brought internal financial concerns of weather these attempts would increase or decrease revenue and would be able to sustain the