Page 143 - 100 Great Business Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

DILLARD

Continued from page 127

ers, the firm is able to get inventory restocked in 12 days
or less. These firms tap into Dillard's information net-
work, track inventory levels, and give Dillard preferen-
tial treatment in refilling orders. "We'll jump through
hoops to do business with them," says Leonard
Rabinowitz, president of women's apparel maker, Carol
Little. The firm did $50 million in business with Dillard
in 1991, up from nothing five years previously.
Rabinowitz likes working with Dillard. "They have re-
ally good communications with their key vendors. If I
have a problem, I can pick up the phone and discuss it
with (president) Bill Dillard and he'll handle it on the
spot."

Finally, Dillard has a uniquely innovative centralized
approach to managing that defies many of the books on
management. Unlike most retailers who centralize ac-
counting and legal functions only, Dillard also central-
izes advertising, catalogs and merchandise buying. The
key to its success is that it distributes the merchandise
according to a store's individual needs. One store man-
ager observes, "If you need more merchandise in your
store, or more sales help, you never have to beg for it or
try to convince them with a 10-page memo. You just
make a phone cal]."

Source: Carol Hymowitz and Thomas F. O'Boyle, "A Way that Works: Two Disparate
Firms Find Keys to Success in Troubled Industries," Wall Street Journal, May 29, 1991,
pp. Al, A7.