In an always-competitive market, retail, apparel and consumer product businesses must be vigilant about sustaining profitability and reducing costs. The professionals in J.H. Cohn’s Retail, Apparel and Consumer Products Industry Practice provide value-added services and indispensable insight to businesses of all sizes and a variety of sectors. We provide clients with the financial and industry insight necessary to succeed and prosper.
Retail, Apparel and Consumer Product Industry Snapshot
Retail, apparel and consumer product businesses are constantly rethinking their business models in an effort to keep up with rapid technology advances and shifts in global economic patterns. With shifts in the economy, come shifts in consumer purchasing patterns and therefore, the appropriate merchandising and inventory is key to the success of a business. Over the past years, numerous factors have affected businesses in the industry, including:
- Alternative sales channels
- Competition and consumer spending issues
- Distorted role of supplier vs. retailer
- Employee turnover
- Global expansion
- Industry consolidation
- Internet purchasing
- Location of manufacturing plants
- Seasonal profitability
- Supply chain management
- Technology advances
In general, retail, apparel and consumer product companies currently focus on:
- Adapting to demographics
- Centralized buying and merchandising
- Consolidation § Internet marketing
- Inventory control systems
- Multiple franchise agreements
- Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance and regulatory pressures
J.H. Cohn’s professionals draw on their real-world experience in the retail, apparel and consumer product industries to help organizations address their operational, financial and strategic challenges.
Customized Solutions for Retail Businesses
J.H. Cohn provides a wide spectrum of services for retail businesses. Because of our extensive experience with both middle-market organizations and multinational Fortune 1000 retailers, J.H. Cohn is able to identify areas in which clients could increase their revenue. A sample of services that we provide that has true, bottom-line impact for retailers include:
- Assessing issues that affect gross profit margin (i.e., store square footage)
- Benchmarking their performance and adopting best practices derived from our work with numerous retailers of all sizes
- Moving to the IPIC (Inventory Price Index Computation) LIFO method for tax purposes Capitalizing additional allowable costs in inventory to increase GAAP earnings
- Performing cost segregation studies to accelerate the depreciation deduction for tax purposes
- Providing insurance risk management consulting services, which have saved our retail clients on average 30% to 50% of their insurance costs
Customized Solutions for Apparel Businesses
Apparel companies seek guidance for issues such as consumer purchasing patterns, retail consolidation, inventory management and areas related to international trade. J.H. Cohn’s dedicated staff of professionals helps apparel companies achieve their business objectives. Our expertise includes:
- Branding and identity issues
- Competitive benchmarking
- Duty and freight minimization
- Executive/IT reporting
- International expansion
- Logistics consulting
The partners and staff in this industry practice have served apparel clients for their entire careers. Our in-depth involvement with this industry helps us serve as valued advisors to apparel companies, helping them in reaching their goals and making informed decisions. We can provide guidance every step of the way, from formatting financing and business plans, to providing audit and accounting services, developing succession plans, and if desired, advising on the sale of the business.
Customized Solutions for Consumer Products Businesses
J.H. Cohn helps consumer products companies define a strategic plan that will have a true bottom-line impact. Our consumer products professionals serve as a sounding board for financial and operational issues, helping clients to develop successful frameworks for growth. Our retail expertise provides additional insight on the issues consumer products businesses address in selling strategically to retail stores.
We are consulted on issues including:
- Benchmarking
- Branding
- Distribution networks
- Duty and freight minimization
- Expansion of product lines
- Financing alternatives
- Inventory management
- Licensing agreements
- Markdown and rebate analysis
Additional Services for Retail, Apparel and Consumer Product Companies
We create and provide customized solutions for our retail, apparel and consumer product clients including:
Audit and Accounting Services
Business Investigation Services - due diligence, litigation support, mergers and acquisitions and valuations
Capital Financing Assistance - extensive network of strategic alliances with lending/capital sources
Client Advocacy Services - hedge accounting, inventory capitalization and lease accounting
Corporate Governance and Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance - Section 404 compliance, corporate governance consulting, enterprise risk management, internal audit and IT security
Employee Benefits, Insurance and Risk Management Consulting Services - benefits and pension plan consulting, actuarial services, risk management and employee benefit consulting
Employee Benefit Plan Audits
Strategic and Operational Consulting - brand licensing, inventory management, merchandising and point of sale, performance improvement, and supply chain optimization
Tax Services - cost segregation studies, international tax services, and state tax nexus
Real Estate Consulting Services - advisory, management and transaction services
Technology Services - CRM and EPM implementation, training and support and system integration
Testimonials:
“J.H. Cohn has met or exceeded expectations. The J.H Cohn partners that I have associated with in connection with their engagements have had a significant amount of interaction with senior management and have provided outstanding professional services.”
David Edwab, Vice Chairman
Men’s Wearhouse, and Board Member, Aeropostale, New York & Co., Seven For All
Mankind, LLC (7 Jeans) and Stuart Weitzman Shoes
“J.H. Cohn was highly recommended by firms we respect, and they exceeded our already high expectations on our first audit. Built NY, Inc. considers J.H. Cohn a key part of our company’s ongoing success and we continue to be impressed by their firm expertise, their understanding of our business, and their people at all levels. Built’s first audit was thorough and accurate and went just as planned. Big thanks to the J.H. Cohn team.”
Mark Dilling, Vice President of Finance
Built NY, Inc.