Corporate as well as country managers' ability to control local store operations was enhanced by the use of standardized reporting systems. Persistently subpar performance generally triggered extensive analysis followed by attempts to fix the problem(s) identified rather than market exit However, a Pull & Bear franchised store in China had shut down during 2000 and, in early 2002, the prospects for the Argentine operation-struggling because of 35% tariffs and advance tax payment requirements even before the country's acute macroeconomic crisis looked grim.