The profit wedge: key to successful retailing

Retailers have experienced a doubling in costs partly because of inflation and partly because of an increase in dollars spent per square foot. There is a mandatory requirement that the gross margin per square feet should rise in pace with the increasing costs or rise faster to get a good return on assets and equity. The experiences and strategies of Wal-Mart, Home Depot, The Gap and Nordstrom are analyzed.
Lately, a lot of attention has been focused on reengineering, activity based costing, downsizing, or just straight cost reduction. One might believe that retailers who have embraced these new concepts [...]