Let's get one thing straight. Retail will never die and I'm talking bricks and mortar here. Bricks beats clicks every time in offering the BEST experience. I'll be speaking about this on Friday at AETA and taking participants on a retail safari to see excellence in action. I'll even offer you more details in our next post, but for now consider these 4 E's to Excellence:

ENHANCE YOUR IN-STORE EXPERIENCE

ENGAGE YOUR CUSTOMER THROUGH EVERY TOUCHPOINT

EXCITE YOUR CUSTOMER

ENTICE REPEAT VISITS

Need help with your in-store experience? Ask us how. 

www.onomadeinthe191.com


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Written by Anne Cecil, founder of ONO-Made in the 191. Anne has over 30 years professional experience in retail merchandising & management, product design, coaching, public speaking & consulting. Her posts focus on helping retailing maximize profits, floor space & creating impactful merchandising. ​

Here's hoping you had a successful holiday season. Now it's time to let all that old stock go and prepare for an even more successful 2017.

Step One: Out with the old. 
Get rid of all your old and out of season stock. Think of creative sales promotions. Some good examples: 1-2-3 - 1st item 20% off, 2nd item 30% off, 3rd item 40% off OR Daily discount - Monday - 10%, Tuesday - 20%, Wednesday - 30%, Thursday - 40%, Friday - 50%, Saturday and Sunday Final sale all sale merch 75% off. The goal here is to gain physical space for new merchandise AND get cash on hand for your OTB and Cash and Carry at AETA.

Step Two: Do the Numbers. 
Run a % of category to Sales for 2016. It may be helpful to run this for each quarter or season depending on your categories AND run a current inventory by Category as of right now AND determine how much you have to spend on new inventory now, your OTB. 

The goal here is 3 fold. First, you want to sort your OTB into categories where you need to build up inventory. Next, you want to leave a % of OTB for Cash & Carry.  Third, you want to reset your store by this general rule of thumb: the % of total sales of a category should determine the % of floor space designated to that category. For example, if Show Coats are 25% of your total sales, 25% of the floor should be designated to Show Coats and  you should determine your buy for that space. This IS NOT a hard and fast rule because the size of items and the space they take up also plays a part in decision making. If Fine Jewelry is 25% of your total sales you will not designate 25% of your floor to this category. Similarly, if Saddles are 25% of your total sales, you will likely need more than 25% of your floor to house them.

Step Three: In With the New. 
Sign up for Friday's pre-show planning session at AETA. This session will walk you through planning for a successful show. There are a few seats available for the limited seating events. 

Don't miss our hands-on workshops in the AETA (American Equestrian Trade Association) Edge 3D store. We look  forward to seeing you there.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2017.

​Written by Anne Cecil, founder of ONO-Made in the 191. Anne has over 30 years professional experience in retail merchandising & management, product design, coaching, public speaking & consulting. Her posts focus on helping retailing maximize profits, floor space & creating impactful merchandising. ​​[email protected]