* Joseph E. Brooks, chairman of the...

* Joseph E. Brooks, chairman of the retailer AnnTaylor Stores Corp., plans to retire next year, the company announced. Brooks, 64, will step down after a successor has been selected, the specialty retailer said in a news release.

Once part of Allied Stores Corp., AnnTaylor went private in a leveraged buyout led by Brooks and Merrill Lynch Capital Partners in 1989. The company returned to public ownership early this year.

AnnTaylor is an upscale women’s apparel retailer. It is expected to have 200 stores by the end of this year.