Retail

The retail world—with its razor-thin margins and relentless big bets on fashions, trends and timing—has never been a haven for the faint of heart. Add digital technology disruption, emerging market opportunities and changing consumer trends to put more variables in flux than ever before. Bain works alongside leading retailers to develop and implement customized solutions that address today's challenges and tomorrow's opportunities.

What we do
In the past 10 years, Bain has completed more than 1,300 projects globally to help retailers tackle their top strategic, operational, financial and organizational issues.

We offer expert services in the following areas:

  • New concept and format development
  • Store portfolio optimization
  • Omni-channel strategy
  • Customer insights and segmentation
  • Category management, pricing and promotions strategies
  • Localization strategy
  • Store operations excellence
  • Sourcing strategy
  • Supply chain management
  • Integrated cost management
  • M&A advisory
  • International and emerging markets growth
Our clients include grocery chains, general merchandise stores, apparel retailers, convenience stores, drug chains, luxury retailers, restaurants, hotels, specialty retailers and e-tailers.
How we work
We help companies become more successful by identifying where and how to build the most value. We assist them in growing store networks, localizing assortments, building omni-channel capabilities, launching new formats or improving cost positions, to name a few.

Bain experts combine deep retail industry expertise with experience in all major regions and functional areas. They bring an external, practical perspective to industry challenges and opportunities using proven tools and rigorous, fact-based analysis. Our teams collaborate with clients to develop common objectives, define roles and responsibilities, propose recommendations and implement solutions.

Bain’s Private Equity group also has extensive experience in equity investments and in strategies for managing portfolios of businesses in the retail industry.
Client results
We share our clients' ambitions. We work to understand their reality and deliver true results—focusing on strategic decisions and practical actions. And we align our incentives with our clients' objectives, so they know we're in it together. Read the results stories below to learn how we've helped clients realize, and often exceed, their objectives.
Insights
We develop insights that work for our clients. Our approach and recommendations are highly customized and lead to practical actions. Below is a selection of our experts' perspectives on important issues—for our clients and their industries. Visit Bain Insights to read more.
Our team

We work as an integrated part of your team, from frontline to C-suite, to deliver true results and make the changes stick. We have a core group of senior retail focused experts that we can deploy across the globe.

  • Darrell

  • Darrell Rigby

    Head of Bain's Global Retail practice

    Boston

  • Josh

  • Josh Chernoff

    Head of Bain's Americas Retail practice

    Chicago

  • Marc-Andre

  • Marc-Andre Kamel

    Head of Bain's EMEA Retail practice

    Paris

  • Mike

  • Mike Booker

    Head of Bain's Asia Pacific Retail practice

    Singapore