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CASE STUDY
I. GOLDBERG REBORN
Founded in 1919 by Isaac Goldberg, the I. Goldberg Army-Navy store became an icon in Center City Philadelphia. The family business thrived under three generations of Goldbergs, growing to include wholesale and catalogue sales as well as retail. Now Nana Goldberg, granddaughter of the founder, headed the enterprise. Family members owned the headquarters property on Chestnut Street.
An offer to buy the building at the beginning of 2002 opened a breach between Nana and her relatives. Those not active in the business held the majority interest in the real estate. They decided to sell. Nana and her father were powerless to prevent or even delay the sale. The building would be demolished and a parking garage would take its place. As word got out, personnel problems mounted. Nana, as the operating officer and merchant, had to find a new location and fund the move by liquidating inventory in a difficult business climate. She had to stimulate sales and protect the store's reputation. Time was short. She had to vacate the premises by the end of April. The situation seemed overwhelming.
Paul Davidow, of Retail Merchandising Services America (RMSA) recommended Natelsons, Inc. Nana called and was referred to the Natelsons website. She went to their reference list and called several names. They told her "Natelsons are the best people to have in a tough situation." She signed on and the new "partnership" went to work on the I. Goldberg "FORCED TO RELOCATE / LIQUIDATION SALE."
Natelsons began the project by classifying and evaluating the sheer tonnage of inventory available, ranging from camping equipment and thermal clothing to men's and women's shoes and boots, plus work clothes and urban streetwear. In addition, over the years there had been an enormous build-up of military surplus clothing and accessories, all of which had to be appraised, organized and prepared for sale.
A cost effective advertising and marketing plan was introduced, with techniques new to the store. The Natelson team maintained on-site supervision to implement and fine tune the plan. Store traffic increased dramatically, helping to sell out dated as well as current inventory. The focus throughout remained on realizing the
maximum cash value for every item.
Results proved the success of the partnership. Sales exceeded original projections by 13%; and surplus inventory was eliminated. By the end of April, the former Goldberg premises were vacated.
Equally important, the Natelson team relieved Nana of much of her day-to-day in-store responsibilities, allowing her critical time to plan for staffing and merchandising her new store. Increased cash, flowing from the sale, strengthened Nana's posture for finding a new location and for tough negotiations for a favorable Center City lease.
Contacted before the end of the year, Nana had reopened on Chestnut Street, part of what has been called a "rebirth" of the district. She is across from Lord & Taylor and near an Olive Garden restaurant about to open. The overhead is half what it was before, despite the improved location. She says she is seeing lots of old faces and lots of new faces. She's especially happy when she hears comments like, "We're so glad you're back" and "we missed you." She still exhibits the fire and enthusiasm for business that she inherited from her grandfather.
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