As we get ready for the New Year, and the post-Holiday season slowdown settles in, here's a positive way for retailers to re-energize and re-focus their entire organization, whether one store or even a hundred. We learned this from one of our clients with nearly 50 stores widely scattered over 6 states. Each day, without fail, they would take time for what they called the "Corporate Cheer." You will see how it can be a fun addition to any retail business, no matter the size.
Here's how it works:
Earning the brief but powerful Corporate Cheer was a very big deal for the staff in those stores. (We saw it first hand when visiting a store that was on the receiving end.) Recognition and appreciation matter a lot! Just as important, it was a wonderful daily reminder for the corporate staff that it was the front-line people whose dedicated work was paying their salaries.
No matter how many stores you have, acknowledging and celebrating those "small successes" is the key. Especially after two years and counting of the pandemic, this can help inject new enthusiasm and optimism in your organization. It's an easy (and free) way to start making 2022 into the year you want it to be. Hip! Hip! Hooray!! Remember to celebrate!
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:
Another real challenge of 2021 is rearing its head: Whatever you used to do in terms of managing your staff likely will not work this year.
In the aftermath of the pandemics, lockdowns, stimulus payments, low unemployment, and minimum wage increases, finding and keeping good employees is even more daunting for independent retailers.
We recently learned of a restaurant with a kids menu which is quite unusual. Of course, having a kids menu is not unique. But here's what IS unusual about this one.
When kids are asked "What would you like to eat?", often their answers can range from "I don't know" to "I don't care."
But at this restaurant, here is what each all-too-familiar answer brings to the table:
The playing field has shifted dramatically under the feet of retailers. Merchandise orders placed months ago are now proving to be "too much stuff that consumers no longer want so much of," as was reported rather colloquially just 3 days ago. All this was summed up this way: "Retailers with slower inventory turns might find current conditions especially difficult to navigate." * Now, look at the chart at the top of the page. Without being dramatic, it may be a lifesaver for your business this year.
We know that retail startups are up, but alas, so too are retail failures; even higher than historical norms.
Yes, the headwinds for retailers right now are real, and plenty difficult. However, it turns out that the underlying causes of failures do not change; like cockroaches, they just endure!
Usually at this time of year, we would be encouraging you to remember that "the lull" is about to arrive. That is, that time span from Black Friday/Cyber Monday through early December is typically much slower for retailers. And then, come December 10th or so, the Christmas sprint begins! Ahh yes. That was then. And this is, well, 2020.
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