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Ann & Hope

Regional department store pioneer Ann & Hope turned to Duffy & Shanley for help in communicating the chain’s decision to downsize. The move meant closing six “big box” department stores in Rhode Island and Massachusetts and the loss of some 1,400 jobs. D&S developed a communications plan and the primary tools to provide information to and open dialogue with the media. The result was over 130 print stories and almost 50 broadcast stories within 30 days after the announcement.

But that’s not the whole story. Our positioning helped portray a sense of loss, as the Ann & Hope closing was truly the end of an era for department stores in New England. The wave of nostalgia was evident in almost all of the coverage. And rather than be vilified for closing stores and cutting jobs, Ann & Hope was remembered fondly for all that it has meant over the years to the communities where those stores were located.