CEO of Ascena Group: 'It’s Time for the Empire to Strike Back'

By Melissa Campanelli

It’s no secret that the retail landscape has changed recently. Thanks to the influence of Amazon.com and other retail disrupters, customer expectations today are at an all-time high, and this puts economic pressure on legacy retailers, which generally have very different business models and as such can’t always meet these expectations.

So, what are legacy retailers to do? David Jaffe, chairman and CEO of Ascena Retail Group., parent company of leading brands such as Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lane Bryant, Justice, and more, told 150 attendees of the Retail Leaders Circle conference yesterday in New York City that it’s time “for the empire to strike back.”

“All of us legacy brick-and-mortar retailers must develop a new business model because as our customers’ expectations transform and as new competitors enter the industry, we’ve got to stay ahead of them,” said Jaffe.

According to Jaffe, legacy retailers have three strengths going for them that they should leverage to help them re-emerge as strong leaders in the current retail environment.

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Melissa Campanelli Author's page Melissa Campanelli is Editor-in-Chief of Total Retail. She is an industry veteran, having covered all aspects of retail, tech, digital, e-commerce, and marketing over the past 20 years. Melissa is also the co-founder of the Women in Retail Leadership Circle.

Ascena Retail Group CEO: ‘It’s Time for the Empire to Strike Back’