“It appears that the Grinch has stolen a substantial piece of Christmas.”
L.L. Bean president and CEO Chris McCormick in an email to 9,400 employees. The Maine-based catalog retailer expects its holiday sales to fall at least 10% short of plan. So McCormick is offering retirement incentives, contemplating layoffs, and reducing store openings from eight to two in the coming year. Just don’t call him Grinch. He’s running one of the quality retailers sure to survive.