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This is a fable about a small fruit stand and it is all about understanding inventory turn and how inventory turnover can help you make more profit with the same invenstment.
The-Fruit-Stand-A-Fable-About-Inventory-Turnover.php
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There are three different types of inventory planning that retail business can engage in. The first is top down planning. In this scenario decisions are made at a high level and drilled down in to the planning process. The downside to this is that planning is driven based on management’s expectations or even the desired profits needed to show stakeholders. Hopefully it would be guided in some measure on past performance. Forced increases or planned decreases are not necessarily driven by market conditions. Decisions are made at a high level where
Retail-Consultant-Approaches-To-Inventory-Planning.php
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increase sales in your store despite low traffic
Retail-Consultant-Increased-Sales-In-Spite-of-Low-Traffic.php
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Every retailer has a "secret" expense. It doesn't even show up as a line item on your P&L statement, but it may be costing your more than your rent!
Retail-Consultant-Every-Retailers-Secret-Expense.php
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Often, I am asked by both new and seasoned retail business owners: How can I stay organized, get everything done which needs doing,
and not fall behind and lose control?
It all boils down to better time management, and continually developing your time management skills. Here are a few tips for better time
management:
Time-Management-Tips-For-Retailers.php
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How important is branding for a retail store? Your image is your brand, and whether your retail branding is a friend or foe depends on how you design it, develop it, and nurture it.
Retail-Branding.php
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Here is the guide for what to multiply the cost on an item by, in order to arrive at a desired or target markup percentage.
Retail-Markup-Formulas-Guide.php
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Open Apology To All Retailer Clients I fell victim to the doom and gloom of the so-called economic crisis Both Obama and McCain and the news media lashed us with fear
Open-Apology-To-All-Retailer-Clients.php
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This is a primer on basic retail math, retail math formulas used in determining markups, markdowns, inventory costs, gross margin, other retail math terms
Retail-Consultant-Basic-Retail_Math.php
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We often talk of independent retailers to differentiate them from chain stores. The term independent carries a lot of significance, especially for consultants working with them to improve the bottom line. Many of these businesses are owned and operated by the same individual which gives that person the authority to make decisions quickly. They are truly independent from answering to anyone else in the organization. This independence can be both a blessing and a curse.
Retail-Consultant-How-Independent-Is-Independent.php
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understanding retail turnover To many retailers,inventory turn is one of the most confusing concepts in the retail business
Retail-Consultant-Understanding-Retail-Turnover.php
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My favorite expression about running a retail business is that Retail is Detail, the sum of doing a lot of little things right. One of the little things that you can do right, really costs so little and means so much. This expression comes from Herb Wise. Herb owned a Men’s shop in Berea, Ohio. He could have written the book on customer service because he cared about his clients and treated them as friends. He had a great disposition and really loved being around people. Herb was also the
Retail-Consultant-Costs-So-Little.php
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As retailers, we are about to put another season behind us. Now is a good time to take a hard look at the markdowns you are taking and about to take.
There is something to be learned, and something to build on, as new deliveries for transitional and early Fall will be at your back doors before you know it.
As you scan the merchandise that will be sold on sale, ask why these?
Retail-Consultant-Where-Are-You-Going-This-Fall.php
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The following 16 rules for success in retailing have been borrowed from Bob Parson, founder of Go Daddy.com which, as you may know, is one of the most successful domain registrars in the world. They are Bob Parson’s 16 Rules for Success. He credits them with enabling him to grow from humble youth to the empire-builder he is today. We feel they apply to any entrepreneur, including independent retail business owners.
Retail-Consultant-16-Rules-For-Retail-Success.php
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Better Direct Mail Marketing Tips for Retailers
10 Design Tips to Boost Response
The game in direct mail marketing is still response. So, do not sweat the postal increases- just boost your response. Consider the following design tips:
1. Get 'em involved. Guaranteed to improve response. Use stickers, scratch off areas, anything that makes the mailer interactive. If there is a drawing, make sure you have a "second chance" drawing, and use these leads to build your database
2. Try a new look. Before you gut the copy on your tired old mailer, try a design change. It could be all it needs is a face lift, not a complete makeover. Try a new envelope first.
3. What's in a name? Everything. If it is possible, personalize your mailer by incorporating the addressee s name. Everybody loves to see their name, but be judicious- using someone’s name every other word starts to look like one of those sweepstakes letters.
4. Keep 'em awake. Sameness is boring. If you send out a consistently timed mailer, (which, by the way, is an excellent way to build recognition) don't send out the same mailer month after month. But wait... don't change it too much, either. Try changing the ink colors. That may be enough to break up the monotony. Another idea is to make your mailer seasonal with appropriate colors for seasons.
Retail-Consultant-Direct-Mail-Marketing-Tips-for-Retailers.php
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If I had to pick one character trait that I think is a "must have" in order to be successful in any endeavor, it would be persistence. In fact, it seems to be the one trait that is the dominant trait in every single, super-successful individual I know. I believe it to be the one trait that any retailer, indeed any ordinary person, can use to become extraordinary ("extra-ordinary").
Retail-Consultant-Value-of-Persistance.php
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Retailers benefit from Direct Mail Marketing
Retail-Consultant-Retailers-benefit-from-Direct-Mail-Marketing.php
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Are your retail salespeople driving business- or are they just along for the ride? Just as no specialty store retailer today can afford to open the store and wait with arms folded for customers to flock in, neither can we afford sales people who are not helping to drive business into the store
Retail-Consultant-Are-Your-Sales-People-Driving-Business.php
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The retail merchandising philosophy upon which a successful store’s strategy is built is a simple one. It all evolves around two words – and those two words are “What’s new”.
In order for a retailer to have a lot of “What’s New” at the right time, in the right store, and also to be able to pay for “What’s New”, you must have the ability to accurately predict sales in each classification, or category, of merchandise in each store. Then, you must be able to determine the proper amount of inventory to have on hand each month to achieve those sales – profitably.
Having too little of a particular group of merchandise on hand results in lost sales. Having too much leads to excessive and/or unbalanced stock, lousy cash flow, nasty markdowns, and sooner or later, lost profit.
Retail-Consultant-Merchandising-Whats-New.php
