Tween Brands

Tween Brands, Inc. (Justice Retail)
Public (NASDAQ: ASNA)
Industry Retail
Founded 1987 (as Limited Too, Inc.)
1999 (as TOO, Inc.)
2006 (as Tween Brands, Inc.)
Headquarters New Albany, Ohio, U.S.
Number of locations
 887 Justice stores (July 2010)[1]
Key people
 Brian Lynch, President & CEO
Website http://justiceretail.com/

Tween Brands, Inc., formerly known as Limited Too, Inc. and Too, Inc., operates Justice branded stores targeted towards the tween girl market. Since 2009 the company has been a part of Ascena Retail Group.[2]

Justice sells apparel, underwear, sleepwear, swimwear, lifestyle, accessories, and personal care products aimed at children age 5–15. Justice operates in malls and shopping centers. Until its acquisition by Dress Barn, Tween Brands operated 900 Justice stores.[3] Limited Too stores sold clothes similar to Justice, but at a higher price point. Three times a year, spring, fall and holiday, Limited Too offered "Too Bucks", which are received with a $50 purchase, and are worth $25 off every $50 purchase (as of 2008) and "Bonus Too Bucks", which are worth $15 off every $40 purchase. Justice offers the same concept, called "J Bucks". On August 12, 2008, Tween Brands announced that the nearly 600 Limited Too would convert to the lower-price Justice brand, discontinuing the use of the Limited Too name.[4]

On June 25, 2009, Dress Barn announced that it would buy Tween Brands, Inc, in a friendly acquisition.[5]

On January 1, 2011, Dress Barn completed its reorganization into Ascena Retail Group, Inc. trading on the NASDAQ under the stock ticker symbol ASNA.[6]

On Feb 17, 2015, Ascena Retail Group, Inc. announced that the Brothers brand would be discontinued.[7]

History

Limited Too was created by The Limited, Inc. in 1987 as a younger girls/infants version of The Limited. From 1987 to 1995, the number of stores increased from 2 to 288 different retail locations. In 1996, a new senior management team refocused Limited Too into a preteen girls fashion store. In 1999, Limited Too, Inc. spun off to establish a strong and independent brand identity.

From 2001 to 2003 the company operated the mishmash chain that targeted 15- to 20-year-old women and sold apparel, accessories, and gifts and competed head-to-head with chains like Gadzooks, Wet Seal, and the women's businesses of Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister Co., and American Eagle Outfitters. The chain folded in 2003 because Too Inc. felt that they knew and understood the preteen customer better. Committed to this focus, Too Inc. launched the first Justice: Just for Girls stores in January 2004.

On July 10, 2006, Too Inc. completed its name change to Tween Brands, Inc., and began trading on the NYSE under the symbol, 'TWB'. In February 2008, there were 582 Limited Too stores in 47 states and Puerto Rico as well as 25 franchised stores in the Middle East.

In August 2008, Tween Brands announced that it would discontinue its Limited Too line of 586 stores, although select stores would still offer a line of higher-quality Limited Too clothes in Justice locations. In 2009, 26 of these stores closed and 560 others were re-branded as Justice.[8]

By June 2012, the number of Justice stores had increased to 920. The chain outsold the much larger Walmart and Target stores in the girls' apparel category during the 4th quarter of 2011 and the 1st quarter of 2012.[9]

Criticism

In 2007, Slate magazine published an article by Emily Yoffe that was critical of the clothing offered for pre-teen girls at several shops, including Limited Too. When she took her eleven-year-old daughter shopping for school clothes, the range available at Limited Too ran to clothing "encrusted with rhinestones or sparkling with glitter", a category Yoffe called "Nitwit Wear" (she mentions a T-shirt with the slogan "I Left My Brain In My Locker"), push-up bras for pre-teens, and boyshort underwear emblazoned "Buy it now! Tell Dad later!"[10]

References

  1. ↑ The Dress Barn 2010 Annual Report
  2. ↑ Our Brands - Justice (accessed 15 December 2012)
  3. ↑ "News Releases". Phx.corporate-ir.net. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ "News Releases". Phx.corporate-ir.net. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
  6. ↑ Business Wire (2011-01-03). "The Dress Barn, Inc. Completes Delaware Holding Company Reorganization into Ascena Retail Group, Inc.". Business Wire. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
  7. ↑ Ascena Retail Group, Inc. (2015-02-17). "Ascena Retail Group, Inc. Back Its Brothers Brand". Ascena Retail Group, Inc. Retrieved 2015-02-18.
  8. ↑ Tween Brands Company Profile on Wikinvest
  9. ↑ Klara, Robert. "It's Not Easy Being Tween", Adweek, 27 June 2012 (accessed 15 December 2012)
  10. ↑ Lolita's Closet: unbearably trampy back-to-school clothes

External links

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