The New Science of Retailing

Conclusion

The Way Forward

September 2008, when Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, marked the beginning of the worst economic crisis many of us have seen in our lifetimes. Panic on Wall Street quickly spread throughout the rest of the economy, including into retailing. Same-store sales crashed, and that, coupled with difficulty in obtaining credit, drove many retailers into bankruptcy or to its brink. Even healthy companies had to make deep cuts, finding ways to shore up operations while preserving their brands and store experiences. As our friend Jim Halpin, former CEO of CompUSA and a veteran of many turnarounds, told us, “The secret in managing through a crisis is to survive the short term without doing things that will destroy your long ...