Sycamore snaps up Ann Taylor, other remaining Ascena brands for $540M (2024)

FAQs

What brands are under Ascena? ›

ascena is a national specialty retailer offering apparel, shoes and accessories for women. Through our collective brands—including Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lane Bryant and Cacique—we serve women across generations, identities, affiliations and body types.

The firm's investment portfolio currently includes Belk, Coldwater Creek, CommerceHub, EMP Merchandising, Hot Topic, MGF Sourcing, NBG Home, Nine West Holdings, Staples, Inc., Staples' United States Retail Business, Staples' Canadian Retail Business, Talbots, The Limited and Torrid.

Ascena Retail Group has completed the $540 million sale of Ann Taylor, Loft, Lane Bryant and Lou & Grey to Premium Apparel LLC, an affiliate of private equity firm Sycamore Partners.

Ascena Retail Group, Inc., is an American retailer of women's clothing. Ascena also owns Lane Bryant clothing store brand, and is the parent company of Ann Inc., operator of Ann Taylor and Loft stores.

The brand is marketed under five divisions: Ann Taylor, Loft, Lou & Grey, Ann Taylor Factory, and Loft Outlet.

Talbots' parent company Sycamore Partners recently purchased the Ascena Retail Group Inc., which owns Ann Taylor, Loft, Lane Bryant and Lou & Grey, for $540 million.

Ascena also previously owned the DressBarn and closed all of its stores last year. Sycamore Partners is a private equity firm based in New York, which owns a number of retailers including Belk, Hot Topic, Staples, Talbots and Torrid.

Ascena paid $2 billion to buy the two brands in 2015, but is now selling them to the PE firm for a fraction of that. While consumers across the U.S. hunted for bargains during Cyber Week, private equity firm Sycamore Partners was indulging in a little shopping of its own.

Sycamore Partners is a private equity firm based in New York specializing in retail and consumer investments. The firm has approximately $10 billion in aggregate committed capital.

Sycamore Partners was founded in 2011 by Stefan Kaluzny and Peter Morrow. Before Sycamore, Kaluzny was a Managing Partner at Golden Gate Capital and was employed since the firm's inception. Prior to joining Golden Gate, he co-founded Delray Farms, Inc. and also served as its Chief Executive Officer.

Is Sycamore Partners a hedge fund? ›

Sycamore Partners is a private equity firm based in New York specializing in consumer, distribution and retail-related investments.

The purchase price values the firm at approximately $3.0 billion. Under the terms of the merger agreement, all Belk stockholders will receive $68.00 per share in cash for each share of Belk common stock they own. Belk operates close to 300 Belk stores located in 16 Southern states and a growing digital presence.

Ascena Retail Group, the conglomerate behind women's apparel brands Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant and Catherines, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Thursday and said it would close at least 877 - nearly a third - of its 2,800 stores after years of declining sales and ballooning debt.

We will gladly accept your return of unwashed and unworn or defective merchandise under the following conditions: MERCHANDISE PURCHASED AT AN ANN TAYLOR STORE may only be returned to a Ann Taylor store. MERCHANDISE PURCHASED AT AN ANN TAYLOR FACTORY STORE may only be returned to an Ann Taylor Factory store.

It's a relatively expensive brand and has a much sleeker product line as compared to other specialty retailers. Ann Taylor has a specific target market of affluent female buyers in the age group of 25-50 years, which justifies its small presence (in terms of stores) in the U.S.

When you see “Ann Taylor Factory” on labels and price tags, it's an outlet item. Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft outlets carry mostly — or entirely — made-for-outlet clothing. On Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor LOFT pieces, look for “Factory” underneath the brand name.

Unwashed, unworn and defective merchandise may also be returned or exchanged at any LOFT store location, with the exception of merchandise from the Maternity and Swimwear Collections. Please note, we cannot accept online purchase returns at Ann Taylor, LOFT Outlet or Ann Taylor Factory store locations.

Ann Taylor has Loft -- which it launched in 1996 -- and now Lou & Grey.

I recall going to Talbot's with my grandmother as a youngster and even then it was categorized as 'the old lady store'. Yup, that is where all the older but fashionable women went before a night out a the jazz club with their husband's.

Is Catherines and Lane Bryant the same? ›

We encourage you to come visit and shop with us in store. We want to see you! Additionally, our sister brand, Lane Bryant, is available and happy to serve you in store and online. We urge you to see their latest collections and how their style fits you.

Talbots is making great strides to become a cult brand for women between the ages of 45 to 65 years old and right now it is focusing on reclaiming its brand DNA and sense of style.

Talbots is the first to close up shop.

According to the spokesperson, the clothing store's lease is up at the end of January, and the company has chosen not to renew it. The closure was "mutually agreed upon," the spokesperson told Providence Business News.

Talbots. Women's clothing store Talbots is among apparel retailers at risk. The company is facing sector challenges, as many consumers have turned away from malls amid the pandemic. Talbots doesn't have much cash on hand, and it's debt is coming due soon, analysts said.

Founded in 1954, Ann Taylor became the go-to destination for professional women and set several styles on the map, including trousers and pants for women in the 1960s and 1970s and the ubiquitous 1980s power suit.

99 Ann Taylor Stores in the United States.

Gary P. Muto (Oct 2015–)

Ann Inc. / CEO

LMM: $25 to $100 million deal size. CMM: $100 to $500 million deal size. UMM: $500 million to $1 billion deal size.

In 2022, the top 10 closed PE funds represented over a third of total capital raised, according to PitchBook's 2022 Annual Global Private Market Fundraising report. The largest fund close last year was Boston-based manager Advent International's GPE X Buyout fund, which closed at $25 billion last May.

In July of 2022, Peter Morrow, one of Sycamore Partners' founding partners, left the firm.

Who owns Belk Dept store? ›

Mark Okada is Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Sycamore Tree Capital Partners L.P.

The top earner was Ken Griffin, founder of multistrategy giant Citadel. He personally made $4.1 billion — the most any hedge fund manager has ever earned in the history of the Rich List.

Bridgewater Associates, the hedge fund previously run by legendary investor Ray Dalio, is the largest hedge fund in the world with more than $235 billion in assets under management. Needless to say, Bridgewater has had tremendous success since it was founded in 1975.

Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha, is one of the most respected investors in the world. His hedge fund, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK. A), is known for its long-term approach to investing in high-quality companies.

Belk was founded in the Charlotte area in 1888 by the Belk family. The private company was acquired in 2015 by New York private equity firm Sycamore Partners for about $3 billion.

A timeline of the Belk department store: From 1888 to now

Five years later, the COVID-19 pandemic compounded Belk's problems, which included a $2 billion debt and declining sales.

The Belk acquisition in December 2015 had an estimated enterprise value of about $3 billion. Sycamore Partners retained Tim Belk as CEO and kept the headquarters in Charlotte. Belk falls into the department store category occupied by Kohl's but is a much smaller chain with 291 stores compared with Kohl's nearly 1,200.

In July 2020, the decision was made to close all of the freestanding Lou & Grey stores after the parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

On Thursday, Ascena Retail Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced plans to close approximately 1,100 stores. Among those 1,100 stores are 10 Ann Taylor stores, 28 Ann Taylor Factory stores, nine LOFT stores, 21 LOFT Outlet stores, and eight Lou & Grey stores.

What happened to Ann Taylor Factory Online? ›

Our buy online, pick up from store program will not be affected by the Chapter 11 process. However, it will no longer be offered in Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lou & Grey, and Lane Bryant stores that are closing. Stores that remain open will honor this program where available.

ascena is a national specialty retailer offering apparel, shoes and accessories for women. Through our collective brands—including Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lane Bryant and Cacique—we serve women across generations, identities, affiliations and body types.

Dressbarn.com (branded as dressbarn) is an online retailer owned by Retail Ecommerce Ventures. Its predecessor is the former chain of women's clothing stores owned by Ascena, which operated as Dressbarn from 1962 until 2019. Since 2020, it is owned by Miami, Florida-based Retail Ecommerce Ventures.

Founded in 1931, Maurices has mostly targeted women aged 25-45 with around 900 stores across the U.S. and Canada.

Ascena Retail Group has completed the $540 million sale of Ann Taylor, Loft, Lane Bryant and Lou & Grey to Premium Apparel LLC, an affiliate of private equity firm Sycamore Partners.

Ann Taylor was founded in 1954. Loft, originally Ann Taylor Loft, was established in 1998 as an extension of the original Ann Taylor brand, offers more relaxed fashions for work and home, in the "moderate" priced category.

and our brands Ann Taylor, LOFT, and Lou & Grey, we are committed to helping our clients put their best selves forward every day.

Ascena Retail Group competitors include Pacsun, Stitch Fix, EXPRESS, DSW and Roman.

Home Retail Group is the UK's leading home and general merchandise retailer with pro forma annual sales of over £5.8 billion. It sells products under two distinctive and complementary retail brands, Argos and Homebase, which are both household names in the UK.

Qurate Retail, Inc. owns and operates seven leading retail brands in the U.S. and abroad, including QVC^®, HSN^®, Zulily^®, Ballard Designs^®, Frontgate^®, Garnet Hill^® and Grandin Road^® (collectively, "Qurate Retail Group^SM").

Is Talbots part of ascena? ›

Ascena also previously owned the DressBarn and closed all of its stores last year. Sycamore Partners is a private equity firm based in New York, which owns a number of retailers including Belk, Hot Topic, Staples, Talbots and Torrid.

Duluth-based specialty retail chain Maurices is changing hands in a $300 million deal announced Monday. An affiliate of the London-based private-equity firm, OpCapita LLP, has bought a majority stake in the struggling retailer from Ascena Retail Group, which also owns Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant and Dress Barn.

Dress Barn's competitors include Boohoo, Etsy, Gucci, 5.11 Tactical.

Dressbarn.com (branded as dressbarn) is an online retailer owned by Retail Ecommerce Ventures. Its predecessor is the former chain of women's clothing stores owned by Ascena, which operated as Dressbarn from 1962 until 2019. Since 2020, it is owned by Miami, Florida-based Retail Ecommerce Ventures.

The highest paid QVC host is David Venable. He earns more than $500,000 per year. How much is David from QVC worth? David from QVC has a net worth of $1 million.

Average QVC Host/Server hourly pay in the United States is approximately $11.25, which is 17% below the national average. Salary information comes from 1 data point collected directly from employees, users, and past and present job advertisem*nts on Indeed in the past 24 months.

Who is QVC biggest competitor? ›