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The 7 biggest comeback stories in retailhttps://www.businessinsider.in/slideshows/miscellaneous/the-7-biggest-comeback-stories-in-retail/slidelist/72957410.cms2019-12-24T19:35:58+05:30

The 7 biggest comeback stories in retail

Dec 24, 2019, 19:35 IST

Abercrombie & Fitch was one of the hottest clothing brands for teens — until it wasn't. Throughout the 2010s, the brand struggled to connect with young people, culminating in its CEO's controversial comments about plus-sized shoppers in 2013.

Sources: Forbes, Business Insider, Business Insider, Business Insider

Abercrombie & Fitch was one of the hottest clothing brands for teens — until it wasn't. Throughout the 2010s, the brand struggled to connect with young people, culminating in its CEO's controversial comments about plus-sized shoppers in 2013.

Sources: Forbes, Business Insider, Business Insider, Business Insider

Since then, the brand has undergone an overhaul, doubling down on its steadily growing Hollister brand and converting its traditionally dark and fragrance-infused stores into lighter, smaller, and less intense models.

Sources: Forbes, Business Insider, Business Insider, Business Insider

Since then, the brand has undergone an overhaul, doubling down on its steadily growing Hollister brand and converting its traditionally dark and fragrance-infused stores into lighter, smaller, and less intense models.

Sources: Forbes, Business Insider, Business Insider, Business Insider

And the effort appears to have truly paid off. The company's sales have been up and down, but consumers do appear to be back on board in a big way. A 2018 survey from YouGov found that shoppers' impressions of Abercrombie underwent a significant positive spike between 2016 and 2018.

Sales of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer were in a free fall throughout the latter half of the 20th century, and even well into the early 2000s.

But a savvy marketing campaign helped turn the once-overlooked beer into a hipster favorite by the 2010s.

Today, Pabst is the eighth largest beer company in the world. Its sales were down in 2019, but it's still a far cry from where the business was back in the day.

Starbucks is known as an international coffee giant, but in the late 2000s, it certainly didn't look the part. In 2008 and 2009, the company laid off 6,700 people and shuttered 900 cafés.

The issue was that the company had overstretched itself, tripling from 5,000 stores to 15,000 in a short amount of time.

Howard Schultz returned to the company to serve as CEO in 2008, closing stores and ensuring that the brand wasn't overextending itself.

Source: Business Insider

In 2018, Inspire Brands was formed. It would ultimately serve as a holding company for Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic Drive-In, Jimmy John's, and Rusty Taco. But this mega-fast-food corporation would never have formed if not for the turnaround of Arby's.

In 2013, Paul Brown took over as CEO of lagging fast-food chain Arby's. By 2016, things were looking up in terms of sales. In 2018, Brown would become the CEO of Inspire Brands.

Business Insider named Brown as one of its top executives transforming the world of retail, for not only his work with Arby's, but for his efforts in turning around its sister chain, Buffalo Wild Wings.

BWW has since introduced a new menu and revamped employee uniforms. As for Inspire Brands, Brown predicts that it will continue to pursue more acquisitions going forward.

Applebee's was riding high in the 1990s, establishing itself as a popular fast-casual option for diners. Then the 2008 recession hit, and the party was largely over for the restaurant chain.

But in the 10 years since, Applebee's has managed to bounce back in a major way, boosting sales after its acquisition by Dine Brands.

Thanks to popular drink deals and an approach that emphasized the restaurant's non-trendy, inexpensive roots, Applebee's largely turned things around as a business in 2018.

McDonald's is widely known as a colossus even among the giants of the fast-food world. But in 2015, the golden arches had hit a wall when it came to growing sales.

Within two years, McDonald's had undergone a transformation in order to tackle the problem.

By emphasizing new menu choices with high-quality ingredients — some of which it has since discontinued, such as Signature Crafted Sandwiches — while also continuing to offer steep discounts, McDonald's was able to break out of its slump.

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