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"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.
Similarly, Michael Brandt of Inovium expects "weakening growth in discretionary retail (electronics, fashion, home furnishings.)"
Of course, for many retailers, October always brings anxiety about inventory levels for the upcoming holiday season.
Will we have enough? Will it be the “right” merchandise?
Much of their attention is on meeting sales goals, and often, preserving margin. (And too often, not losing sales...)
But this year, given all of the professional concerns about the economy, the #1 priority for retailers should be the level of the ending inventory on December 31.
Here’s why:
The lower the ending inventory, the lower the debt and/or the higher the cash, dollar for dollar.
The November-December selling season is an excellent opportunity to clean out your inventory of slow or non-selling merchandise. Shoppers want deals; give them what they want.
A clean, low inventory at the end of the year is the best preparation there is for a strong first quarter of the new year.
Mid-October is the perfect time to start that heightened focus on your inventory.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
No, Not About People This Time While we typically think of people as recipients of recognition – and we trust you already are doing that, right? – this is a different challenge. Ready? Here we go! Of your merchandise, which products are Award Winners?!
The Retail Owners Institute® makes it easy for you to get a quick financial health assessment of your own stores, as well as the retail industry, and every vertical within it. From farm stores to apparel stores, wine stores to tire dealers, gift shops to convenience stores; all 45 verticals. Here's how to get started.
Quite a picture, isn't it? Which ratios are trending up? Down? Any suggest some shaky times ahead? Any surprises? But most importantly, how will yours compare?
Incredible value! 👀
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