Procter and Gamble is trying to adapt the entire company to a Silicon Valley model, all about speed, but this isn't the technology industry. Speed can't be the most important thing. Catering to an aging population educated about nutrition, health food chain stores are building in towns beyond traditional health food markets. The typical customer is an educated female baby boomer. For that money, you are buying into a lifestyle.
Retailers earn higher margins on clothing they can get at discount.
There is a constant flow of excess inventory between retailers seeking deals and clothing manufacturers that overestimted demand. And they can act anonymously. Donna Karan might not want her brand sold at Wal-Mart so she can block them from seeing the listing. A retailer in Kansas City may not want competitors to know it ordered too many Versace hot pants. Instead, Wilson is going to use that money to sign up 1,500 club pros to its staff program.