From: ASAP
AnnTaylor Stores Corporation (NYSE: ANN) announced that Adrienne Lazarus has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Ann Taylor Stores Merchandising and Design, and Donna Noce has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Ann Taylor LOFT Merchandising and Design. Both positions will report to Kay Krill, President of Ann Taylor Stores Corporation.
"It is important to recognize and promote internal talent, and I am thrilled to announce these well-deserved promotions," stated Kay Krill. "These changes will place proven talent in core Product Lifecycle roles and will utilize both Adrienne and Donna's understanding of the brand and our clients to maximize the performance of both divisions," she added.
"Adrienne's proven track record of product and brand-management success will drive greater and more consistent results for the Ann Taylor division, as she has already added much value in a short period of time," stated Ms. Krill. "Donna's previous roles within the corporation, starting as Merchandising Vice President of Separates, Dresses and Suits for Ann Taylor Stores, launching ANNTAYLOR.COM and leading the performance of the Ann Taylor Factory division, give her the breadth of brand knowledge necessary to move to the Ann Taylor Loft division and lead the merchandising and design functions as this business continues to grow," she added.
"My senior team is now in place," stated Ms. Krill. "In November 2004, we promoted Debra Berit to Executive Vice President of Planning and Allocation - the first time this important function has been run from a corporate level. In addition to Adrienne and Donna overseeing the product, Brian Lynch and Michele Patton will continue to oversee Stores at Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft, respectively, and Muriel Gonzalez, as Chief Marketing Officer, will oversee Brand Marketing as a whole. I look forward to achieving much success for the Ann Taylor Brand, working in partnership with my team to maximize the performance of each division, driving top-line growth and bottom-line results," she added.
"Kay has been diligently working to put the right people in place and provide them with the resources they need to maximize our corporate performance," stated Ann Taylor Chairman, J. Patrick Spainhour. "Her approach of teamwork and shared leadership clearly proved successful at Loft, and I look forward to working with Kay and her team to seed that success throughout the corporation," he concluded.
Adrienne Lazarus joined Ann Taylor in 1991 as an Assistant Merchant. She spent six years with the Ann Taylor brand, where she held a variety of merchandising positions. She transferred to the Loft division at its inception, beginning as a Merchandising Manager and progressing to Senior Vice President, General Merchandising Manager in 2001. In October of 2004, Adrienne transitioned to Senior Vice President, General Merchandising Manager, Ann Taylor Stores.
Donna Noce joined Ann Taylor in 1996 as a Merchandising Vice President of Separates, Dresses and Suits for Ann Taylor Stores. In the spring of 2000, she transitioned to Vice President, Merchandising and Planning for ANNTAYLOR.COM, driving the development of this new business channel. In 2002, Donna was promoted to Vice President, Ann Taylor Factory Stores, overseeing Merchandising, Planning, Store Planning, Visual Merchandising and Store Operations for the division. Most recently, Donna held the position of Senior Vice President, Ann Taylor Factory Stores.
Ann Taylor is one of the country's leading women's specialty retailers, operating 743 stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and also Online Stores at www.anntaylor.com and www.anntaylorLOFT.com as of February 26, 2005.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this press release are Forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements may use the words "expect", "anticipate", "plan", "intend", "project", "may", "believe" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current expectations concerning future events and actual results may differ materially from current expectations or historical results. Any such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including failure by the Company to predict accurately client fashion preferences; decline in the demand for merchandise offered by the Company; competitive influences; changes in levels of store traffic or consumer spending habits; effectiveness of the Company's brand awareness and marketing programs; general economic conditions or a downturn in the retail industry; the inability of the Company to locate new store sites or negotiate favorable lease terms for additional stores or for the expansion of existing stores; lack of sufficient consumer interest in the Company's Online Stores; a significant change in the regulatory environment applicable to the Company's business; risks associated with the possible inability of the Company, particularly through its sourcing and logistics functions, to operate within production and delivery constraints; the impact of quotas, and the elimination thereof; an increase in the rate of import duties or export quotas with respect to the Company's merchandise; financial or political instability in any of the countries in which the Company's goods are manufactured; the potential impact of natural disasters and health concerns relating to severe infectious diseases, particularly on manufacturing operations of the Company's vendors; acts of war or terrorism in the United States or worldwide; work stoppages, slowdowns or strikes; the inability of the Company to hire, retain and train key personnel, and other factors set forth in the Company's filings with the SEC. The Company does not assume any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements at any time for any reason.
posted-March 2005
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