Ann Taylor Millennial Engagement Capstone

ANN TAYLOR

Mission Statement My mission is to provide a brand analysis of Ann Taylor to engage millennial customers who are entering the professional world. By updating the brand and creating outreach, more young women will want to shop at Ann Taylor for their career wear. When shopping for a career, college graduates are not well versed in putting together a professional, yet confident, look. College and University special events in the manner of “dress for success�, will educate these young women by helping them create a business wardrobe and feel confident about themselves in the process.

Ann Taylor aims to be affluential to career women. However, the struggle that Ann Taylor is facing is reaching to this millennial customer who is graduating from college and starting a career.

Because of this disconnect, I created this project to give a thorough overview of how Ann Taylor can capture the modern millennial.

- Kaleigh Mattingly

Table of Contents Mission Statement Company Overview Market Analysis -SWOT Analysis -Growth Factors Demographics -Customer Profiles -Psychographics Competitive Analysis Marketing Strategy -Outreach -Colleges and Universities -Celebrity Endorsements Summary

Company Overview

Ann Taylor began in 1954 with a dress and a dream. When Richard Liebeskind opened his first shop in New Haven, CT, he named it “Ann Taylor” after the best-selling dress style in his father’s own store. That dress represented his vision of the modern, stylish American woman.

With that vision, Ann Taylor has grown from a regional chain to an iconic brand with 242 fullprice and 122 outlet stores across North America.

2016: Austyn Lung takes over creative direction for Ann Taylor.

1983: Sally Frame Kasaks becomes president of the company.

1954: Richard Liebeskind created the company, Ann Taylor.

1977: Liebskind sells his stores to Garfinckel, Brooks Brothers, Miller Rhodes Corporation.

2015: Ascena Retail Group purchased Ann Inc. for $2.1 billion.

Market Analysis

SWOT Analysis

Strengths - Stable Incoporation - Channel diversification - Not a new company

Weaknesses - Reputation of only selling clothes for older business women - No celebrity endorsements or brand ambassadors

Opportunities - A younger demographic - New product offerings - Brand ambassador

Threats - Fast fashion brands becoming more attractive to the younger crowd - Athleisure becoming more appropriate for business

ON THE GO

Growth Factors

As business matures, growth limits in the original target market will begin to arise.

Planning and implementing a growth strategy to develop new markets and expand business before the current market flattens will not only help the business survive through tough times, it could also give considerable edge on the competition.

While reaching a new demographic will bring in different customers, it will also bring more profit to the business. By entering a new demographic, Ann Taylor could see an increase in sales by up to 15%.

Demographics Ann Taylor aims to reach all women for their perfect business attire. Their demographic age tends to land between 35-65.

The mark that is missing is the age group from 18-35. This demographic features women who are graduating college, participating in more interviews and beginning their careers.

With their lifestyles, these women are the perfect women to target as a new demographic. The women of these ages are looking for product that will last a lifetime and staples for their wardrobe.

Ann Taylor offers these qualities; they just have yet to be discovered by this demographic.

Angela Age: 25 Lives in Sarasota, Florida Graduated in 2015 with a M.B.A. in Business Management Currently interning at a high-end local boutique 5 year relationship with her boyfriend, Brian No children Enjoys travelling, walking around the park with her dog, coffee dates with friends, and laying out on the beach on the weekends

Jeannine Age: 22 Lives in Cleveland, Ohio Graduated from Ohio State University with a B.S. in Environmental Sciences in 2016 Searching for a job opportunity Single, no children Enjoys spending time outside, spending the weekends at home with her family, hiking, and shopping with her friends

Psychographics Explorer : Energy - autonomy, experience, challenge, new frontiers.

Brand choice highlights difference, sensation, adventure, indulgence and instant effect - the first to try new brands.

Aspirer : Materialistic, acquisitive, affiliative, oriented to extrinsics, image, appearance, charisma, persona and fashion. Attractive packaging more important than quality of contents Millenials tend to want quality over quantity. They would rather spend more money on one great pair of pants, than one eight different pieces.

Millennials are highly educated, career-driven, politically progressive and窶電espite popular belief窶電o indeed develop strong brand loyalty when presented with quality products and actively engaged by brands.

BE YOURSELF

Competitive Analysis

When it comes to conducting a successful business, researching competition is very paramount. There will always be other tactics that other businesses are using that could be beneficial to the company.

Without competitors, businesses would not know where the disconnects are in the industry.

Ann Taylor’s competition includes Banana Republic and The Limited.

Banana Republic Founded in 1978 Over 500 stores in the US, 40 stores in Canada, and 61 stores outside of North America.

It is known as the mainstream luxury brand of Gap Inc. They offer business attire for both men and women.

Prices range from $40-$300 Revenue: $475 million

Celebrity Endorsements Samira Wiley

Zosia Samet

The Limited Founded in 1963 Over 250 stores in the USA It is known for it’s sophisticated, professional style.

Prices range from $50-$300 Revenue: $375 million

Celebrity Endorsements Kerry Washington

Eva Longoria

Marketing Strategy

When trying to reach a new demographic, finding the best marketing fit for doing so, is the first step. There are eighty million millennials in America alone and they represent about a fourth of the entire population, with $200 billion in annual buying power. Because of this, there is only room for growth. The most efficient way to reach millenials is through their education. So many young women, who are attending a college or university, will be entering the workforce in the next two to four years. Because of this, they will need help dressing for success.

This marketing implementation will reach thousands of women looking for a fresh start in their wardrobe.

Celebrity Endorsements Ann Taylor has featured celebrity endorsements in the past, such as, Kate Hudson. It has been three years since Ann Taylor has featured a new face for the brand.

Moving forward with the new demographic, three main characters of the hit ABC TV Show, How to Get Away with Murder, would be the perfect fit for Ann Taylor.

Liza Weil

Karla Souza

Aja Naomi King

How to Get Away with Murder is a dramatic TV show that features law students, trying to find their way through life and law school. Liza Weil, Karla Souza and Aja Naomi King are three main characters who, because of their lifestyles, are always required to look put together and business professional. Because of this, having them as celebrity endorsements, would be a great decision.

College and University Outreach By creating Outreach, Ann Taylor will be holding a tour of styling conventions for colleges and universities around the USA. Each convention will have a group of skilled Ann Taylor representatives with portable wardrobes for each college and university. Each portable wardrobe will have different styling options to present to the students for ways to style themselves everyday. Students are encouraged to bring pieces from their wardrobe to have representatives help them put together the best business attire.

Each college and university was picked by types of majors and number of enrolled students. With a high number of students enrolled, the conventions are likely to help more people that would like to attend.

Alabama: Auburn University Arizona: Arizona State University Arkansas: University of Arkansas at Little Rock California: University of California, Berkley; San Diego State University Colorado: Colorado State University Connecticut: Southern Connecticut State University Delaware: University of Delaware Florida: Florida State University Georgia: SCAD, University of Georgia Idaho: Bringham Young University Indiana: Purdue University Illinois: University of Illinois at Chicago Iowa: Iowa State University Kansas: Kansas State University Kentucky: University of Kentucky Louisiana: Louisiana State University and A&M College Maine: University of Maine Maryland: University of Maryland Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Michigan: University of Michigan Minnesota: University of St. Paul’s Mississippi: University of Mississippi

Missouri: Missouri State University Montana: Montana State University Nebraska: University of Nebraska, Lincoln Nevada: College of Southern Nevada New Hampshire: University of New Hampshire New Jersey: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey New York: New York University; North Carolina: North Carolina State University Ohio: Ohio State University Oregon: Southwestern Oregon Community College Pennsylvania: University of Pittsburgh Rhode Island: Rhode Island School of Design South Carolina: University of South Carolina South Dakota: South Dakota State University Tennessee: University of Tennessee Texas: University of Houston, University of North Texas Vermont: Middlebury College Virginia: Liberty University Washington: University of Washington West Virginia: West Virginia University Wisconsin: Universty of Wisconsin-Madison

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Summary

In conclusion, by creating a convention for young women graduating college, Ann Taylor will succeed at reaching the younger demographic. If the progress of this convention continues, the brand will also succeed at keeping the younger demographic.

Sources

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Capstone Project | Kaleigh Mattingly | Professional Portfolio Practices