Just when it seems we can get to the "New Normal" or the "Next Normal," another disruption comes along. "There still is so much uncertainty" is the lament, often accompanied by a sigh of weariness. Or resignation. Trying to plan for the Holiday season, or looking ahead to 2022, can seem especially daunting right now. Occasionally, all of our businesses need to hit "pause;" this is one of those times.
Recognize that thanks to the pandemics, most everything about running your business has changed. Your merchandise mix; your customers; your staff; your competitors; your suppliers; your landlord; your technology; etcetera. Everything!
So how to begin? By summarizing "Where are we now?" Make a list of all the areas that have changed in the past 18 months. That becomes your checklist, your springboard, to help jumpstart your way out of the uncertainty.
Your list will of course be customized to your situation, but here are some places to look:
Unprecedented uncertainty may make for good headlines. But for retailers, change and adjustments to those changes has always been the name of the game. As an Owner, your checklist of where you are right now is vitally important. Nothing to cringe about here. Relish all the new opportunities!
Have you noticed? That persisting Plague of Uncertainty that keeps hanging around?
And amidst all this relentless uncertainty, you still have a business to run, employees to motivate, customers to satisfy, vendors to deal with, creditors to pay, etc, etc. Here are some ideas on how to approach that.
The basic definition of retailing is "selling to the ultimate consumer." As you know, HOW that is done, and in what location or format, continues to change and evolve. So, we were intrigued by this recent post on the Shopify Retail Blog: The Future of Physical Retail in a Digital-First World.*
To us, the blog post was essentially a wide-ranging journey of discovery(and perhaps even some new-found respect for those "physical retailers".)
We once knew a lady of an earlier generation who steadfastly championed the idea that Labor Day should be considered New Year's Eve, and the Tuesday after Labor Day as the start of the New Year. (Yes, she was ahead of her time in many other ways as well.) Here's her reasoning about the "real" New Year's Eve: as summer fades away and vacations end, the new school year starts up; the baseball season pennant race is on; football games begin. As all this happens, she explained, most people take on a renewed sense of energy. The promise of a fresh start is everywhere. Optimism abounds! Wouldn't 2020 be a great year to cut short? Aren't we all ready to turn the page on it? Well, while we cannot do it officially, we can embrace that New Year state of mind.
Isn't it great? Headlines and the media world seem to be in unison; the dastardly COVID pandemic is being arrested. And, if we can believe the pundits, pent-up shoppers are about to buy all sorts of products and services with abandon. But, will they? Given this exuberance, many retailers could be building up excess inventory. Retailers once again need to be true merchants. That is, the #1 responsibility of retail senior managements must always be to control inventory. (It's the only thing that makes money, but it soaks up cash.)
We're sure you'll agree. Misinformation can be very harmful. Retailers surely don't need more harmful anythings!
Just last week, we came across the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. It was a post on the Intuit Quickbooks site*, titled "Inventory Turnover Ratio." And the explanatory article was accompanied by an "Inventory Turnover Calculator."
What do we take exception to? The misleading and/or incorrect information it provides. For example, their "Inventory turnover calculator" requires two entries.
We must take exception. "Total costs involved in selling your products" is NOT the same as Cost of Goods Sold. Nor do they specify that it should be for a 12-month period of time.
We must take exception. What they surely meant to say is inventory @cost.
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?"
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