Ann Taylor usually makes beautiful women look more beautiful on go, but today it also made its listed parent company look great. The listed company under the ticker ANN reported earnings for the 4th quarter and fiscal year 2011, which ended on Jan 28, 2012. 4th quarter EPS came in at 10c against the estimated 9c, and full year EPS was $1.70, which is right on the spot against forecast. 4th quarter sales in came at $566.7M, also the same as forecast, but full year sales came in a little bit short. Investors were looking for $2.39B and it gave $2.21B. From a shopper’s point of view, I love it when stores give discount. But for women’s specialty apparel lines like Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft, this intensely competitive promotional environment we’re in is hurting the company’s revenue and the gross margin. On the positive note, SSSG was +5.3% and after all, investors did approve the earnings and gave the stock an 8% intraday upward push.