Ascena Retail Group

The Ascena Group, Inc.

Trading name	Dressbarn
Type	Public (NASDAQ: ASNA)
Industry	Retail (Women's clothing)
Predecessor	DressBarn
Founded	Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. (1962)
Founder	Roslyn Jaffe
Headquarters	Mahwah, New Jersey, U.S.
Number of locations	3,900 (2014)
Key people	Roslyn Jaffe, Founder David R. Jaffe, President and CEO.
Products	Women's clothing products (district stores for young women and older women)
Revenue	US$ 4.79 billion (2014)
Operating income	US$ 210.8 million (2014)
Net income	US$ 133.4 million (2014)
Total assets	US$ 3.123 billion (2014)
Total equity	US$ 1.737 billion (2014)
Number of employees	14,000 (full time) (2015)
Subsidiaries	Ann Inc Catherines Lane Bryant Maurices Justice
Slogan	Let yourself shine.
Website	www.ascenaretail.com

Ascena Retail Group, Inc. (formerly Dress Barn and doing business as Dressbarn) is an American retailer of women's clothing.

History and operations

The first Dress Barn was opened in 1962 in Stamford, Connecticut, by Roslyn Jaffe. Jaffe saw the opportunity to provide wear-to-work dresses and clothing for the working woman during a time in the U.S. when women were entering the workforce and there were few options.

The company began trading on NASDAQ (symbol DBRN) in 1982. In January 2011, to reflect the company's broader holdings, the company was reorganized as a Delaware corporation named Ascena Retail Group, Inc. At this time the NASDAQ symbol was also changed to ASNA.

Ascena also owns the Maurices, Justice, Lane Bryant, and Catherines clothing store brands. The Dress Barn brand targets women ages 35–50. Dress Barn, Dress Barn Woman (larger sizes), and combination stores sell in-season women's apparel and accessories at value prices and cater to professional women. Chairman Elliot Jaffe and his wife and co-founder, Roslyn, own about 25% of Ascena.

Dress Barn, Green Oak Village Place

In 2009, Dress Barn expanded into the girls' clothing market by purchasing Tween Brands, the owner of the Justice chain of 891 stores. Justice, which is aimed at girls between ages 7 and 14, is the effective successor of Limited Too, originally launched in 1987 by The Limited to serve the same market. In 1999, The Limited spun off Limited Too as a separate company. In 2004, Limited Too launched the Justice chain, aimed at a lower price point in the same market. Limited Too changed its name to Tween Brands in 2008, and the company had almost completely converted its remaining Limited Too stores to Justice stores at the time of the DressBarn acquisition.

David Jaffe, president and chief executive officer of Ascena, said Dressbarn is opening a New York design studio.

In November 2013, Judith Langley, who was executive vice president and chief merchandising officer at Charming Charlie’s, was appointed executive vice president and chief merchandising officer. She replaced Keith Fulsher, who retired.

On May 18, 2015 Ascena Group has agreed to a $2.16 billion acquisition of Ann Inc., the parent company of clothing retailers Ann Taylor and The Loft. Ascena Group completed its acquisition of Ann Inc on August 21, 2015. Ann Inc. will operate as an Ascena Group subsidiary.

External links

• Ascena Group Official Website
• dressbarn Official Website