Random Thoughts and Notes

Rule #1 The customer is always right! Sorry, nope…In fact a lot of times the customer(s) is/are wrong. BUT it is our job to make it right for them!!! What will that take? A discount, fire an employee who was rude, they ask for crazy things and the answer will always change. Sometimes losing that customer might be the best answer. Rare but possible. You’ve probably been there.

Rule #1 Markup is overrated. What truly matters is the selling price, because then you’ve MADE a sale and then it’s about MARGIN not markup. Strive for excellent markup but margin pays the bills!!

Rule #1 Inadequate inventory levels and the lost sales that occur are the single costliest mistake retailers make. It’s this simple, if you don’t have it and your competition does, even for more money, you lose sales. Customers want it and they want it NOW! Do not be out of stock for the items your customers are coming to you for. I think this quote came from Paco Underhill’s book “Why We Buy.” It was hanging on the door to my dad’s office. Excellent book to read.

Rule #1 You can’t sell the first one or the last one. Not in every instance for the first but almost always for the last. When you receive a display or dump of 12 new items and you put them out, take out 2 or 3 and let the customer think that this is a tried-and-true item. Customers need an incentive to buy and just seeing others have bought is enough. For the last one or two, if you didn’t reorder it, how long has it been around? Maybe you can reorder based on your turn (Oh what lost sales do to our business!) or it’s been on markdown for a while, or the vendor just stopped carrying it. Is the answer just to take it out of inventory and throw it out or donate it to charity?

Rule #1 The customer will always ask for what you don’t have and as soon as you bring it in no one will buy it. Then after you mark it down and get out, the requests start coming in again.  Honestly, I have not seen a way to deal with this. If have the answer, please call me and let’s get the answer out there!

Rule #1 Wherever you are working in the store people will gather. Working with a box of new or reordered merch by your side? I bet your customers are kind of hanging around to see what’s coming out. Newness sells. Excitement sells. Engage your customer and show them what you’re doing. The catch 22 of “I don’t get enough done because I help customers all day” is a sure sign of success! On a side note, those that avoid you are possibly thieves. Sorry.

Rule #1 Newness sells. That’s it-it’s that simple.

Rule #1 always more to come……

Great Quotes

“retail is detail” A quote attributed to James Gulliver. The founder of Argyll Foods, one of the United Kingdom's largest retail businesses. I always thought it was Gordon Segal-the found of Carte & Barrel.

 Glossary:

~Merch–Short for merchandise.

~Newness-Self explanatory.

~Shopable-How one can shop or maneuver through the store or access the merch, as in “is it shopable?”

~Re-shop or Put Backs-Items found out of place from where they belong. You may call it something else.

~Tear up-The amount of packaging that gets ruined by being on the sales floor for a period of time or the amount of re-shop that occurs throughout the day. When it’s really busy the store gets torn up.

~Shopworn-Old merch that has been handled a lot. See above.

~TDH-Tom, Dick and Harry’s. Your everyday selling items, neither leaders nor laggards but contribute profit and help turn rate.

~Dogs-Non turning merchandise. How long will you wait to mark them down? Sorry dog lovers there’s no equivalent for cats.

~Selldown-The reduction of inventory based on sales.

~Display-either a premade unit provided by the vendor full of merch or creative “displays” meant to drawn attention, ie a window display.

~Dumps-a pre made unit full of merch the vendor ships.