From the Co-Founders of The Retail Owners Institute.Tips | Tactics | Insights on the Business of Retailing.
Maybe you put on a garage sale. Or sell on eBay or Amazon or Etsy. Or at a farmer's market. Or your own stores.
Wherever you are selling to the ultimate consumer, by definition, you are a retailer;
But, just as in education, or in sports, there exists a higher, ultimate level of professionalism. In retailing, this is to be a "Merchant".
These are the attributes that separate Merchants from "just retailers":
Merchants source for a particular group of customers. They are agents for the customers, not agents for - or beholden to - any vendor.
Merchants closely monitor any changes in their customer group.
Merchants judge every piece of inventory they own on whether it (still) appeals to their customer group.
Merchants dispassionately add or delete products, services, locations, personnel as needed to best serve "their" customers.
Merchants are zealous about the key metrics of inventory control: turnover; gross margin percent; GMROI; markdowns percent; and the like.
Think of retailers around you. Clearly, some are or have been led by Merchants: Starbucks, Costco, Nordstrom, Crate & Barrel, etc.
Now, think of recent or pending retail failures. Their leadership is more likely characterized by "just retailers."
Whether large or small, the distinction between success in retail or failure is traceable to the Merchant instincts of the top people.
And, in our view, only those retailers who are now or become Merchants will actually thrive, or even survive!
The ROI NEWS asked retailers this question about the effectiveness of Social Media: “Does it raise sales?!”
We invited retailers to take a short, quick, 6-question survey about their use of promotional tools in general, and, in particular, “Social Media”: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, Other.
We asked, and you answered!
You quickly confirmed that “social media” is in fact a hot topic among retailers!
And, you are willing to share your experience with it with others, and for that we say, Thank You!!
The National Retail Federation sponsored a survey in early May of retail small business owners across the country (those that meet the SBA definitions for employee size and revenue.) Contrary to the doom-and-gloom of the "Retail Armageddon" stories, this survey confirmed that retail owners are optimistic and looking to expand.
Few believe their business will be in worse shape in 12 months;
Nearly half expect revenues to increase;
Many have goals for expansion or implementation of new technologies.
You’ve heard about 3D printers, right? They are computer devices that use a blueprint (a “digital model”) of an object and produce (“print”) one or more copies of that object by painstakingly building up layer after layer of its form.
Essentially anything that is manufactured can be replicated, one by one, with a 3-D printer!
And, be ready. It is coming to a store near you very soon. Shouldn't it be your store?
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.
As we often discuss, retailing is a very dynamic industry, constantly changing and evolving. To be successful, retailers must pass frequent flexibility tests. So we paid particular attention to this recent headline in the New York Times*: "The freshest ideas are in small grocery stores."
Increasingly we hear about customers who – after spending time on Amazon – come away rather frustrated.
And we've begun to wonder, do shoppers really want to choose from all the choices arrayed on an Amazon page? And do all the homework?
Or are they becoming overwhelmed?
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!"