Posts Tagged ‘retail’
How I Did It: Add a Wholesale Line to a Retail Business
Monday, November 24th, 2008
For nearly 40 years, the Schurman family business in Cold Spring, Minn. consisted of just one retail location stocked with cakes, cookies, and other pastries.
But with its second-generation ownership came a wholesale line now bringing in more than half of its current business, in addition to Modern Baking’s 2004 “Bakery of the Year” title.
Founded in 1946, the Cold Spring Bakery began offering a wholesale line in the late 1980s. At the time, the economy seemed to favor small family-owned businesses, giving owners Dale and Lynn Schurman reason to plan an expansion.
Between adding more retail locations and a wholesale line, “it just seemed to make more sense to do wholesale,” Lynn Schurman said, “so that we could still continue doing production, but then we didn’t have to worry about renting spaces, filling them with employees, and all the other hassles of dealing with multiple locations.”
Between local restaurants, sandwich shops, and 17 grocery stores, the bakery now takes in 40 to 50 wholesale and retail orders a day. While a few of these clients – including one grocery store just down the street – bought wholesale before operations began, the rest simply came to the bakery via word-of-mouth in the town of 3,733.
The bakery added production space in 2000, though that construction has not been its biggest overhaul. Lynn Schurman admits that increasing production “was the easy part of adding the wholesale business,” in comparison to installing invoicing software and standardizing the ordering process.
And as their wholesale line continued to develop, the Cold Spring Bakery also had to adopt a new type of cost efficiency. To businesses thinking of going wholesale, Lynn Schurman recommends that they consider all possible costs attached to every step of the ordering process.
“You can pick up a lot of small orders, but it doesn’t pay to drop off a $5 order at some place, then another because of the cost of processing,” she said. “That drop, stop, and going in may not cover it.”
But even with the extra considerations in mind, Lynn Schurman appreciates the financial stability that a wholesale line can offer a growing business.
“The nice thing about the wholesale business is that it is [sic] more steady year-round, while retail has its ups and downs,” she said.
Cold Spring Bakery, 308 Main St., Cold Spring, MN 56320. Call 310-685-8651 or visit www.coldspringbakery.com .
Tags: christina lee, Cold Spring Bakery, how to, Lynn Schurman, retail
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Cargo Traffic Still Decreasing, NRF Reports
Monday, October 6th, 2008
Even with the holiday season drawing near, store owners are continuing to brace themselves for slow sales with smaller inventories, according to National Retail Federation reports.
In addition, the trade group expects a 6 percent drop in yearly retail cargo traffic – 2 percent more than its prediction made less than two months ago.
For U.S. ports, October is traditionally the busiest time of the year, as store owners stock up for the holiday months. It is also when the National Retail Federation usually expects to see year-to-year growth. The D.C.-based trade group even predicted in August that October traffic levels would not fall below that of last year, despite month-to-month decreases reported since May.
The National Retail Federation has since released a report estimating that 1.4 million TEU (20-foot equivalent units) of cargo will flow through ten U.S. ports this month – a 2.9 percent decrease from October 2007.
“Retailers are tightening up their inventories to reflect what they expect to be able to sell during the holiday season,” Jonathan Gold, the group vice president for supply chain and customs policy, said in a statement.
In January, the National Retail Federation forecasted for the year a mere 3.5 percent growth in retail sales. In September, the group also predicted that holiday season sales will rise by just 2.2 percent from last year. Both estimates are the lowest increases predicted since 2002.
Article Source: http://www.nrf.com
Tags: christina lee, holiday sales, Jonathan Gold, national retail federation, retail, retail business, retail cargo traffic
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Shop.org Entices With New “Critic’s Corner”
Wednesday, September 10th, 2008
Every year Shop.org hosts an annual summit where the retail industry’s top movers and shakers get together to share and discuss practices and ideas that shape the future of retail. The grandness of this gathering is consistently impressive and provides everyone from the newbie entrepreneur to the old pro, insights and better tools with which to run their business (not to mention networking opportunities galore!).
This year will be no exception to the rule but there IS one crucial difference with this year’s show. Shop.org is introducing a new event called Critic’s Corner which features "two speakers in a Siskel and Ebert type format that debate the effectiveness of real-life examples on a variety of topics." This new format is unprecedented and expected to deliver an informative and entertaining look at some of retail’s hottest topics including ‘08 merchandising trends, the latest digital retailing technology, and the customer experience.
Shop.org’s annual summit is next week (September 15-17) at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada but it’s not too late to register .
If you’re still not sure, check out their Top 10 Reasons to Attend .
Tags: annual summit, critic's corner, customer experience, digital retail technology, events, merchandising trends, Rebecca Button, retail, www.shop.org
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Introducing: The Recession-Proof Shopper!
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s true. The recession-proof shopper is here and she’s here to stay. A new study commissioned and soon to be published by Elle magazine concludes that 8% of U.S. women are still shopping up a storm and show no signs of slowing down. (for full stats check out this article)
So what do you think? Do you think these ladies have what it takes to keep the economy (and businesses) afloat this year? I for one think that it certainly won’t hurt…but it’s not going to come anywhere close to how well those stimulus checks worked-wait….
If nothing else I suppose retail businesses can cater their advertising to focus more heavily on this demographic.
Tags: consumer, economy, Rebecca Button, recession, retail, shopping
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The Great Consumer Schism - Tips for Brand Name Retailers
Monday, April 28th, 2008
It’s begun. The Great Consumer Schism is effectively working its way through America-an event last experienced in this country in the ’70s. Economic disparity in America is nothing new. But in times of recession the division is inflated and even more apparent as seen through shifts in spending habits. It makes perfect sense of course that middle to lower income households are switching from brand name items to generic in order to save a few bucks.
So what does this mean for retailers? Well, if you sell cheaper products, this is great news! If you sell brand name (and therefore more expensive) products you may want to reconsider your strategy. Here are a few suggestions:
- Consider including cheaper items in your inventory as an alternative for customers with tighter budgets.
- Revamp your advertising to appeal strictly to wealthier customers.
- Revamp your advertising to enforce the value of brand name products over generic.
- Offer "freebies" along with the purchase of certain brand name items.
- Have a sale! Who doesn’t love a sale?
These are just a few ideas to get you started thinking in the right direction. For more tips check out Don’t Let a Slow Economy Slow Down Your Business
Tags: brand name, economy, Generating More Sales, news, Rebecca Button, recession, retail, Sales
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How to Design Your Floor Space and Get Customers in the Mood to Shop
Friday, April 25th, 2008
For a brick-and-mortar retail store, getting customers in that shopping mood is key. For some, “browser shoppers”, shopping is entertainment. Browsing through stores, soaking in the new merchandise and hoping something strikes them as a “must have”. These shoppers love whimsical product displays, winding floor plans, upbeat music and bright colors. They don’t mind being distracted by new product displays or fun and funky decorations.
For others, “mission shoppers”, shopping is purely a mission to purchase a specific item. They are searching for something in particular and most likely won’t take the time to browse around the store. These customers like simple and straightforward product displays. They don’t want to have to take a tour around the entire floor in order to find the product they are looking for. They also prefer not to get distracted from their shopping goal, so slow music, soft colors and little or no decorations is best to attract and please this type of customer.
With customers at such opposite ends of the spectrum, how on earth can a retailer cater to both types? Actually it’s easy than you might think. Think about the types of products you carry and what kind of customers frequent your store. For instance, if you are a trendy gift shop that brings in a lot of “browser shoppers” but also has the occasional husband looking for a birthday or anniversary gift, then you can design your store to cater to both types. While the majority of the store can be fun, bright and funky, why not have a table or space near the front of the store with a sign that says “Perfect Gift Ideas for Someone Special”. That will keep both customer types happy, without disrupting the other’s shopping experience.
If you have a retail store where “mission shoppers” visit on weekdays but “browser shoppers” visit on the weekends, then you can keep an “easy to navigate” and subdued floor plan on weekdays. Then, come the weekends, you can turn on the fast-paced music, bring in some brightly-colored decorations and even move some product displays around. It might take some work, but these little changes can do wonders for repeat business and increased sales.
If your store sells a variety of merchandise and you find that certain types of products bring in “browser shoppers” and others, “mission shoppers”, then you can design your store’s floor plan around this. Divide your store into sections and give each section a feel that caters to its shopper type. There’s no reason that the part of your store that sells sunglasses and hats can’t be fun and funky, while the section that sells cameras can’t be a bit more subdued.
Catering to different types of customers is crucial for most retail businesses. While your main target market might be “browser shoppers”, there may also be a large group of “mission shoppers” who want to shop on their lunch break or purchase a gift for their favorite “browser shopper”. Luckily, it’s not difficult to please both types of customers, even if they are completely different. The key is to know your customers. If you understand the people who frequent your store, then you’ll be in a much better position to give them what they are looking for.
Tags: advice, brick and mortar, Carrie Hinkel, floor space design, Generating More Sales, retail, Sales, tips
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There’s a New Credit Card Scam in Town
Friday, April 18th, 2008
It’s almost like that gopher pounding game at the carnival. As soon as you bop one on the head another pops it’s mocking little head out of the hole which you must smash into oblivion…and so on and so forth for what seems like forever. Just as law enforcers find a way to prevent a crime, criminals find another way to commit it. We often stereotype criminals as dumb but in reality, in order to be a successful criminal you have to be smarter than the system that’s designed to keep you from violating it. It’s the nature of the beast I suppose and they’re back at it again.
In what is termed "credit card shaving" people buy gift cards or take stolen credit cards and test a 16-number sequence either by trying to make a purchase online or by calling a verification number the way merchants do. The scammers then scratch up the new card’s magnetic strip so a store clerk has to enter the numbers manually, what’s called "forcing a transaction."
The result is a card that ends up looking like it went through the ringer a few times but apparently merchants are accepting these cards. The people who’s accounts the numbers match up to are left dumbfounded as to how their card information has been stolen because they still have their cards and no mail has been stolen from them…it’s a sheer case of dumb luck. And its taking off.
As a merchant, you can help customers by not accepting suspicious looking cards as well as cards with inoperable magnetic strips. This seems like common sense but the scammers tend to target low end small businesses where customer traffic is heavy. Just be sure you remain diligent and educate your employees to do the same.
Tags: credit card, news, Rebecca Button, retail, scam, tips
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Crazy Breakfast Making Cell Phones - Part II
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
Okay, don’t freak…there was no Part I so don’t go looking for it. Well, there sort of was…this is simply an addendum to my previous post Oh So Textual! *Text Message Shopping Has Arrived* .
When you bought your cell phone did you ever imagine that one day it would allow you to pay for things? No seriously, your cell phone as a form of currency? Yeah, neither did I. But now you can. I know! It’s nuts!
Ok, so here’s how it works (courtesy StorefrontBacktalk.com ):
Step 1: You download an applet on your phone. Said applet would be associated with a payment method, a password, and possibly another form of authentication.
Step 2: The retailer would have a piece of compatible software installed in their POS system.
Step 3: You shop in the store as you normally do, picking out items for purchase. When you’ve selected you bring your items to the cashier.
Step 4: The cashier scans the bar codes of your items and tells you the total.
Step 5: You enable the mobile payment app, type in your password, and punch in the exact amount of your total.
Step 6: If all goes well up to this point, the app will display a bar code that the cashier would then scan with the same bar code wand as they used to scan your products. The bar code would include the exact amount, a date/time stamp and expire within 60 seconds in case you want to abandon the purchase.
Here are some of the other things it would do:
- Update the credit limit—or bank account balance—that the consumer could still use. According to the patent holder/inventor, Bob Lovett, "The merchant’s scanner also outputs a barcode containing the product’s price. The cell phone’s camera makes a copy of the barcode and then converts it to dollars and updates your remaining balance. This will alert card holder when an account is overdrawn."
- The phone’s payment data would include the consumer’s age which would theoretically accelerate purchases of age-restricted items (alcohol, cigarettes, fireworks, adult-themed magazines, etc.) as well as establish retailer due-diligence and enabling such purchases to go through self-checkout.
And here’s the kicker for merchants:
- This type of payment system will allow for cheaper handling of micro-payments. Merchants would keep a record of the small transactions in a spreadsheet and when the banks are least busy, they would send the spreadsheet to them for processing. It would cost around five to ten cents as opposed to the twenty-five they pay for Visa transactions.
Yeah…that’s awesome.
For the rest of the the StorefrontBacktalk.com article, including the reaction of the National Retail Federation and others click here .
Tags: Business, cell phones, Rebecca Button, retail, shopping, technology
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Hula Girls - The Original Organic Fashionistas
Tuesday, April 15th, 2008
Grab your coconut bras and grass skirts and jump on the organic textiles bandwagon! More and more retailers are beginning to cater to green fashion and it would appear that it’s more than just a fad.
The reason for this? One day not long ago some forward thinking entrepreneurs realized that people will spend bucket loads of money on fashion…so why wouldn’t people do the same for organic clothing as well? They looked around and said to themselves "the only organic clothes available look like burlap sacks!" "Ces’t tres horrible! " they gasped in unison, aghast at the utter disaster of the whole situation. And thus the organic fashion revolution began. (and this obviously happened in France because that’s where the best revolutions take place…at least in fashion, right? and I think Al Gore was there too…)
**note the above story is purely hypothetical in nature and should be regarded as mere imagination on my part as to how this whole thing began…but however it happened, it’s here.
Now companies such as Linda Loudermilk and Figleaves.com are selling$230 bamboo jeans and100% organic cotton undies for $28. While the prices may seem steep there appears to be a market for these items…and it’s growing.
So if you are a would-be entrepreneur looking for an idea, use this as a starting place. The market has scarcely been tapped and if you play your cards right you might just get in on the ground level of a phenomenal retail trend. Plus, with more and more people becoming interested in this niche, someone’s bound to come up with a new way to manufacture these goods for the masses…will it be you?
Tags: eco-fashion, fashion, going green, news, organic, Rebecca Button, retail, Starting a Business, trends
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Glossary of Not-So-Common Retailing Terms
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008
Have you heard some terms that you do not know what they mean? Do you appear to have the ‘dear in the headlights’ look when someone mentions a term that you should know, but do not? Below is a list of 20 not-so-common retailing terms. If you are just entering into the retail business, these terms will help to indoctrinate your lingo in the retailing industry.
Ad Impressions: Ad impressions are simply the number of times an ad is made available for consumers to view the product or service. These are also known as banner impressions.
Asset Protection: Assets protection is also known as loss prevention. Loss prevention is where steps are taken to stop or reduce the possibility of loss from shoplifting, employee theft, poor safety procedures, and errors in paperwork.
Business-to-Government: Business-to-Government, or B2G, is that the company’s primary focus is on working with government agencies. This can be at the national, state or local level.
Balanced Scorecard: The balanced scorecard is the strategic management system that is measurement-based. It was developed by Robert Kaplan and David Norton. The balanced scorecard aligns the business activities with the strategic goals, monitoring the performance of the goals over time. It also details what needs to be measured to ensure the effectiveness of the strategies.
CLV: CLV, or customer lifetime value, is the current value of the potential future income that is generated by an individual purchaser.
Co-op Advertising: Co-op advertising is also known as the Cooperative Advertising or Cooperative Program. The co-op advertising is the ad costs divided between two or more companies.
Depth of Assortment: This is the number of brands or styles within a product line or classification of merchandise, also known as product depth.
Fractional Tagging: This is where the EAS tags are applied to a percentage of units during production.
GAF: GAF is an acronym for General merchandise, apparel, and furniture. These are the items that stores sell which are normally sold at department stores.
Halo Effect: This is connected to the electronic article surveillance system in that people will have the perception that untagged merchandise is protected with the EAS, simply because other items within the store are protected.
Journal Roll: This otherwise known as the journal tape that is either paper or electronic, recording the transactions from the cash register.
Keystone Markup: Also known as retail pricing, the keystone markup is the equivalent of the cost of the merchandise and doubling it to determine the retail price.
Mazur Plan: This is where the retail store activities are divided into four sections-merchandising, publicity, store management and control.
Narrow and Deep: This is a sales approach where the retailer will only sell a few selected items but have a lot of the product available.
Objective-and-Task Method: A budget technique that relates the sales objective with the advertising budget. This is also referred to as the advertising budget preparation.
Push Money: This is the employee sales incentive in the form of cash premiums, prizes, or additional commission for effectively pushing or increasing sales for an identified product or merchandise.
Step Theory: The step theory is where a customer will go through a decision making process-attention, interest, desire and action.
Universal Vendor Marking: This is where manufacturers will pre-mark the merchandise that is easily read by both people and machines.
Variable Markup Policy: This is a policy that allows for adjusting markups that is based on a classification of particular merchandise.
Wheel of Retailing: Wheel of retailing is a theory that is used to explain the institutional changes that occur when innovators enter the retail industry.
Tags: Glossary, larry Slusser, retail, retailing terms, Small Business Resources, Starting a Business, tools
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