Father Knows Best

I find it both amusing and telling to see the timeline below of the 3 years leading up to the demise of Boscov’s – which filed Chapter 11 today. The punchline is that the founders of the business saw this coming. They cashed out in early ’06 – the same time private equity money was free, and the writing was on the wall for the apparel retail business heading into ’07 and beyond. Boscov’s is not alone in founders cashing out at the top. Goody’s, Chick’s Sporting Goods (before sale to Dick’s), as well as others. Whenever a founding family looks to sell 100 years of blood sweat and tears. Run. Fast.

Thanks to First Rain for directing me to several articles on the topic.