HINGHAM, MA, June 18, 2008 — The Talbots, Inc. (NYSE: TLB) today announced that it has named Avra Myers Senior Vice President and General Merchandising Manager of the J. Jill brand. In this role, Ms. Myers will be responsible for all merchandising for the J. Jill brand.
"A proven merchant with significant experience in the specialty sector, Avra brings a deep knowledge in Women’s apparel having been a member of the team that founded Club Monaco and developed and implemented the strategic initiatives that grew the brand to international recognition," said Paula Bennett, President of J. Jill. "We are thrilled to welcome Avra to the J. Jill team as she will be instrumental in our continued efforts to improve the product offerings to our customers. Her experience will be invaluable as we elevate the look and feel of the stores and build greater awareness of the J. Jill brand."
Ms. Myers, 51, held a number of key leadership roles including Vice President of Merchandising and New Business Development responsible for all product lines and licensing partners during her 21-year tenure at Club Monaco, which was acquired by Polo Ralph Lauren in 1999. Most recently, Ms. Myers was President and General Merchandising Manager for Limited Stores, a division of Limited Brands, Inc., where she spearheaded the effort to redefine the brand throughout the Limited Stores organization from the design concept to the customer store experience. She also worked as a product developer and design assistant for Alfred Sung after Co-owning and having led the design efforts at Binksley Fine Woolens in Toronto, Canada.
"I have a great respect for the J. Jill brand and believe there is a tremendous opportunity for future growth," said Ms. Myers. "I look forward to working with Paula and the J. Jill team in repositioning the brand and driving improved performance."
A native of Canada, Ms. Myers attended Sheridan College of Crafts & Design. In her new role, Ms. Myers will be based in Hingham and will report directly to Paula Bennett, President of the J. Jill brand.
The Talbots, Inc. is a leading specialty retailer and direct marketer of women’s apparel, shoes and accessories.
The Company currently operates stores in 871 locations in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada, with
595 locations under the Talbots brand name and 276 locations under the J. Jill brand name. Both brands target
the age 35 plus customer population. Talbots brand on-line shopping site is located at
www.talbots.com and the J. Jill brand on-line
shopping site is located at www.jjill.com.
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The foregoing contains forward-looking information within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by such forward-looking terminology as "expect," "look," "believe," "anticipate," "outlook," "will," "would," "target," "would yield," or similar statements or variations of such terms. All of the "outlook" information (including expected future revenue impact, expected future operational benefits, expected exit expenses, future comparable sales, future earnings, future EPS, and other future financial performance or operating measures) constitutes forward-looking information.
Our outlook and other forward-looking statements are based on a series of expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about our Company which involve substantial risks and uncertainty, including assumptions and projections concerning exit costs and timing, outcome of negotiations with landlords and other third parties, exit plan inventory levels, valuations and sales, store traffic, levels of store sales, ,and our internal plan and budget for regular-price selling and markdown selling for the indicated forward periods. All of our outlook information and other forward-looking statements are as of the date of this release only. The Company can give no assurance that such outlook or expectations will prove to be correct and does not undertake or plan to update or revise any "outlook" information or any other forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions, estimates or projections, or other circumstances occurring after the date of this release, even if such results, changes or circumstances make it clear that any forward-looking information will not be realized.
Any public statements or disclosures by us following this release which modify or impact any of the outlook or other forward-looking statements contained in or accompanying this release will be deemed to modify or supersede such outlook or statements in or accompanying this release.
Our forward-looking statements involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties as to future events which may or may not occur, including whether our recently announced strategic review of our operations and any significant changes which may result from or in connection with such process will favorably impact our productivity and profitability in the short-term or long-term and the timing of any such matters, the risk that operational benefits expected to be realized from our exit plans will not be achieved or may take longer to achieve than expected, acceptance of the Company's fashions including its seasonal fashions, effectiveness of the Company's brand awareness and marketing programs and new promotional cadence strategy, and any different or any increased negative trends in its regular-price or markdown selling, retail economic conditions including consumer spending trends, the current housing issues and uncertainty in the financial and credit markets, success of our expected marketing events in driving store traffic and store and direct marketing sales, success of our catalogs in driving both our direct marketing sales and in driving store traffic, the Company's ability to anticipate and successfully respond to constantly changing customer tastes and preferences and to produce the appropriate balance of merchandise offerings, the Company's ability to sell its merchandise at regular prices as well as its ability to successfully execute its sale events including the timing and levels of markdowns and appropriate balance of available markdown inventory, our ability to accurately estimate and forecast future full-price and markdown selling for each of our brands, the success of our current executive-level searches, the risk that the J. Jill business will not be successfully integrated, the risk that the cost savings, operational efficiencies, and other synergies from J. Jill acquisition may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected, the risk associated with integrating and operating profitably and successfully as a multi-brand chain for the first time and the reaction of Talbots and J. Jill customers and suppliers to the changes being made within the organization. In each case, actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking information.
Certain other factors that may cause actual results to differ from such forward-looking statements are included in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on the Talbots website under "Investor Relations" and you are urged to carefully consider all such factors.
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CONTACT:
Julie Lorigan
Senior Vice President, Investor and Media Relations
(781) 741-7775
Stacy Berns/Melissa Jaffin – Investor/Media Relations
Berns Communications Group
(212) 994-4660 or (212) 871-8701