This has not been without controversy. A second ad produced in was banned from both Fox and ABC television. The model in the ad was deemed to have too much cleavage and was censored by the networks. This sparked outrage from Lane Bryant as it noted Victoria's Secret models were clad in exactly the same way.
Not only this, but Victoria's Secret made a claim to fame with its saucy Valentine's Day television ad during the Super Bowl. This indignation only grew when a Victoria's Secret commercial ran during one of the Fox programs that had been the time slot for the Lane Bryant ad.
Lane Bryant currently operates stores in 46 states that target plus-size women between the ages of 35 and Why did ascena make the decision to file for Chapter 11 now? How does this benefit the Company and its brands? For the last two years, we have been working to find ways to address our debt and optimize our balance sheet.
While we were making meaningful progress driving sustainable growth, improving our operating margins and strengthening our financial foundation, the COVID pandemic disrupted our financial foundation and business across all of our brands.
This uncertainty accelerated our need to take a proactive, strategic step forward to protect the business and all of our stakeholders.
The RSA we entered into with our lenders formalizes their overwhelming support for a comprehensive plan to deleverage our balance sheet, right-size our operations and inject new capital into the business. This comprehensive restructuring, as well as the actions we are taking to optimize our brand portfolio and store fleet, mark a new start for our company and will allow us to expand our customer-focused strategies across her mobile, online, and store experiences.
What is Chapter 11 and what does it mean to file for Chapter 11? Chapter 11 is a section of the U. Bankruptcy Code that allows companies to reorganize finances through a court-supervised proceeding while continuing to operate their business. Chapter 11 permits, and even encourages, daily business operations to continue as usual.
For ascena and our related brands, Chapter 11 is a tool reduce debt, strengthen our financial position and optimize our store fleet. A pre-arranged plan means that ascena has received overwhelming support for a comprehensive plan before filing for bankruptcy protection. This shortens and simplifies the Court process and reduces uncertainty. Many companies enter the Court-supervised process with no defined path forward — and those companies leave the discussions with lenders for later in the process.
What we are announcing is that we are using the Court-supervised process to implement the agreement we have reached. And, the RSA demonstrates the confidence our lenders have in our business.
Will ascena and its brands continue operations? Customers were highly engaged with our brands through the COVID pandemic and we intend to continue to provide the fashion and experience our loyal customers have come to know and love. The optimization of our brand portfolio and store fleet will allow us to stabilize its financial position in the wake of the COVID pandemic and move forward as a strong, profitable business.
Will the court-supervised restructuring process affect day-to-day operations? Throughout this process, we will continue to offer the fashion and experience customers have come to know and love while also prioritizing the safety and well-being of our associates and customers. Customers can continue to shop in-store and online while we continue to monitor the impact of COVID Our stores are open in accordance with CDC guidance and we are conducting business on the e-commerce sites for each of the brands.
We have a clear vision for our future and our talented leadership team, established over the last year, will stay focused throughout this process on generating profitable growth and driving value for customers and stakeholders.
This caught the attention of other manufacturers, giving Lane Bryant some competition. According to one estimate, the number of manufacturers in the category had grown to 1, Lane Bryant was opening about new stores a year in the late s. It had closed its Fifth Avenue at 40th Street store in , however, after losing its lease. In , Brylane was spun off as a privately held company; it was acquired five years later by Redcats, the home shopping unit of Pinault-Printemps-Redoute.
In , reported the Los Angeles Times, new marketers were brought in to update Lane Bryant's image, particularly among younger women. Sales stalled in the late s, but Lane Bryant was able to revive them by offering sexier, more close-fitting clothing, accompanied by head-turning advertising. Lane Bryant placed its first ads in fashion magazines Vogue and Harper's Bazaar in The company was soon advertising in Glamour and Marie Claire as well.
Lane Bryant launched a web site in March At first, the company did not actually sell clothes online, but offered coupons and conducted surveys to boost in-store sales and to learn more about its customers.
E-commerce started on the web site in March The company's first fashion show was held in New York City in This was followed by what was billed as the first plus-size lingerie fashion show in February Lingerie accounted for about 20 percent of revenues, reported the Los Angeles Times. At the time, plus-size models and actresses were gaining more exposure in magazines and on television.
Big for TV ads displaying the desirability of Lane Bryant's plus-size clientele. It was apparent the makeover worked, noted the Wall Street Journal, which reported Lane Bryant was one of The Limited's hottest brands. Same-store sales were up and profits were up even though the number of stores had been cut to less than Charming Shoppes, Inc. Charming had first entered the plus-size business in Charming began to aggressively expand Lane Bryant, particularly in strip malls most of its existing stores were in enclosed malls , where most of its other stores were located.
The plus-size category was the fastest-growing segment of the clothing business, prompting new competition from the likes of Old Navy Gap Inc. Lane Bryant achieved an industry first when it installed 3-D virtual model technology on its web site.
The feature, developed with My Virtual Model, Inc.
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