Returning the focus to fundamentals at BJ's

(Jodi Hilton for the Boston Globe)

Laura Sen, a Wakefield native, studied romance languages at Boston College before making the unlikely leap into retail as a department manager at Jordan Marsh in 1978. She joined BJ's Wholesale Club in 1989, and after losing out on the top job, Sen left the Natick company in 2003. Sen, 52, returned in 2007 and took the helm on Feb. 1 as chief executive of the country's third largest club chain. Sen recently spoke with Globe reporter Jenn Abelson.

How does it feel to take over during one of the worst economic crises?
We are fortunately in a business model that is well-positioned in a bad economy or a good economy. There's been a migration toward value in the retail world over the years. The value players are the winners. Do I have concerns about what the future may bring or what may happen to us? Sure, but we're very well positioned to not only survive but to grow.

Do you foresee any cuts in BJ's workforce or store closings?
For the moment, we're creating jobs. We just opened a club in Revere. But we're always looking for new efficiencies in our supply chain and club processes. We do not expect any job cuts at this time. That being said, we're very cautious about increased spending.

How long do you think the recession will last?
I wish I had a crystal ball. My guess is all of 2009 will be a tough year. We might see some light in a year from now. A lot rests on the administration and what kind of stimulus they can get that will reignite employment, housing, and the credit markets.

What is the best way to jump-start the economy - a spending stimulus, tax cuts, rebate checks?
A rebate check to somebody who is unemployed helps them for a very short time. What needs to happen - and it's the same approach we use here - is we need long-term sustainable measures that will create fertilizer for the ground so things can grow. We need systemic efforts - focusing on infrastructure improvements that will create jobs, education, and social programs that will help create jobs, and some of the tax measures will help create spending.

You were in Washington, D.C., last month for the inauguration of President Obama. What was that like?
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a place with a million happy people. I'm still glowing from it. I was awakened in my hotel at 6:30 in the morning by people cheering in the street. It was just a really moving experience.

Why did you leave BJ's after Michael Wedge was named chief executive in 2002?
I was kind of in the running for the same promotion. We had very different feelings about how to run the business and the direction of the company. When he ran the company, it didn't turn out to be a successful period.

What did you do after you left?
I ran my own consulting business. I mainly worked with Daymon Worldwide, a private label broker.

Why did you return to BJ's?
When Mike left in 2006, Herb [Zarkin] invited me to come back.

Did you have any hard feelings?
No. I'm very passionate about this business and the people and the potential. I thought I could help. I had an opportunity to come back and course correct.

What went wrong?
We were segmenting customers too narrowly to drive business decisions. The merchandise had grown so much that it was difficult for members to find what they wanted. We had strayed from wholesale club fundamentals - value, merchandise excitement, and efficiency.

Why haven't food prices dropped as the cost of gas has fallen?
It's a mixed bag. Grain-based commodities and ones like milk, eggs, butter have come down in price. With more packaged types of goods - paper towels, laundry detergent - we have not seen any broad retrenchment of pricing. Manufacturers could not pass on the inflationary costs as they happened so when they actually passed them on they had already been in the hole. Now that they've got that pricing, they want to try and make it stick.
What keeps you up at night? The competitive environment. Retailers get very aggressive to the point of driving prices down. Christmas was awful. It was insane the discounting that went on. In the club environment, we are very nimble and flexible. Our size can be an advantage, but you know bigger is better. We respect our competition. They are very good at what they do. Hopefully, we'll all have our piece of the pie.