Talbots Case
History and Background
In 1947, Rudolph and Nancy Talbot opened the first Talbots store in Hingham, Massachusetts. Additional stores were opened by 1955 and by 1973 and there were a total of five stores when General Mills acquired Talbot.
Pursuing a nonfood diversification strategy, General Mills also purchased another specialty retailer, Eddie Bauer, after a sinking stock market had torpedoed Bauer’s planned stock floatation in 1971. During the 1970s and 1980s, General Mills aggressively pursued growth strategies for both Talbots and Eddie Bauer, driven primarily by retail store expansions. Bauer, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, had a strong catalog operation and 58 stores in 14 states by 1988. During this expansionary period, Eddie Bauer added casual clothing to its assortments in addition to its traditional strength in outdoor sporting equipment. Bauer’s original assortments were replaced by faster- moving streetwear clothing. They faced new competitive environment by putting new stores into shopping malls. While Bauer had seen stores grow from 1-58 locations from 1973 -1988, Talbots saw its store count grow from 5 to 137, with sale of $392 million.
By 1988, General Mills sold off its nonfood operations. Talbots was acquired by JUSCO for $325 million. JUSCO was best known for its superstore and specialty stores, as well as for restaurants and other nonstore retailing ventures. JUSCO is an international Japanese retailer with sales of $7.6 billion. Three Philosophies were central to JUSCO’s operations. The first was “the customer is first” – in order to be successful, it was essential to think and act from the point of view of the customer. The second philosophy was the need to respond quickly to changes and challenges. I was figuratively described as “putting wheels on the central pillar.” Generally, the central pillar was the key supporting structure and was always anchored. To put wheels on the central pillar suggested that the “house” should
In 1947, Rudolph and Nancy Talbot opened the first Talbots store in Hingham, Massachusetts. Additional stores were opened by 1955 and by 1973 and there were a total of five stores when General Mills acquired Talbot.
Pursuing a nonfood diversification strategy, General Mills also purchased another specialty retailer, Eddie Bauer, after a sinking stock market had torpedoed Bauer’s planned stock floatation in 1971. During the 1970s and 1980s, General Mills aggressively pursued growth strategies for both Talbots and Eddie Bauer, driven primarily by retail store expansions. Bauer, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, had a strong catalog operation and 58 stores in 14 states by 1988. During this expansionary period, Eddie Bauer added casual clothing to its assortments in addition to its traditional strength in outdoor sporting equipment. Bauer’s original assortments were replaced by faster- moving streetwear clothing. They faced new competitive environment by putting new stores into shopping malls. While Bauer had seen stores grow from 1-58 locations from 1973 -1988, Talbots saw its store count grow from 5 to 137, with sale of $392 million.
By 1988, General Mills sold off its nonfood operations. Talbots was acquired by JUSCO for $325 million. JUSCO was best known for its superstore and specialty stores, as well as for restaurants and other nonstore retailing ventures. JUSCO is an international Japanese retailer with sales of $7.6 billion. Three Philosophies were central to JUSCO’s operations. The first was “the customer is first” – in order to be successful, it was essential to think and act from the point of view of the customer. The second philosophy was the need to respond quickly to changes and challenges. I was figuratively described as “putting wheels on the central pillar.” Generally, the central pillar was the key supporting structure and was always anchored. To put wheels on the central pillar suggested that the “house” should