|
Retail SMART |
The
Retail Grind |
|
|
By:
Dennis A. Conforto
Chairman & CEO of A-Z Media Group, Inc. |
|
|
Of all the professions I admire, retailing is the one I admire most. It is nothing short of a grind, day in and day out, week after week, month after month, year after year. It requires the very best of a retail owner: the best of your time, your best skill sets, the best of your money and the best of your efforts. Retailing is one of the hardest professions on earth, and certainly one of the least appreciated. But without it the world as we know it would not even function. Retailing makes the world go around and makes our lives in many ways worth living.
Most scrapbooking retailers who got into the business of retailing did so because it was part of their personal hobby and passion. Over time,
the grind of retailing, for many retailers, starts to take its toll in time, effort and personal financial loss.
There is really no such thing as a formal school of higher learning for retailing, nor is there a retailing degree. There should be, but there just isn’t one. Retailing doesn’t really have to be a grind. But it is a grind when it’s not working. The question is: How do you know you’re out of the retail grind? Well, here are ten milestones for you to consider that will let you know you’re out of the retail grind.
You know you’re out of the retail grind when:
1.You have sustained sales growth every month for three years
running
2.You are number one or number two in market share of your product category within your marketing
area
3.You are making 10% after tax profits for three years running
4.Your average transaction is 25% higher than the national
average
5.Your inventory turn rate is 6 and above
6.Your sales per square foot is above $350 per year
7.Your sales per full time employee are greater than 150k per year
8.You can add a second store because your staff at your current store is highly trained and
motivated
9.You see that your staff turn over is low and morale is high
10.You feel that your business is not surviving but rather
thriving
There are a lot of things you need to do if you’re going to be a great retailer. Nobody thinks when he or she gets into retailing that it’s going to be anything other than great; however, few pay the price to learn the art of retailing. Over the next few months we are going to take you from the grind of retail to the art of retailing. We are going to share with you in detail what it is you must do if you’re going to go from surviving to thriving. Hold on to your hats because it’s going to be a great ride if you choose to participate in our retailing program that leads to increase sales and profits.
|
|