Ann Taylor

Ann Taylor is a U.S. women’s apparel and accessories brand focused on polished workwear, modern classics, and occasion dressing for professional and style-conscious women. The brand offers tailored suiting, dresses, separates, denim, shoes, and accessories, sold through a mix of full-price stores, factory outlets, and a national e-commerce platform at anntaylor.com. As of June 2024, Ann Taylor operates roughly 200 stores across the United States, giving it a meaningful but streamlined brick-and-mortar footprint that is closely tied to its digital business.

The company was founded in 1954, when Richard Liebeskind opened the first Ann Taylor store in New Haven, Connecticut. He named the business after a best-selling dress style from his father’s company, and early success came from catering to women looking for refined, office-appropriate clothing. Through the 1970s and 1980s, Ann Taylor expanded into key urban and suburban markets and became a familiar name for career wear and polished daywear. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, the brand had added outlets and launched e-commerce, building a multi-channel presence that extended its reach beyond traditional mall stores.

A notable milestone in the company’s evolution was the creation of Ann Inc., which brought Ann Taylor and LOFT under one corporate umbrella and set the stage for further growth. In 2015, Ascena Retail Group acquired Ann Inc. in a multibillion-dollar transaction, and under Ascena the brand operated hundreds of Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Factory locations nationwide. The COVID-19 period and broader apparel headwinds put pressure on that portfolio, and Ascena filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2020. As part of the restructuring, a significant number of stores were closed and the focus shifted toward healthier locations and stronger digital performance.

In 2021, Ann Taylor and its sister brands were acquired by what is now KnitWell Group, a private company that concentrates on a smaller group of premium banners. Under KnitWell’s ownership, Ann Taylor has spent the last several years reshaping its physical footprint rather than chasing rapid unit growth. Since 2020, the brand has closed underperforming stores and directed capital to markets where both stores and e-commerce perform well, particularly in Class A regional malls, high-traffic outlet centers, and stable suburban trade areas with solid household incomes. This approach favors selective renewals, relocations, and opportunistic new leases, often taking advantage of second-generation fashion space and attractive landlord terms instead of large-scale new-market rollouts.

Over roughly the last five years, Ann Taylor has evolved from a broad national fleet to a more curated network of stores that support an omnichannel model. Assortments have been refined around core strengths in career, occasion, and versatile day-to-night styles, aligning inventory and square footage with the customer base that continues to seek out the brand. The result is a recognizable national nameplate that tends to occupy well-located inline and small-box spaces in top-tier regional malls, high-performing lifestyle centers that draw professional women, and destination outlet properties.

For landlords, brokers, and developers, Ann Taylor represents a long-standing fashion tenant with a disciplined, optimization-focused posture. The brand favors strong centers over marginal locations, is selective about where it invests, and typically trades in environments with other quality fashion and beauty retailers. Its continued presence in better malls, lifestyle centers, and outlets, combined with a stable store count as of June 2024 and an established online business, makes Ann Taylor a reliable anchor or complementary co-tenant in higher-quality retail settings.