SPECIAL
REPORT
A Year to Forget?
The industry takes stock of an undeniably tough ’09.
By Leslie Shiers
“TRYING” IS THE word that Bob Camp-
bell, CEO of BBC International, lands on
when trying to sum up the past 12 months
in the footwear business. Rialto president
Matt Dragos proposes “inconsistent” or
“unpredictable.” The difficulty didn’t come
as a shocker to anyone not living in a cave
in the fall of ’08, when the effects of the
banking and housing market’s collapse col-
lided with election uncertainty, with the
resulting economic ripple sparking pro-
nounced consumer anxiety. But as Jan. 1
approaches and a consternating year rolls
to an end, many are stopping to reassess
the takeaways from 2009 while looking
ahead to the future.
“When you’re talking retail, every day,
every year could be better,” says Gary Wein-
er, president of Saxon Shoes in Richmond,
VA. “This was a year where the best retailers did OK if they were new dynamic,” says Christopher Svezia, an analyst at Susquehan- “This was a
lucky, and anybody who wasn’t good—anybody who wasn’t on na Financial Group. Most agree that the recession has set off a re- year where the
their toes—just got hammered or disappeared.” markable period of learning and market correction that puts the best retailers
“It’s [been] a funny year,” SportsOneSource analyst Matt Pow- entire industry in better standing moving into 2010. “Everybody’s
ell notes. “It started off really strong—much better than anticipat- learning how to do more with less,” Powell notes. “I think that’s
did OK if they
ed. And then it quickly died.” By March, consumers had battened always healthy.” were lucky,
down the latches of their wallets, fearing job losses, salary cuts, Angel Martinez, CEO of Deckers Outdoor Corp., stresses that and anybody
tanking stocks and other cataclysmic effects, and sell-throughs ’09 will definitely go down as a year for the business to remem- who wasn’t
hit the skids. As the National Retail Federation of Washington, ber. “It’s always important to have successfully made it through a good just got
D.C., rattled off month after month of reports confirming “dip- difficult time and struggles,” he says. “It allows your organization
ping,” “slowing” and “disappointing” year-over-year sales results, to improve, focus on the things that matter most and get back
hammered or
footwear retailers and vendors were snapped into the new re- to fundamentals.” Analysts, manufacturers and retailers say that disappeared.”
ality by unprecedented market patterns. According to Mitch for most companies, that meant a) increasing corporate efficiency —Gary Weiner,
Kummetz, senior research analyst for R.W. Baird & Co., “These and b) adjusting inventory levels (which had inflate