RAYS inside scoop:
<I did a little digging for you guys, heres a copy of my email>
Trey:
The problem is quite simple. Everyone (internal, vendors,
marketplace and the investment community) has been telling Watson
and Hauslein that they need to spend less time trying to position
the business as a high-end Fashion Statement and more time
operating it as a retail business.
Retailers by their nature, think about things such as sales-gains,
gross-margins, expenses. Jim and John think that they are running
a high-end ladies handbag or shoe boutique. They are focusing on
look and feel along with decreasing assortment. How can you gen
sales gains with less assortment?
I am sure you have seen it before, when the Chairman (Hauslein)
has made up his mind 'what the comapny is' (or in this case how he
sees it in a perfect world) and then hires a CEO (Watson) who is
willing to execute on Hauslein's incorrect vision. To make
matters even worse, Hauslein has convinced a hear/see/speak-no-
evil Board of Directors and yesterday Watson began bringing in
more overpaid people with the wrong focus from his previous lives.
Very few in the company have ANY respect for Jim, John, and John's
buddies that he has brought with him.
Look at it this way, Watson was VP of Strategic Planning for
Reebok Shoes. Nike ran over Reebok like a speed-bump! Every time
I have ever seen a Strategic Planning guy take over a retailer in
trouble the same 2 things ALWAYS happen.
1. The guy usually does not figure out what the real problem is
because he/she needs to keep the Chairman happy.
2. Even if he/she does figure out the problem, he/she has no idea
on how to fix it, because they have no retail operating background.
With huge write-offs, inventory-shrinks, and no solid COO with
retailing expertise, this fish is certain to turn belly-up and
float to the top of the tank.----
.. I hope you will place this for others to read.Your thoughts? |
