Ann Inc.
Strengths:
• Quality
Ann Inc. is known to have high quality clothing for women. This allows customers to continuously keep shopping there because they know the clothes are good quality.
• Brand name
Ann Inc. has used celebrities to get people’s attention. This is a great idea because a lot of people think that if famous people are wearing Ann Inc. clothing then they should too. This gives them a good brand image if their clothes are seen on magazine or billboards on celebrities. This idea will only pull in more customers and increase profit.
• Purpose
The main purpose of Ann Inc. is to make sure that women feel comfortable and strong in their clothes. This tells customer’s that they truly care about the customer’s and are trying
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relies on third-party manufacturers. If the manufacturer is unable to ship orders on time or meet the quality standards, it could cause delays and other negative things to occur. This poses a risk as fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies (“Press Release, Third Quarter, Ann Inc.”).
• Cost of apparel
People that are going through financial troubles may avoid Ann Taylor and the LOFT because they are expensive stores. This will decrease both of their sales and profits. Since their products are closely related, they are not able to have a balance like companies with unrelated diversification may have during people’s financial troubles.
• Growth
Ann Inc. has been displaying weak financial growth. The company reported net sales in January 2015 (for the previous three months) of $647.4 million and in January 2016 reported net sales down by 2 percent from the previous year at $637.5 million. (Ascena Retail Group Inc. Report) The decrease in performance could have a negative impact on the growth of the company, and decrease investors’ confidence as well as customers.
Opportunities:
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Ann Inc. and its brands compete with national and local department stores, other specialty stores, and internet businesses that offer similar merchandise. The company faces competitors ranging from small, growing companies to larger companies with greater financial and marketing resources.
• Third-party manufactures
Since Ann Inc. gets a lot of their product from other countries and has to import it into our country, things could go bad real quick if there were any changes in those countries. This means that if any of its third parties decide to not remain in business with Ann Inc., than the company would have limited ways of creating and distributing its merchandise.
Ann Inc.-Financial Analysis When looking at Ann Inc.’s income statement and balance sheet after the fiscal 2015, this company seems to be doing pretty well. For the most part, a lot of their numbers are increasing from the previous years and are heading in the right direction. After an acquisition by Ascena Retail Group, Inc. a couple years ago, Ann Inc. stock become a part of Ascena group stock (ASNA:US) at the beginning of last year. At the end of January 2015, the stock price for Ascena group was $11.56. At the end of January 2016, the stock price was worth $7.58 having plunged when the Ann Inc. stock was integrated into the Ascena group’s stock. (ASNA:
Looking at the individual ratios seen in exhibit 1 and comparing it to the industry average shown in exhibit 2 gives a sense of where this company stands. Current ratio and quick ratio are really low and have been decreasing. For 1995, the current ratio is 1.15:1, which is less than the industry average of 1.60:1, however to give a better sense of where this stands in the industry, as seen in exhibit 3, it is actually less than the average of the bottom 25% of the industry. The quick ratio is 0.61 is less than the industry is 0.90. Both these ratios serve to point out the lack of cash in this company. The cash flow has been decreasing because, it takes longer to get the money from customers, but the company still needs to pay for its purchases. Also, the company couldn’t go over the $400,000 loan limit, so they were forced to stretch their cash.
The company’s revenue has nearly quadrupled in the past five years to $4.059 billion in 1991. As can be seen in Exhibit 1, Intel’s Gross Margin has continually increased over the past 4 years to 60.28%. The company’s ROE and ROA have also continued to increase, which suggests Intel is using its assets and funding from equity wisely. The company’s current ratio suggests it has more than enough money to pay off its liabilities over the next 12 months.... ...
UST Inc. is a smokeless tobacco company with a long tradition and a recognizable brand name. A strong brand name can have lots of associations with high quality, revenues, soundness, growth, etc. But, this is one of the characteristics that can be like two edged sward. On one side, company with long tradition is expected to to operate in a stable and prosperous way as it always did, but on the other side, company itself can get too self confident and fail to see the newcomers and other threats. UST has ignored newcomers, and now they all have a growing market shares, while only UST Inc. total share, consequently, decreases. Smaller players are expanding their market share primarily by cutting prices, something that UST ignored. UST Inc. decided to fight competition not by decreasing prices, but with overstretching it product lines. However, this might not be the best solution. As the main player in the market, they had the better position to take on and win in the price war. If UST Inc. had been able to take this step, competitors probably would not be able to follow the price decrease imposed by the UST Inc and at least some of them would be shut down. So as one of the biggest drawbacks of UST's policy can be slow reaction to new market conditions and worse of all when they react the reaction is inappropriate.
Something people might frequently worry about is self-identity, and how to express who they are. When looking for an outlet to do this, the easiest way to show what kind of person someone is, clothes are usually the first choice: a black t-shirt with a cynical saying, or maybe some skinny black jeans. Whether the advertising agencies created the personalities that come with clothes or took advantage of what was already there, clothes are often sold as something more than just clothes. Companies must ask how to convince consumers to buy their product instead of the competitors’, regardless of price difference. Particularly Levi’s jeans, a 150+-year-old American business, has been trying different approaches to packaging the type of consumers that buy their jeans.
Ulta’s stock performance from 2010 to the present has been positive. According to Yahoo Finance (n.d.), in Jan 2010 Ulta’ stock was around $19.40 per share and in January of 2015 the price per share was around $126.84. The company has experienced an increase of $137.88 from 2010 to 2015 which is a 610% percent increase. Ulta’s stocks have increased steadily over the past five and a half years, based on the highest closing price per year. The price per share was $34.95 in 2010 which increased to $69.63 in 2011. Then 2012 Ulta share prices rose to $100.28, the increase continued in 2013 with stocks reaching $128.85 and a slight decline in prices in 2014 with shares at $127.84. Presently, the highest close for 2015 thus far has been July with shares at $157.23. (Yahoo Finance, n.d.). Shareholders in 2012 received a cash dividend from Ulta totaling $63 million dollars another indicator of positive stock growth (MarketLine, 2014). In 2014, the company approved a $300 million share repurchase plan where they bought back 321,113 shares valued at about $40 million dollars (Ulta 2014 Annual Report, 2014). The success of a company and its stock is evident in Ulta’s ability and desire to repurchase their stock.
My company of choice for this report is Macy 's. 'The Magic of Macy 's ', as the company advertises it, has inspired me to shop there, take advantage of their incomparable discounts and great online shopping experience. Macy 's, Inc. is one of the largest department store chains in the United States of America. Macy 's manages stores under the Macy 's and Bloomingdale 's brands. I enjoy shopping at both of the company 's store brands, Macy 's and Bloomingdales. Bloomingdales provides a more personalized experience
Les Wexner rapidly expanded on the national attention Victoria's Secret had been receiving by opening over 400 stores by 1990 and currently operates approximately 950 stores nationwide. While Victoria's Secret is known for its lingerie sales, it has successfully launched a beauty division and also carries brands like Betsy Johnson, Dolce & Gabbana and Intimissimi, an affordable Italian brand. Victoria's Secret Direct, the catalog division of the company, continues to see growth as sales reached $870 million in 2005, but the star is still it's retail stores. Yearly sales for Victoria's Secret stores topped $2.6 billion dollars in 2005 and our store on Powell Street recently surpassed the $10 million dollar mark in sales for 2006, making it the 13th store in the company based on volume. ANALYSIS OF ISSUES +
ANN INC. have a many strengths. They have a strong brand identity and heritage. Well established within the USA. They have had well known celebrity endorsers and faces of the brand. They promote confident and style. They have an iconic style that is tailored for the modern working woman and that is always evolving to meet her changing aspirations and roles.Ann Taylor is a leading specialty retailer of women's apparel, shoes and accessories in the United States. The company's two brands are Ann Taylor and LOFT.
Lululemon positions itself by exploiting its points of differentiations. Hence, Lululemon focuses on women as well as innovative technology, high quality materials, functional apparel to bring fashioned luxury athletic apparel to this industry, which doesn't have many high-end products. Thanks to unique positioning, Lululemon has figured out how to create a niche market within the athletic apparel industry. It also differentiates itself from it rivals by providing one of a kind product offering in term of high-performance apparel, stylish. Figure 1 outlines Lululemon's unique positioning. It focuses on the customers' beliefs and values. This permits the brand to develop value based on how the products satisfy
Kemp-Gatterson, Beverly, and Barbara L. Stewart. Apparel: Concepts and Practical Applications. New York: Fairchild, 2009. Print.
Now, as with most business ventures, competition can be a disadvantage. Our research shows that there is already a high volume of undergarment lines in England, i.e. Stella Mccartney, Hanes, Mimi Holliday, La Perla etc. The great success of these lines is proof of...
It's amazing as stock of USANA Health Science Inc. (NYSE: USNA), achieves 19.79% rise above annual target of $95. The stock currently stands at 113.75 (18.75 above target), and last closed at $112.55. This shows that the entity's management has been effectively and efficiently executing plans to attain annual target; this is worth commending for a job well done. (Remember that targets are organization specific decisions and can sometimes be underestimated).
Lululemon products are manufactured in 15 different locations around the world by the end of 2013. Lululemon worked with the suppliers to advance the product lines. The suppliers and Lululemon formulated technically advanced fabrics and features. These features helped attract the company’s target customer, which is a “sophisticated and educated woman who understand the importance of active, healthy lifestyle… to achieve physical fitness and inner peace.” Even though their target is women, men and youth have taken a particular interest in the company and its products.
Even though throughout the 1970’s M&S ruled the high street and dominated sales of almost everything the company saw a 3.8% sales decline in the last 13 weeks of 2012, causing shares to drop by 5.2%, which was the result of numerous risks in which the company is now encountering with.
The innerwear industry in India has high growth potential and immense business opportunities and it is evident from the fact of entry of various international brands coming to this sector. A shift from price sensitivity to brand sensitivity and preference for bold colors and innovative designs are two key factors The market size of innerwear is currently valued at Rs. 14000 crore and is expected to grow by Rs.44000 crore. Innerwear with higher functionality and greater comfort is in great demand today. .Innerwear has moved out of the ‘basic necessity’ bracet to a feel good factor. The higher income, fashion consciousness ,more awareness about the product, innerwear it is no longer treated as an undergarment but as a fashion article. The areas that need to target for serious growth are product quality , communication ,high cost of brand, awareness .Growing number of working womens with brand conscious, changing fashion trends , increased awareness about better fits, quality ,brands, colours , comfort ,styling ,increased income level ,the people are looking for branded innerwear. Therefore introducing a brand in this sector will flourish the