Attacks on bloated cost structures, closure of unprofitable stores, fire sales, opening new stores and glitzy marketing campaigns, all can ensure a brief second moment in the sun. But they don't last if the brand is over the hill. In the US, Sears, Gap and Kmart are classic examples of moribund retailers that just a few years ago were being touted as poster children of the turnaround. Wesfarmers can avoid this fate with Coles if it restores the latter to an efficient, boring old middle-market supermarket chain with no grandiose pretensions. With sufficient investment in stores and service, it has an excellent chance of accomplishing that.