A water sample built Leslie’s retail engine: diagnose the problem, explain the fix, sell the supplies. Its Chapter 11 filing asks how much that expertise is worth when shoppers start comparing prices.

From a department-store training program to Petco, Party City and At Home, Brad Weston built a career around what customers want. Then came the harder question: what does it take to keep the store open?
The home-shopping veteran went dark, then returned with a smaller operating model and a familiar proposition: let someone show you why a product matters.