Sales At Ann Taylor (ANN) Hold Steady

Over the past week, the 24/7 Wall St.–The Channel Checkers poll surveyed Ann Taylor (ANN) locations to gauge business trends at the ten retailers.  We asked the following questions:

1. On a scale of 1-5 with 5 being best how would you say business is at your store now?

2. Do you have any excess inventory that will go on sale soon?

3. Do you believe the weak housing market and economy are hurting sales at your store?

4. What is the average customer bill?

• 52% of respondents reported that business was “average” (3) while 48% saw business at their location as “above average” (4).  We generally view average responses as slightly negative.

• 52% of respondents reported that they did have excess inventory that would soon go on sale. These respondents all cited summer dresses or high end summer dresses as being in excess supply. 48% of respondents said they did not hold any excess inventory.

• 56% of respondents believe that the economy and the problems in the housing market are hurting sales at their location. 44% did not believe those factors were impacting sales. This response rate is higher than what we have seen at broader based retailers such as Target (TGT), Walmart (WMT), Sears (SHLD), etc.

• The average customer bill was reported as being $95.64 with a range of responses between $35 on the low end and $250 on the high end.

Conclusion of Channel Check:  Ann Taylor stores look to be holding steady with business levels but not necessarily improving dramatically. Surprisingly, it looks like summer dresses will be discounted heavily here in June.  General impact of the broader economy on Ann Taylor stores appears to be negative.  Average bill looks respectable and becomes more interesting when compared to future survey results. Overall business levels look muted and potential discounting could hurt profit margins for Ann Taylor this summer.

For access to the underlying survey or for more information, please contact Jason Katz at 415.867.0959 or [email protected]