The Freakonomics Radio Network (FRN) turned to Tiger Group for insights into “the going-out-of-business business.” Spurred by a spike in retail liquidations, FRN’s “The Economics of Everyday Things” podcast quizzed Bradley W. Snyder, executive managing director at Tiger Group, about what it takes to run an effective going-out-of-business sale.
Host Zachary Crockett noted that going-out-of-business sales (GOBs) have been on the upswing of late, with at least 51 major retailers filing for bankruptcy in 2024, up from 25 a year earlier.
“We’re running sales within an eight to 12-week sale term,” Snyder told Crockett. “Our job is to drive traffic as fast as we can. And I will tell you that we’ve never been busier.”
Colorado State University professor Zac Rogers kicked off the discussion (episode 80) by describing the role of inventory liquidations in the retail ecosystem. “When a company like Toys ‘R’ Us files for bankruptcy and decides to permanently close its doors, it has an obligation to recover as much money as possible to pay off its debts,” the professor explained. “One way a retailer does this is by selling off its inventory — all that stuff sitting on the shelves at its stores and warehouses.”
And that is when Tiger’s expertise in merchandising, data analytics and retail operations comes in. Over the past 20 years, the New York-based firm “has been involved in practically every major liquidation or store-closing project in North America,” Snyder told Crockett. The list includes Toys ‘R’ Us, Linens ‘N Things, Lord & Taylor, Nordstrom Canada and Sears Canada, to name a few.
Snyder described to Crockett how Tiger estimates the overall recovery for creditors, establishes initial pricing and both plans and markets GOBs. Tiger starts the liquidation process by running a detailed analysis of the retailer’s financials and inventory. This can include store walk-throughs by professionals like Snyder.
“I stand at the front door and the first thing I look at is the top shelves to see how crowded they are with products,” he explained. “If those are empty, then that tells me right away that they’re not getting shipped new goods.”
To give the audience further context, Crockett explained that “if a sale is managed successfully, it’s a good way for a store to go out in a blaze of glory.” That means liquidation firms must make sure “the store appears to be healthy and well-stocked … You don’t want customers seeing picked-over shelves and products scattered all over the floor. In many cases, a liquidator will actually bring in more inventory to protect against this.”
Indeed, when liquidating supermarkets Tiger restocks perishables around the perimeter, which can keep people coming in for longer and drive higher sales of packaged and canned items in the center. “But the most important part of getting people to buy things at a going-out-of-business sale is knowing how much of a discount to offer,” Snyder said.
Overall, the liquidation process is so efficient that even store furniture and fixtures will be sold in most GOBs. As Snyder explained to Crockett, “There’s never any merchandise left after a sale.”
The full podcast is available online: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/going-out-of-business-sales/.
