Agreed. I don't think their model is fundamentally broken. Just...

Agreed. I don't think their model is fundamentally broken. Just a rotten set of circumstances that has given rise to the hard decision to close those stores. I see these extreme measures as an unavoidable response to an existential threat. In time, I think we'll see a renewed targeted store expansion, but it may not be to the same extent as the past and it will take time to rebuild that level of lost capacity through other channels.

Skroo doesn't strike me as the sentimental type, but I cannot help but feel for him and the team for firstly having to take these extreme existential steps and then the prospect of having to rebuild the physical presence when the dust settles. It must be a bitter pill to swallow when the crisis was not of their making. That's business, though...

One potentially significant benefit I think will come out of all of this will be that the jarringly quick forced restructure and paring back should hopefully provide management with a reasonably solid base in which to shape the business to target growth trends for the next 10+ years. Retail stores might not feature as heavily, but I don't see them going the way of the dinosaur within that time frame. That's all big picture long-term stuff though and doesn't really apply to the near term vals.