Thursday, April 2, 2015

Seeking Alpha: Is Gordmans Stores Pulling Out Of Its Tailspin?

It's funny how much easier it can be to walk when you stop shooting yourself in the foot. That may not be a completely fair opening line for discussing Gordmans Stores (NASDAQ:GMAN), as not all of the company's problems have been self-inflicted, but there have been more than enough missteps in merchandising, marketing, and supply chain management to suggest that the bullet-ridden shoe still fits.

Credit where due - new (or relatively new) CEO Andy Hall seems to be moving quickly to fix many of the serious issues at Gordmans. The market has certainly noticed, with the shares more than doubling since my last article in the fall of 2014. I don't see as much potential in the shares as before, but if Gordmans' new approach to merchandising can boost traffic more than I expect, if supply chain improvements lead to better margin leverage, and/or if the company can credibly re-accelerate its store opening schedule there could still be upside.

That said, investors would do well to remember that retail is savagely competitive and very few companies can establish a compelling brand identity or assortment that makes them a "must have" in the retail sector over the long term.

Follow this link for the full article:
Is Gordmans Stores Pulling Out Of Its Tailspin?

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