PRIVATE EQUITY OWNED
Lane Bryant
Includes LaneBryant
plus-size fashion · Reynoldsburg, OH
- PE Firm
- Sycamore Partners →
- Year Acquired
- 2020
America's most recognized plus-size fashion brand, bought for scrap out of bankruptcy by the PE firm that collects struggling retailers.
What They Did
- Sycamore Partners acquired Lane Bryant as part of a $540 million deal for Ascena Retail's remaining brands in December 2020
- Ascena was once a $7-billion-a-year retailer before its collapse — Sycamore got Lane Bryant, Ann Taylor, LOFT, and Lou & Grey combined for a fraction of that
- Over 150 Lane Bryant stores closed during the Ascena bankruptcy process, dramatically shrinking the chain's footprint
- Now operated under Sycamore's KnitWell Group umbrella alongside Ann Taylor and LOFT — three once-independent brands sharing one PE owner
Since the Acquisition
- 150+ store closures eliminated plus-size shopping options in communities where Lane Bryant was often the only dedicated option
- For plus-size shoppers — who already have fewer brick-and-mortar choices than straight-size consumers — every closure hits harder
- The brand that pioneered plus-size fashion in 1904 is now a line item in a PE portfolio, competing for investment against its own sister brands
Sources
- Fearing store closures, mall landlords raise alarm about Sycamore's Ascena — Retail Dive(2021-03-15)
- ascena retail group Completes Sale to Sycamore Partners — GlobeNewswire(2020-12-23)
- Sycamore snaps up Ann Taylor, other remaining Ascena brands for $540M — Retail Dive(2020-11-25)
- Ascena Retail Group Files for Bankruptcy — MyTotalRetail(2020-07-24)
- How Ascena went bankrupt — Retail Dive(2020-07-23)
- Ann Taylor, Loft, Talbots form new KnitWell Group — Fashion Dive(2024-01-09)
- Lane Bryant Celebrates 120 Years of Dressing Curves — PRNewswire(2024-09-04)