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BIOGRAPHY OF THOMAS W. YAKE | |||||||
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Mr. Yake has over 30 years in the retail industry. He has experience in all levels of retail management, starting his career as a clerk and leaving the industry as a vice president of loss prevention for a retailer doing more than 3 billion dollars in annual revenue. Mr. Yake founded the firm in 1988 and operates offices in Kennebunk, Maine and Indianapolis, Indiana. The practice was launched initially as an executive search firm, finding suitable candidates to solve the complex business issues facing troubled and/or expanding retail companies. As the result of Mr. Yake's advocacy work for shareholder protection issues, specifically relating to the need for an industry standard for measuring shrinkage in the retail business, the firm has evolved today with its largest client focus being institutional investors, law firms, and the United States Government/Internal Revenue Service. For the past three years Mr. Yake has been serving as a consultant to the Internal Revenue Service, and is considered an "expert" on the topic of shrinkage in the retail industry by the United States Tax Court. In that capacity, Mr. Yake has done extensive research on the topic of shrinkage in the retail industry dating back to the turn of the century. As the result of that research, Mr. Yake has identified the lack of an industry standard for shrinkage as a primary cause for retail business failures. Mr. Yake has consulted to nearly every major retail reorganization in Chapter 11, including Ames/Zayre, Revco D.S., Best Products, and Stuarts Department Stores. Significant engagements involving shareholder derivative actions against Leslie Fay and Woolworth were successfully resovled. Engagements with the Internal Revenue Service regarding shrinkage as a tax deductible expense include: Dayton Hudson Corp. & Subsidiaries: Target, Mervyns, and Daytons Department Stores, Docket No. 21217-91, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., & Subsidiaries, Docket No. 27022-93. Current shareholder litigation is pending with law firms involving Caldor.
Yake & Associates, Inc. exists as a resource for independent research into matters of business abuse in the retail industry. We have more than 30 years experience in all levels of management in that industry. During the past decade, we have served as consultants in nearly every significant retail reorganization, played a major role in shareholder derivative actions, and provided expert testimony and analysis regarding the issue of "shrinkage" for several Internal Revenue Service cases and written opinions to the United States Tax Court. WHY RETAIL BUSINESSES FAIL The past decade has witnessed a record number of retail business failures. Some of the most notable: Revco Drug Stores, Ames/Zayre, Crazy Eddie Electronics, Phar-Mor Drug Stores, Leslie Fay, Merry-Go-Round, Hills Department Stores, Macy's, Roses, Grossman's Home Improvement, McCrory's, Caldor and the list is still growing. BUSINESS ABUSE IS A LEADING FACTOR IN RETAIL BUSINESS FAILURES: OVERSTATING INVENTORY ROBS SHAREHOLDER VALUE WITHOUT A TRACE. The inventory of a retail business is (normally) the largest asset on their balance sheet. It is also the most difficult to control and account for properly. Most retail business failures had one common denominator: The inventory was overstated; thereby robbing shareholders of value without any noticeable trace from traditional financial reporting sources, e.g., annual reports, SEC filings and even their own inhouse accounting systems. Other contributing factors include:
Contact us to learn about other contributing factors.
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Tom Yake is currently the managing partner of Yake & Associates, Inc.,
a discrete incident management firm that specializes in the area of
loss control and asset protection in the retail industry.