Muriel Gonzalez Joins AnnTaylor Stores Corporation as Chief Marketing

NEW YORK, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AnnTaylor Stores Corporation today announced that Muriel Gonzalez will be joining the firm as Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer reporting to Kay Krill, President of Ann Taylor Stores Corporation.

Ms. Gonzalez will oversee all marketing aspects of the brand, including direct marketing, public relations, media and art buying, marketing operations, visual merchandising, AnnTaylor.com and AnnTaylorLoft.com.

Ms. Gonzalez was most recently Senior Vice President and General Merchandise Manager, Accessories, Cosmetics, Shoes, Jewelry, Lingerie, Home and Coats for Bergdorf Goodman, where she spent five years. Prior to that, she was Senior Vice President of Marketing with Estee Lauder USA for eight years. Before joining Estee Lauder, she spent five years at Saks Fifth Avenue in various management positions.

"We are thrilled to welcome Muriel Gonzalez to Ann Taylor," stated Kay Krill. "Muriel brings with her many years of experience in fashion retailing. Muriel's background represents an ideal combination of marketing and merchandising experience and she has proven success as a results-oriented leader who maximizes businesses while building strong brand equity. This makes her the perfect leader for all of Ann Taylor's marketing initiatives, and also the perfect partner for me to continue to position each Ann Taylor division uniquely while effectively communicating the shared brand equity that drives top-line growth and bottom line results," added Ms. Krill.

Ann Taylor is one of the country's leading women's specialty retailers, operating 738 stores in 45 states, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and also online at http://www.anntaylor.com/ and http://www.anntaylorloft.com/ as of January 29, 2005.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this press release are Forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements may use the words "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "intend," "project," "may," "believe" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current expectations concerning future events and actual results may differ materially from current expectations or historical results. Any such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including failure by the Company to predict accurately client fashion preferences; decline in the demand for merchandise offered by the Company; competitive influences; changes in levels of store traffic or consumer spending habits; effectiveness of the Company's brand awareness and marketing programs; general economic conditions or a downturn in the retail industry; the inability of the Company to locate new store sites or negotiate favorable lease terms for additional stores or for the expansion of existing stores; lack of sufficient consumer interest in the Company's Online Stores; a significant change in the regulatory environment applicable to the Company's business; risks associated with the possible inability of the Company, particularly through its sourcing and logistics functions, to operate within production and delivery constraints; the impact of quotas, and the elimination thereof; an increase in the rate of import duties or export quotas with respect to the Company's merchandise; financial or political instability in any of the countries in which the Company's goods are manufactured; the potential impact of natural disasters and health concerns relating to severe infectious diseases, particularly on manufacturing operations of the Company's vendors; acts of war or terrorism in the United States or worldwide; work stoppages, slowdowns or strikes; the inability of the Company to hire, retain and train key personnel, and other factors set forth in the Company's filings with the SEC. The Company does not assume any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements at any time for any reason.