How many times have you heard a friend or colleage say "I am going to close my retail store soon"? Sometimes he/she is dead serious. Sometimes it is usually a joke. In todays economy, more often than not, it is the former. What the retailer generally is not aware of is that there is help, and help that can save literally tens of thousand of dollars, or more, depending on the size of the operation.
In the past year “how do I close my retail store”, “best way to close a retail store”, “retail crisis turnaround” and “retail crisis management” have become popular search phrases on the Internet. Business owners in increasing numbers are having going out of business sales. Not since the 1980s has our country struggled so hard against dire economic forecasts and rising unemployment. New retail businesses as well established retail stores are both closing their doors at a rate not seen since 1983. With unemployment topping 10% (USA Today), Americans are spending less on non-essential items and making do with last year’s purchases. A growing number retail businesses are seeking assistance in closing their stores profitably. Many will seek the specialized services of a retail crisis manager before they have a going out of business sale.
While small and midsize retail establishments struggling the past eighteen months, now some of the major brands and design giants are seeking retail crisis managers to stay in business or close their doors. The struggling apparel retailers include GAP, Eddie Bauer, Timberland, Ann Taylor and Pacific Sunwear (Forbes). Unfortunately for shoppers Eddie Bauer is on the “critical list”, while Timberland, Ann Taylor, GAP and Pacific Sunwear are closing stores in an effort to stay in business. Another casualty Charming Shoppes (owner of Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines) is set to close another 100 stores.
A leader in the field of retail crisis solutions (ranked #1 by Google and MSN), The Waldoff Group has been serving the retail community with its expertise for nearly 2 decades. CEO Milton Waldoff currently based in Hattiesburg, MS has a long family history owning and operating retail business throughout Mississippi. He brings a unique business perspective to retail crisis situations having experience both highly acclaimed success and, himself, being a retail casualty of the 1980s economic downturn.
They take a personal approach to each owner’s specific needs. Their clients vary from businesses needing to find a retail turnaround solution to those needing to close their retail stores. Their Group believes “Good management means knowing when to call for help”. As a retail consultant He contributes his expertise and years of experience as a very successful merchant and businessman, in assisting store management in recognizing problems and the successful implementation of solutions. Turnaround and crisis management has become a specialty of The Waldoff Group. Through his personal experience, guidance and leadership he continues to assist troubled companies in returning to profitability. Of course there are many other retail crisis turnaround managers other than Mr. Waldoff. We chose him as an example since he is ranked number one by the two major search engines and the testimonials on his site certainly reflect why with a plethora of happy clients.
Business owners should be aware there is a wave of newly minted retail crisis managers promoting themselves online. According to the management library “Crisis management is a relatively new field of management. Typically, proactive crisis management activities include forecasting potential crises and planning how to deal with them.” Finding a retail crisis manager with experience and a track record of results will become more difficult as the recession deepens. Store owners will need to carefully check the experience and testimonials of perspective retail crisis managers. Acting before the crisis worsens, more often than not, will mean the difference between liquidation and closing ones store profitably.
