eCommerce Acceleration and Store Rationalisation - Apparel Retailer

About The Project

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The Problem

An apparel retailer with 200-plus staff was carrying multiple loss-making stores with high fixed costs and limited online maturity. Cash that should have been building future capability was being consumed by a physical footprint that was declining in relevance. Meanwhile, competitors were accelerating online and capturing the demand the retailer was losing.

The business was funding its own decline. Leadership knew a reset was necessary but needed a credible, structured path to execute it without destroying team confidence or operational stability in the process.

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What Winston Gray Did

Winston Gray conducted a store-level profitability review across the entire physical footprint, identifying which locations were genuinely viable and which were consuming resources without a path to profitability. A closure program was designed and executed with structured redundancy and change management support to minimise disruption to the people involved and maintain operational continuity through the transition.

With the cost base reset, investment was redirected into eCommerce - platform capability, trading cadence, and operational alignment across channels. The operating model was redesigned to support omnichannel delivery rather than treating online as a secondary channel.

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The Outcome

Overheads reduced by 18%. eCommerce revenue up 30% within six months. The business exited the transition with improved profitability, a leaner cost structure, and a platform for growth rather than a weight of overhead holding it back.

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Result 1

‍Overhead costs reduced by 18% through store closure program and cost base reset

Result 2

‍eCommerce revenue increased by 30% within six months of investment reallocation

Result 3

‍Business returned to profitability with reinvestment capacity directed toward growth rather than sustaining decline