80. Going-Out-of-Business Sales

02/10/25 • 16 min

2 Listeners

Behind that 70% off sign, there’s a liquidation consultant trying to maximize retailer profits. Zachary Crockett seeks a deal.

SOURCES:
- Bradley Snyder, executive managing director at Tiger Group.
- Zac Rogers, associate professor of supply chain management at Colorado State University
RESOURCES:
- "What Went Wrong: The Demise of Toys R Us," by Angie Basiouny (Knowledge at Wharton, 2018)
- "Retail apocalypse 2024: All the once-popular stores and restaurants that shuttered locations this year," by Sarah Bregel (Forbes, 2024)
- "BBB Tip: Avoid bogus bargains at going out of business sales" by Better Business Bureau (2024)
- "There’s a science and art to running a going-out-of-business sale. (And business is booming.)" by Courtney Reagan (CNBC, 2018)
EXTRAS:
- "I don't wanna grow up: The first day of the end of our childhoods," by Mike Higdon (Reno Gazette-Journal, 2018)

Behind that 70% off sign, there’s a liquidation consultant trying to maximize retailer profits. Zachary Crockett seeks a deal.

SOURCES:
- Bradley Snyder, executive managing director at Tiger Group.
- Zac Rogers, associate professor of supply chain management at Colorado State University
RESOURCES:
- "What Went Wrong: The Demise of Toys R Us," by Angie Basiouny (Knowledge at Wharton, 2018)
- "Retail apocalypse 2024: All the once-popular stores and restaurants that shuttered locations this year," by Sarah Bregel (Forbes, 2024)
- "BBB Tip: Avoid bogus bargains at going out of business sales" by Better Business Bureau (2024)
- "There’s a science and art to running a going-out-of-business sale. (And business is booming.)" by Courtney Reagan (CNBC, 2018)
EXTRAS:
- "I don't wanna grow up: The first day of the end of our childhoods," by Mike Higdon (Reno Gazette-Journal, 2018)

Previous Episode

79. School Photos

Picture day is an annual tradition for American families — and, for the companies that take the photos, a lucrative one. Zachary Crockett smiles for the camera.

SOURCES:
- Ken Murphy, C.E.O. of Lifetouch
- Jeremy McColm, senior manager of photography at Lifetouch
RESOURCES:
- "The money and stress and failed hairdos of school picture day," by Kaitlyn Tiffany (Vox, 2019)
- "The School Photo Industry Is a Master Class in Drama," by David Gauvey Herbert (New York Times, 2019)
- "With Lifetouch Acquisition, Shutterfly Claims Leadership In Picture Memories Market," by Pamela Danziger (Forbes, 2018)
- "Exclusive School Photography Agreement" (Vernon Public School District, 2019)
EXTRAS:
- "Money Schools Earn From Student Portraits Varies Widely," by Scott MacFarlane, Rick Yarborough, and Jeff Piper (NBC News Washington, 2016)

Next Episode

81. Guide Dogs

Before a guide dog can help a blind person navigate the world, it has to pass a series of tests, then go through $75,000 worth of training. Zachary Crockett sniffs around.

SOURCES:
- Peggy Gibbon, director of canine development at The Seeing Eye.
- Charles Pat McKenna, assistant division director of the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
RESOURCES:
- "Why Seeing Eye Dogs Are So Expensive To Breed and Train," by Abby Tang and Emily Christian (Business Insider, 2024).
- "For decades, the blind have used canes to get around. Now a special wristband gives them a ‘sixth sense.'" by Peter Holley (Washington Post, 2017).
- The Seeing Eye.
- "History of Guide Dogs," by The International Guide Dog Federation.
- "Facts and Figures" by The International Guide Dog Federation.
EXTRAS:
- "Morris Frank," by The International Guide Dog Foundation (Vimeo, 2021).