PERSPECTIVES

Related Articles

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  Good Help Hard to Find? Take the Hint!

  As the Holiday Season approaches, finding good help promises to be especially challenging for retailers this year. 
  
  Then, we read "10 Things to Know to Get And Keep Retail Jobs," a to-the-point commentary from Bob Phibbs*, who specializes in retail sales training. 
  
  Here are his Top Ten recommendations for prospective retail employees:  

  • "Performance is Key"
  • "Treat Customers with Respect"
  • "Go the Extra Yard"
  • "Be on Time"
  • "Don't Gripe About the Hours"
  • "Be Flexible"
  • "Don't Be a Drag" 
  • "Be a Team Player"
  • "Respect the Rules"
  • "A Cut in Hours is a Sign"

• Dealing with Your Landlord? This Is Better Than Begging!

  Let's assume your stores have been closed for weeks now. 

  We recognize how conscientious you are. So, after paying what you can to your employees (and yourself), the next most-worrisome dilemma is your rent.

  • How best to get some immediate relief from each month's lease payment?
  • And you wonder, what would be the best way to negotiate with your landlord?

  As you likely have discovered, a common choice for many landlords is to offer to defer your payments. But that means taking on more debt, as those payments are only being postponed to a later point in time. 
  
  You need a better solution than that.

• Now, Set Your #1 Holiday Goal

  "Retailers are sitting on a pile of goods. Now the question is, will the U.S. holiday shopper bite?" reported Jennifer Williams in the Wall Street Journal. 

  • "The risk heading into the crucial holiday shopping season is that inflation-wary shoppers won't spend as much or will buy fewer items because prices are higher," she noted.

  Similarly, Michael Brandt of Inovium expects "weakening growth in discretionary retail (electronics, fashion, home furnishings.)"

  • "Consumers may pull back on big-ticket items, delay refresh cycles, or trade down in brands."
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  Make Sure Your Store Is "Instagram-able"!

  As your stores are able to re-open after the coronavirus shutdowns, how they look tells a powerful story. And for you, a great opportunity.
  
  This is no time to try to go back to normal, back to business-as-usual. Nor to simply have all kinds of protective shields in your store. While necessary, how welcoming is that?
  
  Instead, this actually IS a second chance to make a good first impression! Take full advantage!

• 

  The Gift of Your Time Goes to...?

  There's a very important annual job for you, the owner, and all of your senior staff. It's vital, and it involves your presence.
  
  The pressures are mounting on your stores, and in particular, your front line staff. 

  • Noticed all the "help wanted" signs in stores, coffee shops, restaurants? It's not just you; lots of (other) businesses are having a tough time with finding and keeping good help. 
    
    In fact, a nearby McDonald's posted a notice on its front door acknowledging that they were understaffed due to no-shows, and encouraging (imploring?) customers to be considerate to the people behind the counter who are there to serve them.
     
  •  Meanwhile, the deadlines for online orders to arrive before Christmas are fast approaching. This will lead to a surge in in-store shoppers. And more demands on your front-line staff.

• Owners: Has Your Renaissance Begun?

  This is, after all, The Retail OWNERS Institute. We long have specialized in alerting, coaxing, and applauding retail owners worldwide. 
  
  Today's message is a major heads-up. 
  
  Keeping pace with the relentless changes in retailing has never been easy. Retailers know that constant adjustments are demanded. 
  
  Then, the three pandemics of 2020 happened: COVID; the economic meltdown; the social unrest.  And life changed modestly or enormously for almost everyone, including owners of retail businesses.