Get 100% of The ROI! Unlimited Access SUBSCRIBE Now!
As we approach the final week before Christmas, the last shopping weekend; amidst…
All the volatility, uncertainty surrounding tariffs, inflation, etc.
Concerns about merchandise availability
Mixed messages about the shoppers and their intentions, whether Millennials, Gen X, Boomers
The bifurcated economy - Wall Street versus Main Street
The "K-shaped recovery" - those doing well doing better; those doing not so well doing, well, not so well
It's hard to have a ready response to "How are your stores doing this year?"
Amidst all of that, we believe the appropriate answer to "How are you doing?" always will be based on your definition of "What constitutes success?"
Think you’ve never documented that? Think again.
We encourage a quiet moment of reflection, back to the time when you were first dreaming about owning your own store.
You were not alone!
In fact, each year in the United States, about 100,000 new stores start up. Every hour, every day, 11 new retail businesses switch on the Now Open! sign for the first time!
Who are these new retailers? People just like you.
They love the products, or the customers who buy those products.
They want to be their own boss.
They're willing to take risks.
They want to contribute to their community.
They are creative, have a vision for new ways of doing things.
They're not afraid of hard work.
They like being around people - the people who work for them, the customers, the suppliers, their neighboring merchants.
Whatever differences there might be, there is a shared experience: they all Dreamed the Dream!
Now, fast forward a few years. Living the dream is not easy. We appreciate that.
But especially this year, when there is seemingly no consensus about anything, it is more crucial than ever to remind yourself "What constitutes success?"
That starts by revisiting your dream.
Then, take a look around your stores. See the experience you’ve created. The merchandise you feature. See the people on your staff. The customers. Your neighboring merchants.
So, how are you doing this year? Our guess is you have much to be proud of.
Have a wonderful Holiday Season, and may 2026 be full of wonder and joy.
Hope is always in style!
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.
That headline from Chain Store Age* brings smiles to retailers. Consumer confidence is a key indicator of retail sales, and this increasing confidence as we head into the holiday season is very welcome indeed.
But of course, there is no one-size-fits-all upside here.
Incredible value! 👀
Start NOW!