Fewer Products Signal Increased Corporate Efficiency: Karl Smith

The pandemic taught corporate America a valuable lesson: variety is not necessarily a good thing.

Disruptions to supply chains that accompanied the global lockdowns meant companies could no longer provide the extensive range of goods that customers had become accustomed to before Covid-19. But even though supply strains have mostly disappeared, businesses are keeping their downsized offerings largely in place, becoming more efficient and helping to make the economy stronger and more durable.

The Wall Street Journal detailed how furniture retailer Malouf now sells beds and bedding in a fraction of the colors it did a few years ago, while ...