Less than three years ago, I was part of a consulting team that participated in a strategic planning retreat for Art Van Furniture’s senior management. At the time (mid 2017), the company was riding high: it was immensely profitable, growing fast, entering new markets and…
The grocery retail world has been rocked these past few weeks with the perils of overexpansion and the subsequent closures of some prominent chains that, just a few years prior, were seen as rising stars and potential national chains. Earth Fare just announced that they…
In one of the most anticipated bankruptcies in some time, Forever 21 officially declared Chapter 11 over the weekend, adding to the list of large retailers who have retrenched their store base or fully closed down in 2019. While many argue whether we are officially…
Retail bankruptcies in 2018 are starting off similarly to the way 2017 finished up with wave after wave of prominent retailers filing for bankruptcy. The latest casualty of Retailmageddon is Nine West, the iconic seller of shoes who will no longer be selling footwear as their saga…
One of my favorite arguments with colleagues concerns the state of the overall retail industry. 2017 was actually a banner year for overall retail sales, with a strong Holiday season propelling overall retail sales up 4.2%. True, sales of on-line retail grew at a significantly…
