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Description of Business
3 Months Ended
Oct. 29, 2011
Description of Business
1. Description of Business

Ascena Retail Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Ascena” or the “Company”), is a leading national specialty retailer of apparel for women and tween girls operating, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the dressbarn, maurices, and Justice brands.  The Company operates (through its subsidiaries) over 2,500 stores throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada, with annual revenues of over $2.9 billion for Fiscal 2011.  Ascena and its subsidiaries are collectively referred to herein as the “Company,” “we,” “us,” “our” and “ourselves,” unless the context indicates otherwise.

The Company classifies its businesses into three segments following a brand-oriented approach: dressbarn, maurices and Justice.  The dressbarn segment includes approximately 836 specialty retail and outlet stores, as well as an e-commerce operation that was launched in the first quarter of Fiscal 2011.  The dressbarn brand primarily attracts female consumers in the mid-30’s to mid-50’s age range and offers moderate-to-better quality career and casual fashion to the working woman. The maurices segment includes approximately 797 specialty retail and outlet stores, and e-commerce operations.  The maurices brand offers up-to-date fashion designed to appeal to the 17 to 34 year-old female, with stores concentrated in small markets (approximately 25,000 to 100,000 people).  The Justice segment includes approximately 917 specialty retail and outlet stores, e-commerce operations, and certain licensed franchises in international territories.  The Justice brand offers fashionable apparel to girls who are ages 7 to 14 in an environment designed to match the energetic lifestyle of tween girls.