Turning Points 2008: A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year
Editor's note: In what we plan to make an annual end-of-year tradition, RetailWire has compiled a list of the most significant retail industry "Turning Points" of 2008. (See our news release...) What follows is the eighth in a series of discussions based on the list.
Recently rummaging through boxes of books at home, I came across a copy of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. For those not familiar, the children's book involves a young Alexander who wakes up in the morning to find gum in his hair, goes to the breakfast table and watches his brothers pull prizes from their cereal boxes while he only finds cereal in his. It doesn't get any better for Alexander at school, the dentist office and at the various points through the rest of the day. As he's getting ready to go to sleep at night, full of misery, his mother's words ring clear. "Some days are like that, even in Australia." (You'll have to read the book or go to the Kennedy Center website to check out a reading for context to the down under reference.)
Retailing in 2008 has been very much like Alexander's experience except spread over 365 days. While things don't go well for him (and many retailers including Linens 'n Things, Mervyns, Circuit City, etc.) there are those around him/them that are doing quite well (Walmart, Aldi, dollar stores, club stores, etc.).
There's no doubt that the past year has been one of the most tumultuous times in modern retailing history. Prices went up and consumers cut back. Credit got tight and consumers pulled back even further. Chains and independent retailers started to close stores and some went the liquidation route. No, it was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad - year. Maybe next year will be better.
Discussion Questions: What were the major mistakes made by struggling retailers in 2008? What right choices did those who are succeeding this year make? What are you looking for from the retailing industry in 2009 and 2010?