ARE THERE ANY OPPORTUNITIES TO TURN AROUND FLAT RETAIL SALES THIS HOLIDAY?
Q: I keep reading about flat retail sales. Are there any opportunities for this holiday?
Steve Pruitt: It’s a little late in the game for retailers to make changes that will affect this holiday season, so our focus is primarily on spring and fall of 2016. But with that said, there are always opportunities.
And, as it turns out, not all of our stores are experiencing flat sales. In fact, we have finished processing the October results and 57 percent of our clients have had gains. In a good month the number is more around 70 percent. So business is off, but not turning negative in general.
So, what are the characteristics of stores that are having gains?
1. High traffic locations.
2. Faster turning inventory (newness drives business).
3. A dynamic sales organization.
In fact, those stores that are growing see themselves as sales organizations that happen to be in the retail business.
At this point, project your inventory to the end of the year and take the appropriate actions (markdowns) to finish off the season. Then, if you want to improve sales, start thinking about how you can embrace more of the success qualities I mentioned the above.
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