These past years have seen an unprecedented number of retail store closures as retailers face mounting pressure from online competition, changing weather patterns, crazy supply chain disruptions, global frictions on trade, and now the uncertainty of long-lasting COVID-related shopping behaviors, shortages and restrictions. And since retail is a relatively low-margin business to begin with, there is little wiggle room for the financial impact of these disruptions. So how can retailers fend off this mounting list of challenges and restore growth? The answer lies in finding new sources of operating margin relief.
