Analysing retail failure from an historical perspective: A case study of A. Goldberg & Sons plc

Abstract

Organisational failure has been considered from various perspectives in the academic literature, but there has been less focus on the causes of retail failure. This paper considers the case of A. Goldberg and Sons plc, a retail organisation which, prior to its demise in 1990, had grown from a single Glasgow store in 1908 to a chain of over 100 outlets. Drawing on annual reports, interviews with former directors, and the contents of a company archive, the paper provides evidence of the key factors and decisions that led to the firm's failure. Various internal and external pressures, including over-expansion into new retail space and the general economic downturn, effected Goldberg's ‘failure’.

Notes

1. Dansk was a ‘full service furniture retailer’; Room Service was a company set up to lease furniture to public houses and restaurants.

2. Interest rates were set by the Treasury and not, as is the case at the time of writing, by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England.