Report Criticizes Management of Smithsonian Retail Stores

A confidential report by an outside consulting firm hired by the Smithsonian Institution says that the museum stores are poorly run and the business unit that oversees them is in “substantial turmoil,” reports The Washington Post.

The report says the 2006 operating profits from the Smithsonian’s stores were considerably less than industry benchmarks for similar specialty shops.

BerglassGrayson, a management consulting company, was hired to determine whether the Smithsonian should replace the business unit with an outside vendor and has recommended that the organization explore that option. The consultants said that the museum retail unit is bogged down by inexperience and too many employees. Plans are under way for the Smithsonian to search for new retail management within the coming months.

Gary M. Beer, chief executive of Smithsonian Business Ventures, criticized the report as unfair because it compared the organization’s retail operations with those of major companies, such as Urban Outfitters.

(Free registration is required to view this article.)