"Certain pieces of the company as it exists now don't fit" that strategy, said Walter F. Loeb, president of Loeb Associates Inc., a retail consultancy.

They appoint "independent experts", such as retail consultancies, to make an assessment of a planning application.

Inflation in clothing and footwear for the final quarter of 2010 is forecast by Verdict, a retail consultancy, to hit 4.7 per cent.

This was subsequently expanded into retail and consumer consultancy The Chambers.

Kathy Deane, president of Tobe, a global fashion and retail consultancy, frames things a little differently.

Also, Asipac Projects, a retail consultancy commented, "Walmart prefers to be not known by its brand name until it's not in 100% control in a country.

Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, another retail consultancy, slashed his holiday sales forecast to a gain of 3 to 6.1 percent from 7.3 percent.

"They're doing a lot of things right," said John C. Williams, senior partner at the J.C. Williams Group, a retail consultancy.

"Most of these organizations are very lean today," said Walter F. Loeb, who has his own retail consultancy in New York.

According to Paco Underhill, chief executive of Envirosell, a New York-based retail consultancy, Tower's closing has been "absolutely devastating for the classical music community.