Ascena Retail Group has refused to be drawn into speculation it is mulling the sale of its Dressbarn unit.
According to a report in Bloomberg earlier this week, citing people familiar with the matter, the Ann Taylor, Loft and Lane Bryant chain-owner, is looking at offloading its lower-priced women’s clothing chain Dressbarn.
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Data compiled by the newswire suggests Ascena has tallied more than US$1bn in losses over the past four years and labours under a debt burden of “about $1.6bn”.
Last month the group booked a second-quarter net loss of US$72m compared with a loss of $39m a year earlier, which it blamed on “macro-headwinds” impacting the sector.
A week later the group announced it was to sell a stake in the Maurice’s women’s clothing chain for US$300m to London-based private equity firm OpCapita.
While yesterday (3 April), Shawn Buchanan, Ascena’s vice president of corporate communications, declined to comment on the issue.
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By GlobalData“It is Ascena’s longstanding policy not to comment on market rumour or speculation,” he said.
