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Basis of Presentation | 6 Months Ended
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Jan. 28, 2012
Basis of Presentation | 2. Basis of Presentation Interim Financial Statements The interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The interim consolidated financial statements are unaudited. In the opinion of management, however, such consolidated financial statements contain all normal and recurring adjustments necessary to present fairly the consolidated financial condition, results of operations and changes in cash flows of the Company for the interim periods presented. In addition, certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“US GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted from this report as is permitted by the SEC’s rules and regulations. However, the Company believes that the disclosures herein are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. The consolidated balance sheet data as of July 30, 2011 is derived from the audited consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC for the fiscal year ended July 30, 2011 (the “Fiscal 2011 10-K”), which should be read in conjunction with these interim financial statements. Reference is made to the Fiscal 2011 10-K for a complete set of financial statements. Basis of Consolidation The consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with US GAAP and present the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the Company and all entities in which the Company has a controlling voting interest. The consolidated financial statements also include the accounts of any variable interest entities in which the Company is considered to be the primary beneficiary and such entities are required to be consolidated in accordance with US GAAP. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and footnotes thereto. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates. Significant estimates inherent in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements include; the realizability of inventory; reserves for litigation and other contingencies; useful lives and impairments of long-lived tangible and intangible assets; accounting for income taxes and related uncertain tax positions; the valuation of stock-based compensation and related expected forfeiture rates; insurance reserves; and accounting for business combinations. Fiscal Year The Company utilizes a 52-53 week fiscal year ending on the last Saturday in July. As such, fiscal year 2012 will end on July 28, 2012 and will be a 52-week period (“Fiscal 2012”). Fiscal 2011 ended on July 30, 2011 and reflected a 52-week period (“Fiscal 2011”). The second quarter for Fiscal 2012 ended on January 28, 2012 and was a 13-week period. The second quarter for Fiscal 2011 ended on January 29, 2011 and was also a 13-week period. Seasonality of Business The Company’s business is typically affected by seasonal sales trends primarily resulting from the timing of holiday and back-to-school shopping periods. In particular, the dressbarn and maurices brands have historically experienced proportionately lower earnings in the second fiscal quarter ending in January than during the three other fiscal quarters, reflecting the intense promotional environment that generally has characterized the holiday shopping season in recent years. Justice sales and operating profits tend to be significantly higher during the fall season which occurs during the first and second quarters of the Company’s fiscal year, as this includes the back-to-school period and the holiday selling period which is focused on gift giving merchandise. In addition, the Company’s operating results and cash flows may fluctuate materially in any quarterly period depending on, among other things, increases or decreases in comparable store sales, adverse weather conditions, shifts in the timing of certain holidays, and changes in merchandise mix. Accordingly, the Company’s operating results and cash flows for the three-month and six-month periods ended January 28, 2012 are not necessarily indicative of the operating results and cash flows that may be expected for the full year of Fiscal 2012. Reclassifications Segment Information Historically, the Company was a single-brand retailer operating under the name of dressbarn. As such, all corporate overhead costs were reported historically within the dressbarn operating segment. As the Company’s legal entity structure evolved with the acquisitions of the maurices brand in Fiscal 2005 and the Justice brand in Fiscal 2010, the Company allocated approximately $2 million of corporate overhead costs annually to each of those operating segments from the dressbarn operating segment. The remainder of the corporate overhead costs continued to be reported primarily within the dressbarn operating segment. In January 2011, the Company completed an internal corporate reorganization and established a new holding company, named Ascena Retail Group, Inc., to own the interests of each of the dressbarn, maurices, and Justice brands through wholly owned subsidiaries. In connection therewith, beginning in Fiscal 2012, the Company implemented a new methodology to allocate corporate overhead costs to each of its operating segments on a reasonable basis. In order to conform to this new cost allocation methodology, the Company has recasted historically reported segment operating results in order to enhance the comparability of its segmental operating performance. There have been no changes in total net sales, total operating income, or total depreciation and amortization expense as a result of this change. See Note 12 for further discussion of the Company’s segment information and the effect of this change. Other Reclassifications Certain other immaterial reclassifications have been made to the prior period’s financial information in order to conform to the current period’s presentation.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for the basis of accounting, or basis of presentation, used to prepare the financial statements (for example, US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Other Comprehensive Basis of Accounting, IFRS). + References No definition available. + Details
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