Review case Ann taylor:survival in special retail by pauline assenza and alan b.eisner
There is information within the case to suggest that ANN is considering all of the following as potential actions to sustain growth in a worsening economic climate:
• Revisions to the product lines of different divisions
• Expansion of existing divisions
• Further diversification into new businesses
• Better maintenance of distinct brand identities across different divisions
• Executing a proposed restructuring plan
• Stabilizing the top management team
Ann Taylor (ANN) is a comprehensive case that illustrates many facets of strategic management. ANN is a large specialty retailer facing an extremely competitive environment. They face a number of challenges so you have a lot of strategic options to consider. Please use what you have learned in the course. Some things to consider are:
ANN's strategic analysis and formulation
ANN's internal resources and capabilities
How is the industry affecting some of their choices?
Consider Porter's Five Forces Model.
Consider Porter's generic strategies.
How should ANN balance differentiation and focus among several different product lines? (Resource-based view, core competence, and value chain.)
ANN consistent with most specialty retailers has tried different approaches to diversification strategies with its retail space. Think about this in terms of relatedness, potential synergies, and their value proposition.
Please do not use the recommendation to lower prices and sell to everyone. Remember they are a specialty store.
Many businesses explicitly and allimplicitly adopt one or more generic strategies characterizing their competitive orientation in the marketplace. Low cost, differentiation, or focus strategies define the three fundamental options. Enlightened managers seek to create ways their firm possesses both low cost and differentiation competitive advantages as part of their overall generic strategy. They usually combine these capabilities with a comprehensive, general plan of major actions through which their firm intends to achieve its long-term objectives in a dynamic environment. Called the grand strategy, this statement of means indicates how the objectives are to be achieved. Although every grand strategy is, in fact, a unique package of long-term strategies, 15 basic approaches can be identified: concentration, market development, product development, innovation, horizontal integration, vertical integration, joint venture, strategic alliances, consortia, concentric diversification, conglomerate diversification, turnaround, divestiture, bankruptcy, and liquidation. (Pearce & Robinson, pp. 12-13)