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Case
| HBS Case Collection
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2007
(Revised from original 2006 version)
The Parisian Revival
by
Rajiv Lal and Carin-Isabel Knoop
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Abstract
In mid-2005, George Jones had two jobs: head of Saks Inc.'s 41-store Parisian department store chain as well as president and CEO of the Saks Department Store Group (SDSG), an umbrella for seven chains with a total of 182 stores across the United States. In 2003 Jones had taken over direct management of the faltering Birmingham, Alabama-based Parisian, which operated moderate to upscale department stores in the southeastern United States. By mid-2005, he had succeeded in turning the business around. According to Jones, "between Q2 2003 and Q2 2005, we have registered eight successive growth quarters all the while reducing expenses. We had a dramatic impact on almost all of our stores. While some are growing at a single-digit rate, we have registered 20% to 40% sales growth in many of our stores. Turns are up nearly 20% and profitability has improved over 90%.
Keywords: Profit;
Leadership;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Performance Improvement;
Sales;
Retail Industry;
United States;
Citation:
Lal, Rajiv, and Carin-Isabel Knoop. "The Parisian Revival." Harvard Business School Case 506-035, October 2007. (Revised from original March 2006 version.)