Kwame Spearman at Tattered Cover: Reinventing Brick-and-Mortar Retail

Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details. The case spotlights Kwame Spearman's career-shifting decision to leave a NYC-based consulting job to return to his hometown of Denver, Colorado, and take over an iconic independent bookstore, The Tattered Cover. The case lays out ways Spearman envisions a new approach to retail. It highlights challenges that can face individuals when they step into a substantive leadership role for the first time. It also examines how local businesses respond to significant threats from online and big box retailers.