From the Co-Founders of The Retail Owners Institute.Tips | Tactics | Insights on the Business of Retailing.
Doing retail has always been a challenging and fascinating and evolving exercise. As the old Chinese proverb states, “It’s easy to open a store. However, it’s tough to keep it open.”
And today, seemingly more than ever, people are drawn to retailing. Consider:
These and others fit into our category of “retail-as-added-use.” Retailing is not their core competency; they are manufacturers or direct marketers, or wholesalers, or importers, or whatever. Nonetheless, they are confident that they can better represent their products and brand to the customers than can professional retailers.
Hmm. We think they are likely to discover that there is more to retailing than meets the eye. In fact, consider our analogy:
We think that opening and successfully operating a retail store is a lot like assembling Ikea furniture.
It takes a lot more time than you expected
It requires a lot of attention to detail.
It has an amazing number of small parts
It has no written instructions
There is no shortage of opinions of how you should be doing it
Having a picture of the finished result is sometimes not all that helpful
It is highly unlikely that you will be successful on your first try
It can seem a bit rickety even after you think you are finished
Let us be perfectly clear. Ikea furniture is terrific. Loved and used by millions.
But so are stores!
Successfully going from a vision to its accomplishment? The pros make it look sooooo easy.
Used especially by large national chains, it applies technology to accept or reject attempted returns.
Have questions about your return being denied? The store employee directs you to contact the return authorization service.
Well, that's one way to handle returns, isn't it? And it may be very appropriate for large national chains that are particularly susceptible to fraud or so-called "returnaholics."
But for local retailers, return policies are one of the most complex management issues in retailing.
So, Amazon announced its plan to acquire Whole Foods, the 440 store natural foods grocer concentrated in urban locations, for more than $13 Billion (yes, with a b). They do have a flair for the dramatic, eh? So, why does Amazon want to acquire Whole Foods?
Our opinion: Amazon is a technology company, and relentlessly data-driven.
We believe they want to acquire Whole Foods for the same reason that drives acquisitions at most technology companies: Amazon wants the Intellectual Property of Whole Foods.
As we often explain, "Retail is a mirror of society." As such, we believe all retailers have an opportunity to lead by example. And most of us do a fine job.
Recently, however, there have been some extraordinary examples of retailers taking an extra chance but certainly setting some fine examples.
We recently learned of a pizza parlor in North Carolina that has a kids menu that is quite unusual. Of course, having a kids menu is not unique. But here's what IS unusual about this one! (And it just might inspire you to think of new ways to show your customers that not only are you listening to them, you actually are hearing them!)
You’ve been seeing these reports, too? Word is that banks are increasingly willing to lend, especially to “small businesses.” There are several influences at play here.
One is the optimism in the business community that the Trump Administration and Republican Congress will actually reduce regulations, loosen compliance demands, and otherwise open the spigot more.
And Community Banks are optimistic for relief from some of the more onerous paperwork requirements that were written with the Big Banks in mind.
Meanwhile, the rise of alternative lenders – the online marketplaces – brought a more streamlined way to handle the paperwork of banks. And they paved the way for using Big Data to make safe, defensible lending solutions.
The retail launch last week of California's newly-legal sale of recreational marijuana was newsworthy. Huge public acceptance as you no doubt noticed.
Then, to magnify the drama of it, the U.S. Attorney General restored enforcement of federal legal restrictions on the sale and distribution of marijuana even in states where it is legal.
Pat Johnson and Dick Outcalt, The Co-Founders of The Retail Owners Institute®, have been called "The Zen masters of retail finance!" Since 1999, they have been assembling their proprietary content into a unique self-help website. The Retail Owners Institute is an unmatched resource that assists retailers worldwide with basic financial training, assistance and easy-to-use tools. Their engaging and empowering how-to resources about the financial levers in retailing are informative, fun(!), and retailer-friendly. Their promise: "Everyone will 'get it'!" Pat and Dick are recognized experts in strategic retailing. Working only as a team – Outcalt & Johnson: Retail Strategists, LLC – they have been consulting, publishing, and speaking professionally throughout North America since 1990. They focus exclusively on retail, or wherever retail is involved. They work with CEOs, CFOs, boards and owners of retail operations, as well as manufacturers or wholesalers expanding into retail. And they also are Retail Turnaround Experts.
Since 1999, empowering retailers and store owners to "Turn on your financial headlights!"