An idea that saved a business

The General Manager of a large Department Store sat in his study one night, puffing away at a big black cigar, with a real worried expression upon his face. Things were not right down at the Store.Two months previous he had accepted the position as General Manager, and it had been gradually dawning upon him that he was waging a losing fight. The Store had an equipment and over-head based upon a total annual business of seven million dollars and was barely doing four.