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Patricia M. Johnson & Richard F. Outcalt
Retail Strategists and Retail Turnaround Experts
Co-Founders, The Retail Owners Institute® • Business Strata:G®
Have you caught World Cup fever? It's certainly on the rise near us, and reminded us of this explanation of the midfielder's position on a soccer team:
"The midfielder is the position where you are always trying to regain position."
Sounds a lot like owning a retail business, doesn't it? Especially in today's business environment. Consider this*:
The National Federation of Independent Business reported in May its lowest measure of economic expectations since Mr. Trump was elected to his second term.
The Bank of America Institute reported that small-business profitability in April grew at its slowest pace in two years.
Businesses with fewer than 10 workers have broadly been shedding employees for much of the past five years, according to data from QuickBooks, the accounting software company.
Even as large corporations are posting solid earnings and the stock market is booming, small-business sentiment has plummeted in recent months. Some owners – maybe you? – report they have had to use their personal savings to pay workers because the company’s cash flow was so tight.
Pretty grim, isn't it?
That's why owners must be like soccer midfielders, always needing to adjust and regain position.
Here's a quick overview of how to do that.
Pay attention to what your customers are showing you. Use those POS reports! Then, adjust and update your assumptions about sales going forward (likely revising down.) Similarly, reconsider and revise gross margin expectations. (Note customer behavior again.)
Next, focus on the most likely hiding place of cash: your inventory. Commit to raising turns. Take sharper markdowns, sooner. Make room for fresher merchandise. Enforce the buying budget, with particular emphasis on the targeted ending inventory each month.
Ask your front line staff for ideas on cost savings. These tweaks won't have the same impact on cash flow as inventory improvements, but they can make it easier for your people to be successful at their jobs. And improve morale during uncertain times.
Like soccer, retailing is in constant motion, demanding stamina and strategy.
It also rewards a readiness to seize opportunities. So be ready! Goooooal!!
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*"The U.S. Economy Is Leaving These Companies Behind," Sydney Ember, The New York Times, June 17, 2026.
Tips • Tactics • Strategic Insights • Commentary
FYI, each week's From The Co-Founders commentary is posted on The ROI site: Perspectives: The Co-Founders.
These short but pithy musings are all very quick reads. You know, retailer-friendly!
Available online, 24/7, free for all. ➡️
The fear of “What if...?” can keep you up at night. But what if those worries aren’t as bad as you think?
With The ROI’s 3-in-1 INTEGRATED Calculator, you can project different scenarios—testing even your most difficult assumptions—and see the numbers for yourself.
In minutes, you’ll know the potential impact on profit, and inventory, and most important - on cash flow. Get clarity and peace of mind when you need it most. Maybe things won’t be as bad as I feared.
The interactive "What if...?" feature makes it easy to compare options and make better decisions.
Every tweak you make updates the numbers instantly. It’s a powerful tool, replacing uncertainty with insight. Built specially for busy owners.
Have questions? Tap into the built-in tips or schedule a free Zoom session with the Co-Founders.
Economic uncertainty doesn’t have to mean sleepless nights. The 3-in-1 Calculatorhelps you take charge of your future, giving you clarity and peace of mind when it matters most.
The ROI’s 3-in-1 INTEGRATED Calculator is your go-to tool for staying proactive and in control. see more
Just in time for some needed perspective.
See The ROI’s latest Monthly Retail Sales charts, and how sales by sector compare to the same month last year.
How do your results compare?
Free • Webinar of the Week
Are you an Owner? Or aspire to be an Owner?
Be prepared; there will be many decisions ahead!
The challenge: How to make them decisively, with confidence?
Pat Johnson and Dick Outcalt, Co-Founders of The Retail Owners Institute® have identified three basic steps for owners to make informed and strategic business decisions. And they are pleased to share “the secret recipe” with you.
Step #1. Understand the cause-effect financial connections (what we call the "four financial wheels under every retail business") and how to control them.
Step #2. Easily monitor the "telltale" warning indicators in your business.
Step #3. Need to adjust? (Of course! This is retailing!)
Thanks to The ROI's remarkable 3-in-1 INTEGRATED Cash Flow Calculator, every retailer can see and compare their financial choices...in advance! Anytime, 24/7.
In this Webinar of the Week, Pat and Dick show how every retailer can be informed and strategic as you deal with crucial financial decisions about the business. You also will see the 3-in-1 Calculator in action.
Be sure to take advantage of this lively, provocative and empowering how-to webinar, available only from The ROI. And free!
Given all the angst that can come from paying attention to business news, we were intrigued by this explanation of the "buoyant spending" occurring currently:
"Don't bet against the American consumer."
That’s an upbeat thought, isn’t it? Especially for perpetually optimistic retailers. The writer goes on to explain
"It's a maxim investors ignore at their peril. There have of course been times that household spending slumped, but almost always later than when one would have guessed from reading the headlines. "
The journalist then went on to cite economic experts, Commerce Department statistics, and other sources to explain this consumer resiliance. Plus, of course, some caveats about when it all will come due….
We, however, have a more succinct explanation of “buoyant consumer spending,” particularly for resiliant retailers:
“ Worrying works! 90% of the things I worry about never happen!”
For those of you who quickly wonder which 10% DO warrant your attention? That's where you can count on The ROI.
It’s a practical “library” of owner-focused tools , benchmarks, webinars and strategic Resource Centers designed to help growth-minded owners think ahead, test ideas, compare alternatives and make better decisions before committing time, money or energy.
In other words: financial headlights for owners.
We invite you to stop by, explore the Resource Centers, and see what might help you the most right now.
Which weighs more: a pound of bricks, or a pound of feathers?
You remember that trick question, right? The answer is they both weigh the same, one pound.
We might feel sheepish for jumping to the wrong conclusion - since bricks weigh more than feathers - in this riddle.
But it illustrates some of the daily challenges of managing inventory. That is, are you controlling the dollar costs? Or the item counts?
Let's say you've ordered $100 of bricks, and $100 of feathers. What impacts will each order have on your receiving department? Your backroom storage? Your display space?
Or, let's say you've ordered 100 bricks, and 100 feathers. How will each of those orders impact receiving, storage, and display?
What's the point? Operationally, the size, shape and weight of those items does matter, especially to the folks receiving the merchandise or selling on the floor.
But financially — a different metric — they have other implications.
Because of the capabilities of computers, many POS systems focus on items. Lots of details about each item of merchandise. Vendors focus on items as well, encouraging reorders when item counts dip to a certain level.
But -- does your banker or the vendor's credit department care about item counts? Nope, they're looking at the dollars, whether bricks or feathers. They are speaking a totally different language.
That language is what we call "banker-ese." And The ROI can help owners master the A-B-C's of "conversational banker-ese."
It's a series of three articles from the Strata:G® OWNERS Center. We're also making all three available - free - to readers of The ROI News.
Profitable lines of merchandise ? Important, sure.
Profitable stores ? Necessary.
Growing with your " best customers!" Everybody knows that, right?
But beware: no matter what the built-in reports of your POS system want you to believe, your biggest customers, the "top 100", are not necessarily the best ones.
👀 Instead, your "best" customers are the ones that are most profitable for your business.
For that, meet the STRATA:G® Business Wheel. (That's "strategy". Every retailer needs one!) It captures WHY and HOW effective target marketing means more profits and more financial strength. (Yep, everybody wins!)
It's the merger of strategic financial and strategic marketing for retailers. This proprietary concept, showing the cause-effect connection between marketing and financial management, was developed by and is exclusive to The ROI.
Sound too lofty? Don't worry.
Pat Johnson and Dick Outcalt, The ROI Co-Founders, present their innovative concept in this lively and timely Webinar of the Week.
They connect all the dots in a retailer-friendly way.
And they show how you can identify your most profitable customers... without spending a dime!
Ready to challenge business-as-usual thinking? Take advantage of this empowering how-to webinar, available only from The ROI.
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The Strata:G® Resources have been empowering owners since 1999 to "Turn on their financial headlights!" Our tools and resources are trusted by thousands of independent owners to help grow financially stronger and resilient businesses.