Bianna Golodryga Goes Inside the Container Store

As one of the nation's most visible and highly-respected financial reporters, Bianna Golodryga has done more than a little reporting on the ups and downs of Wall Street-in fact, she even covered the World Economic Forum when it was held in Switzerland. But she's no stranger to more street-level financial reporting; in fact, for an ABC News series called "Secrets of America's Favorite Stores," Bianna Golodryga went behind-the-scenes of some of the most popular retail stores in the country, including The Container Store.

What may seem like a niche business is in fact thriving, reported Bianna Golodryga; the chain is especially successful in selling organizational tools for closets, something that has become something of a trademark for The Container Store. Bianna Golodryga spoke with some of the chain's leading executives and uncovered some of the secrets of what makes them so prosperous.

One of the most major components, she found, is in the scripted dialogue that store associates use to engage customers. Bianna Golodryga reported that Container Store employees are discouraged from using more traditional lines like "May I help you?"-instead, they try to engage the customer on a deeper level, something that The Container Store executives believe strengthens their sales.

Indeed, Bianna Golodryga discovered that a big part of what sets the company apart is the emphasis they place on employee training. Associates at The Container Store are trained for some 240 hours, compared to the typical 12 of other retail stores.

Bianna Golodryga has filed similar reports retail chains including Costco and The Gap, just one example of what makes her an invaluable and integral member of the ABC News team. After studying theater arts and acting at Houston's prestigious High School for Performing and Visual Arts-the same school attended by Beyonce-- Bianna Golodryga moved into finance when she was in college, and enjoyed a brief career in that field before ultimately moving into television. She began her career in journalism as a producer for the CNBC network, having been inspired by the financial reporting style of Maria Bartiromo.

Her work with that network quickly drew praise from across the industry, and got the attention of ABC News. She was recruited by that network and immediately became a favorite on-air journalist, covering economic and business affairs for a variety of ABC's news programs. She has co-anchored the weekend edition of Good Morning America ever since Kate Snow left the program in May 2010.

Bianna Golodryga Minds the Gap

In her role as financial reporter and business correspondent, first for CNBC and then for ABC News, Bianna Golodryga has covered the 2008 elections, the World Economic Forum, the crises of the house and automobile industries, and even the terrorist attacks of 9/11. But she's done other kinds of reporting, as well-including one story on the marketing secrets of clothing retail giant The Gap.

Reporting as part of ABC News' "Inside America's Favorite Stores" series, for which she also went behind the scenes of Costco and The Container Store, Bianna Golodryga spoke with executives of The Gap about what makes their business so successful. She discovered that a large part of their success can be attributed to their giant storefront displays, which are designed to be as bold and as eye-catching as possible.

Additionally, Bianna Golodryga uncovered the secrets of the store's layout. For instance, The Gap displays their jeans on a long, narrow table, where customers are likely to touch them-because customers who touch the product are more likely to make a purchase. They also place women's jeans beside the fitting rooms, which is where women want them.

Bianna Golodryga's report was just one of her contributions to the ABC series; she also investigated the methods Costco employs to maintain low prices, and the trade secrets of The Container Store.

Though Russian-born and Texas-bred Bianna Golodryga got her start in the financial sector, she is known to many as a television journalist, where she has enjoyed meteoric success. Though she began with the CNBC network as a producer, it was not long before she shifted into an on-camera role, where she quickly won the attention of ABC News-and gained an enthusiastic proponent in TV news veteran Diane Sawyer, who was very vocal in singing her praises.

The ABC News team recruited her in 2007, where she won the respect of viewers for her work as a business correspondent and as a regular substitute anchor for Good Morning America. In 2010 she was tapped as the full-time co-anchor for the Good Morning America weekend edition, upon the departure of former anchor Kate Snow.

Bianna Golodryga is a trusted name in news, having provided insight into tumultuous economic scenarios ranging from the banking and credit crises to the auto and housing industry dives. She was also integral in masterminding ABC News' use of social media in covering the 2008 election cycle.