As part of its growth plans for Shopko, Sun Capital Partners planned to merge the two distinct department store entities that it owned, implementing Shopko systems in former Pamida stores and converting the legacy Pamida locations to a new Shopko Hometown format. Sun Capital looked to us as a partner to lay the groundwork for the transition, executing a long-term, modified store closing and customer transition program.

Because of the extended time-frame, Gordon Brothers was able to gain early access to inventory information, identify slow-moving goods and introduce a customized merchandising and discounting program in advance of the closing sales to maximize recovery values. We also conducted a rent reduction program for the new locations, negotiating directly with roughly 90 individual landlords to reduce operating expenses for the reformatted stores. The modified closing program also involved a customer retention program to support the new store openings and transition business to Shopko Hometown.  The results of the six-phase project exceeded expectations and seamlessly supported the reformatting program by delivering 172 clean, empty stores for rebranding and monetizing over $210 million of inventory and fixtures.