ABSTRACT
Examining the literature on the future of retailing over the past twenty years makes fascinating reading. Who, for instance, would have predicted the demise of W.T. Grant and Robert Hall? Who would have foreseen the loss of stature of A&S (Abraham and Strauss), the one-time leader in the Federated chain? Who among us can honestly say that the success of the catalogue outlet was preordained, or that K-mart would out-distance all comers in the discount field? Who, indeed-and yet couldn’t some of these situations have been foreseen with some degree of accuracy if one had had some honest foresight and an insider’s knowledge of the businesses in question?
