Assignment for Portfolio Company of a Private Equity Firm
Situation
A private equity client owning one of the largest national off-price retailers had key questions that it needed answered in order to better determine the optimal exit strategy for the investment. Key questions included:
What is the retailer’s customer segmentation? Who shops at the store today and why?
What would the impact of a change in the retailer’s return policy be on revenue given the retailer’s value orientation?
What is the optimal inventory strategy for one of the retailer’s most key categories?
Parthenon Action
Over the course of a three-month engagement, Parthenon worked closely with both the management team of the retailer as part of a task force to better understand the issues indicated above.
Specifically, Parthenon conducted a comprehensive primary research effort which included a conjoint analysis surveys to customers and non-customers (n=7,500) as well as focus groups across the country. In addition, Parthenon performed an extensive inventory analysis to better understand the drivers of purchase in a key category.
Outcome
As a result of Parthenon’s analysis, the retailer has revised both its merchandising and inventory analysis and also decided to institute a major change in its return policy.
Parthenon's hallmark is their ability to be driven by data, to
look objectively at a situation and derive strategy out of facts.
As a dispassionate party, they can draw a conclusion about strategy
from the data that those of us who are too close to it simply
cannot see.
Parthenon's hallmark is their ability to be driven by data, to
look objectively at a situation and derive strategy out of facts.
As a dispassionate party, they can draw a conclusion about strategy
from the data that those of us who are too close to it simply
cannot see.
