Maybe you are aware of this. We sure are! Way too many retailers are just fumbling along, paying everybody else but not themselves. Worse yet, way too many retailers are failing, going bankrupt, even in these "good" times for the economy.
And when a retail business fails, it affects a host of people and entities. Not only do employees lose their jobs, and landlords lose a tenant, and suppliers lose a customer, and a community loses a retailer...the owner(s) oftentimes lose their house, car, savings, everything.
Failure is sickening.
Why do businesses fail?!
They fail financially. They run out of cash.
How did that happen?
They didn't see their alternatives, their options, in advance.
They didn't know that every retailer, not just "the Big Guys," can easily do "What if...?" projections. All on their own, without having to ask their bookkeeper, or accountant, or anyone else.
Funny, but those that do those kinds of projections don't fail!
Instead, they see where changes are needed.
Then they compare the financial outcomes of different adjustments, and decide what changes to make.
Ahh, what a concept! All based on the fact that if you can see the brick wall ahead, you probably won't drive into it. Granted, doing financial projections will not save every business. But seeing the brick wall ahead, when you still have time to adjust, does have its advantages! More about The ROI's eight proprietary online calculators for retail financial projections.
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.
Each of us, our households, businesses and communities are in different stages of shutdown due to the coronavirus. While we cannot speak to when this will end, we do have some ideas for dealing with the "fog of uncertainty" that hangs over us all.
The Retail Owners Institute® has developed a retail strategy for "Inventory Management Going Forward." As we often do, it was recapped as an unassuming chart (see above) identifying the Five Stages of Merchandise Mix Management, from "Before COVID-19" to the "New Normal?"
Remember thinking that Amazon was the most disruptive force to happen to retailing? (Well, at least since Walmart was the most disruptive....) However, the coronavirus pandemic eclipses them all. No matter where you live or do business, it is not whether, just when, COVID-19 will impact your life. Disruption with a capital D!
YOUR GOAL: QUICKLY GET TO A FIRST DRAFT. Face it. Sales are dropping. By how much? For how long? Nobody knows for sure. But, you can make some assumptions, some educated guesses. Put those into the 3-in-1 Cash Flow Calculator.
These totally volatile times cause a lot of opinions and fears to be swirling around. Seeing "what if...?" can be very helpful. All in just minutes. On your own.
Some thoughts from Nordstrom leadership that are spot on!
That's what Nordstrom President and Chief Brand Officer Pete Nordstrom told Puget Sound Business Journal columnist Patti Payne on April 23, 2020. And what he succinctly stated is exactly the challenge – and opportunity – that is confronting all retail owners. In order to answer whether you should re-open once you can, you first must be very confident in WHAT kind of retail operation you will be re-opening. The only certainty of the aftermath of the pandemic is that everything will be different. Given that, what better time to re-imagine your business?
Incredible value! 👀
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