In 2013, Ashley Stewart was on the brink of bankruptcy — its second in a little over three years. Decades of operating losses and rampant turnover in both the employee base and ownership group had cemented a fearful culture. The fast-turning nature of the company’s inventory and the constant specter of insolvency undermined long-term investments and strategic planning. The company did not even have WiFi at its corporate headquarters — a dark, converted warehouse that time had forgotten. The nascent e-commerce effort, viewed suspiciously by most in the company, operated independently on an antiquated platform.