Denim Disaster - Case Study | Learning IRL BY ABGLP

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And now onto the case study!

About

Premium denim and accessory brand Diesel USA Inc. filed for bankruptcy after experiencing years of shrinking sales, losses, expensive leases, and cyber fraud. The New York-based company, a unit of Italy’s Diesel SpA, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, estimating up to $100 million in assets and as much as $50 million in debt, reported Bloomberg.

Diesel USA, which listed $7.4 million in unsecured obligations to trade creditors, did not plan to close it’s business. The company has 380 employees and 28 retail stores in the U.S., as well as relationships with department stores and specialty retailers.

The Problem

Similar to many other retailers like Forever 21, Gymboree, etc, Diesel USA too has suffered from weak sales in recent years. With more and more consumers preferring to shop online, stores at malls are seeing a lower number of walk ins. The company said it lost money for six straight years as annual sales dropped 53 percent to $104 million, according to Reuters. In addition, theft and cyber fraud cost it $1.2 million over three years, it said. Incidents included internet “spoofers” who sent false invoices that the company paid, according to Bloomberg.

The Solution

Diesel’s court filing included a three-year plan to correct a strategy of leasing expensive stores in premium locations, basically restructuring. In the petition, Chief Restructuring Officer Mark Samson said Diesel intends to exit some of its stores where landlords’ refusal to offer lease concessions has led to heavy losses. Instead, it will focus on more profitable locations, opening new stores in more cost-effective locations and updating existing ones to make them cheaper to operate.

This strategy will basically help Diesel cut down costs and rise out of bankruptcy. After going through this case, answer the following questions.

What strategies would you recommend to Diesel in order to make up for their losses?
If you were a restructuring officer working with Diesel, how would you play the media to make sure the brand does not suffer loss of face?
What would you do to arrest cyber theft in this scenario?
How would you encourage in store activity and sales?

Share your responses to this case study on this thread.

What’s This Series About?

In this series, we bring you 4 fun things. Basically, instead of reading boring textbooks, or trawling through search pages on Google, here’s your shortcut to learning with fun.

Quiz: Solve a quiz based on management concepts in marketing, HR, finance and operations. Test your conceptual clarity and know how! Basically learn with fun.
- July: Operations Management.
- August: Marketing Management
- September: Human Resource
- October: Finance Resource
- November: Future Marketeer
- December: HR Quiz - II
- January: Supply Chain & Operations Quiz
- February: Finance & Accounting Quiz

Case Study: Solve a sector-wise case study every month! Don’t all interview prep experts tell you to sharpen your logical thinking and practise cases?! Well now, you can practise a case every month and find out how well you know various concepts! Check out the July Case Study On Operations Management for an OTT platform like Disney here. Check out the August Case Study On IKEA India here.Check out the September Case Study On HR Strategy here. Check out the September Case Study On IT Services Companyhere. Check out the October Case Study On Venezuela's Oily Hyperinflation Story here. Check out the November Case Study On The Dream Car That Failed To Scale here. Check out the December Case Study On HR- How To Retain Talent here. Check out the January Case Study On McDonald's Supply Chain here. Check out the February Case Study On Denim Disaster here.

Video: Check out this unique explainer video laying out the facts and figures for you. Whether it’s the 7 Ps of marketing or the Jidoka model in supply chain and operations, these videos tell you all. Have a specific concept you wish to understand? Let us know and we’ll help you comprehend it! Check out July explainer Video on an Operations Management concept called Hub & Spoke here. Check out August explainer Video on The Science Behind Marketing Promotions here. Check out October explainer Video on HR Concepts & The Meaning Of Life here. Check out November explainer Video on Joint Stock Companies here. Check out December explainer Video on Brand Amitabh Bachchan's Revitalisation here Check out January explainer Video on Taare Zameen Par Deconstructed | HR Concepts here Check out January explainer Video on How Henry Ford Pioneered The Assembly Line here

Comic Strip: Reading reams of pages can be so boring. Now read comic strips and find out what’s what in your b - school curriculum! Wondering about Time Value of Money? Or perhaps HR strategies and tools? These comic strips will help you understand the same old concepts in new and refreshing ways. Check out July explainer Comic Strip on an Operations Management concept called Jidoka here. Check out the August Comic Strip on Marketing Concepts Made Easy here. Check out the September Comic Strip on HR Theories Deconstructed here.