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From Home Furnishing Business
Segal: Crate & Barrel's Success Based on Lessons Learned
August 1,
2014 by in Furniture Retailing, Industry 
Cofounder of Crate & Barrel Gordon Segal discusses the early days of the retailer along with its growth over the years.
Gordon Segal was clueless about retailing when he opened the first Crate & Barrel in 1962.
He forgot to buy a cash register for opening day.
He didn’t realize that he was selling many products at cost when overhead was factored in.
The store lost rising amounts of money for the first four months.
But Segal learned from his mistakes and studied masters of upscale retailing such as Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus.
By the time he retired in 2008, the privately held Crate & Barrel had $1.3 billion in annual revenue and was profitable, with 7,000 employees and 104 stores.
“Retailing is like theater,” Segal told IBD. “The store is the stage, with scenery, lighting and music. The products are the script — each item has an interesting story. The employees are the actors who make it come alive and bring the customers back.”
Read Entire Story Source: Investors Daily