by Christina Lee on March 11th, 2009
Steps taken by retailers to keep inventories lean are showing a bit of progress to accommodate to declining demand, as recent reports of early 2009 wholesale trade reveal.
As retail stores start sourcing their spring and summer merchandise, the National Retail Federation still expects a 5.3 percent rise in March retail container traffic from last month, a total of 1.07 million 20-foot-equivalent units (TEU).
At the same time however, such levels still fall below that of March 2008 by 7.4 percent – a trend that the trade group predicts to observe throughout the first half of 2009.
“This year’s numbers are... Read more »
by Christina Lee on February 17th, 2009
Wholesale inventories dropped further than expected by economists, continuing a streak of declines that has not been seen in seven years.
Inventories in December 2008, totaling $427.5 billion, fell by 1.4 percent from the previous month, according to the Commerce Department. Analysts predicted a decline only about half as big, with predictions ranging from 0.7 to 0.9 percent, according to the Associated Press and Wall Street Journal.
“This is the latest evidence of the difficult environment for business spending in the fourth quarter,” said Tim Quinlan, economic analyst at Wachovia in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Reuters.
Even as overall inventories... Read more »
by Leeia Ladipoh on April 4th, 2008
The old adage says ‘variety is the spice of life’ – but if you are in business, you know that variety in customer purchasing patterns can be an extremely stressful issue to deal with.
Every season will see different products shoot to the top of the must-have list and others sitting on the shelves, gathering dust. What you want to know is how to stock more of those ‘must-haves’ and fewer of the dust gatherers.
Some seasons will see a trend to fewer purchases – other months, everything you have on the shelves will be selling.
While you can’t change... Read more »
by Larry Slusser on February 5th, 2008
No doubt you’ve heard of private labeling, right? It’s where you can purchase physical products, put your own labels on them and sell them in your store. But there’s also a second type, and the one producing the most hype right now – private label information products.
While the private labeling of physical products has been around for a while, it is the information products private labeling that has become THE new phenomenon. Particularly, by purchasing private label rights to some books that are being offered online, you too can benefit from the profits being received at an astounding rate.... Read more »
by Carrie Hinkel on December 20th, 2007
For an online retailer, having tight control on inventory is absolutely crucial to running a good business. Out of stock merchandise means lost business. Having your inventory managed automatically means you’ll never be surprised that you’re “all of a sudden” out of stock of a particular item.
However, a good inventory program will do more for you than just keep track of stock. Today’s inventory tracking software has the capability of analyzing sales data so you can watch for any ordering patterns. This comes in handy if you are testing marketing or advertising campaigns. You’ll be able to easily compare... Read more »
by Carrie Hinkel on November 28th, 2007
For most retail businesses, eventually it makes sense to expand your line of products. However, is your store or website really ready to handle all that extra merchandise? Ask yourself these simple questions before you decide to buy new products. Finding the answers to these questions might just save you from a few headaches!
1. Can you really afford to buy new products? This seems like the most obvious question but, believe it or not, it gets overlooked more times than not. Your business has been operating on a cash flow based on a certain inventory. If you are just... Read more »
by Carrie Hinkel on November 27th, 2007
Depending on the industry and the size of the company, a business may be better off buying all their products from one supplier or placing several orders with a variety of suppliers. There are plenty of issues to consider, and making the right choice could save your company lots of money and aggravation in the long run.
Sourcing inventory from a single supplier
This option won’t work for all retailers, but for those who carry industry-specific items or a limited amount of merchandise, it’s worth considering this type of wholesale buying. However, as you’ll see, there are both pros and... Read more »
by Carrie Hinkel on October 4th, 2007
Think of your inventory as money on the shelf. The national average for a typical store is $15,000 worth of inventory and 30 percent of that is non-moving, dead merchandise! So what can you do to get control of your inventory and convert your inventory to dollars quicker?
Keep inventory levels comfortably low. Most business owners will inevitably make the mistake of ordering too much of a certain product to get quantity discounts. While that is a smart move for an item that’s a proven fast seller in your store, it’s not a good idea for an initial order. It... Read more »