Talbots Case
History and Background
In 1947, Rudolph and Nancy Talbot opened the first Talbots store in Hingham,
Massachusetts. Additional stores were opened by 1955 and by 1973 and there were
a total of five stores when General Mills acquired Talbot.
Pursuing a nonfood diversification strategy, General Mills also purchased another
specialty retailer, Eddie Bauer, after a sinking stock market had torpedoed Bauer s
planned stock floatation in 1971. During the 1970s and 1980s, General Mills
aggressively pursued growth strategies for both Talbots and Eddie Bauer, driven
primarily by retail store expansions. Bauer, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, had
a strong catalog operation and 58 stores in 14 states by 1988. During this
expansionary period, ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
About Talbots Current
Talbots owned its headquarters site in Hingham and its 750,000 sq. ft. distribution
center in Lakeville, Massachusetts. The Lakeville distribution center received,
processed, and distributed all merchandise for Talbots catalogs and stores. The
distribution center receives merchandise and inspects, assigns it to individual stores,
packs it for delivery, and shipped to the stores, with each store generally receiving
merchandise twice a week.
Talbots competed against selected departments and brands, such as Jones of New
York and Liz Claiborne, in national department stores such as Lord Taylor, Saks Fifth
Avenue, and Nordstrom, as well as in strong regional department store chains such as
Macy s, Marshall Field, and Dillard s. Talbots also faced strong competition from
specialty retailers such as the Limited, Ann Taylor, Eddie Bauer and The Gap.
Talbots Stores
There are five different types of Talbots stores. They are Talbots Misses, Talbots
Petites, Kids and Babies, Accessories and Shoes, Talbots Woman. More will be
explained about the store after the exhibit.
The Talbots Brands are as depicted in the below exhibit 4. Talbots MissesTalbots
PetitesKids BabiesAccessories ShoesTalbots Woman # of Stores38714057335
Avg. gross sq. ft.5,0002,5003,1001,900
Avg. Selling Space3,7002,0002,4001,300
Source: Company Records
Talbots Misses: Talbots Misses stores offered a