June marked the first decrease in total inventory per square foot since April 2004, and the Company continues to anticipate that consolidated inventory levels per square foot will be down in the low double-digit range by year-end.
Kay Krill, Ann Taylor President, stated, "At Ann Taylor, we were pleased with continued client acceptance of our newer, more neutral-based product assortment, which reflects the more brand-appropriate, updated classics that our client expects from Ann Taylor.
However, we continued to be very promotional throughout the month in what is clearly a very competitive retail environment. At Ann Taylor LOFT, our neutral-based June product assortment resonated more positively with our client as well. Nonetheless, we were and will continue to be promotional for the balance of the quarter in order to be best positioned for the fall season."
During the month, the Company opened seven Ann Taylor LOFT stores and four Ann Taylor Factory stores. The total store count at month end was 782, comprised of 361 Ann Taylor stores, 375 Ann Taylor LOFT stores and 46 Ann Taylor Factory stores.
Total square footage at the end of fiscal June 2005 increased 15.7 percent over the same period last year.
For the fiscal year-to-date period ended July 2, 2005, the Company's net sales totaled $846,057,000, up 9.0 percent from $776,468,000 for the same period last year.
By division, net sales for the fiscal year-to-dateperiod were $359,693,000 for Ann Taylor compared to $371,147,000 last year, and $402,696,000 for Ann Taylor LOFT compared to $340,140,000 last year.
-Ltd..jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Thermore (Far East) Ltd.")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TSllC Ltd)")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF)")
