Ashley Stewart
Ashley Stewart
CASE STUDY:
ASHLEY STEWART
In June of 2020 Monroe Capital contacted Mr Appel for a consulting assignment to assess the Ashley Stewart business. Monroe, who was a lender to the company was considering acquisition of the plus size apparel company from the sponsor. He was asked to do an in depth business assessment in 2 weeks at the height of the Covid epidemic. It was impossible to visit the company and meet the executive team in person, but through the magic of zoom conferencing and a thorough document review , he produced a document that was not only a review of operations and management but set out a blueprint for the company turnaround.
Mr Appel found that Ashley Stewart was not performing in a market that was growing, and that white space existed in the missy plus size on trend fashion market. The previous sponsor was unwilling to invest in the business and the business was capital constrained . Yet Ashley had a strong niche with its predominantly lower income African American plus size customer with little competition at its value price points. The company had leveraged brand awareness through its PR and social media activities and tie ins with celebrities. The organizational structure was too stretched with key positions of the functional areas of CFO, Marketing and Store Operations being vacant , many of which roles had been filled unsuccessfully by the departing CEO. Despite these challenges the existing team was dedicated hard working and smart, with a strong collaborative culture.
Opportunities to drive a turnaround existed by augmenting the C suite, increasing the omnichannel customer base, and merchandise intensification to drive key categories and improve and realign the merchandise mix.
As a result of the analysis, findings and recommendations in the report, Mr Appel was asked to join the Board of the company when Monroe completed the acquisition. He then worked closely with the Monroe Capital Private Equity team over the next 6 months to help stabilize the business and implement the strategy embedded in the report.
Within 6 months , all key c suite positions had been filled, and in 2021 key initiatives were implemented that showed improved financial results across both stores and ecommerce.
CASE STUDY:
ASHLEY STEWART
In June of 2020 Monroe Capital contacted Mr Appel for a consulting assignment to assess the Ashley Stewart business. Monroe, who was a lender to the company was considering acquisition of the plus size apparel company from the sponsor. He was asked to do an in depth business assessment in 2 weeks at the height of the Covid epidemic. It was impossible to visit the company and meet the executive team in person, but through the magic of zoom conferencing and a thorough document review , he produced a document that was not only a review of operations and management but set out a blueprint for the company turnaround.
Mr Appel found that Ashley Stewart was not performing in a market that was growing, and that white space existed in the missy plus size on trend fashion market. The previous sponsor was unwilling to invest in the business and the business was capital constrained . Yet Ashley had a strong niche with its predominantly lower income African American plus size customer with little competition at its value price points. The company had leveraged brand awareness through its PR and social media activities and tie ins with celebrities. The organizational structure was too stretched with key positions of the functional areas of CFO, Marketing and Store Operations being vacant , many of which roles had been filled unsuccessfully by the departing CEO. Despite these challenges the existing team was dedicated hard working and smart, with a strong collaborative culture.
Opportunities to drive a turnaround existed by augmenting the C suite, increasing the omnichannel customer base, and merchandise intensification to drive key categories and improve and realign the merchandise mix.
As a result of the analysis, findings and recommendations in the report, Mr Appel was asked to join the Board of the company when Monroe completed the acquisition. He then worked closely with the Monroe Capital Private Equity team over the next 6 months to help stabilize the business and implement the strategy embedded in the report.
Within 6 months , all key c suite positions had been filled, and in 2021 key initiatives were implemented that showed improved financial results across both stores and ecommerce.
