The Waldoff Group Blog

Lost a Sale? It All Started With How You Greeted Your Customer

2011-10-21T11:55:00.000-07:00

Your custom motorcycle and you hurtle down Wilshire Boulevard. You turn around at the intersection and stop in front of an apartment building.

You grab your precious cargo – two extra large meat lovers’ pizzas with extra cheese and extra sausage, and hurry into the building.

Within moments you have bounded to the second floor to knock on your friend’s door 20 minutes before the start of the game – the semifinals of the NCAA Division I basketball tournament. No one answers.

You can hear the TV on but no one comes to the door. You wait, then cautiously enter and see two of your friends talking. They stop and notice you, but go on talking.

You shut the door, take off your leather jacket and go up to them. “Hey,” one says and looks past you. The other looks at the counter and yells, “Hey the pizza is here!” and they all run over as if you weren’t there.

How would you feel?

Well that’s how first timers might feel entering your store or showroom when they are ignored.

That’s how many salespeople ultimately lose sales opportunities.

If a friend knocked on your front door, how would you answer? “May I help you?”, “I’ll be with you in a minute?”, “Finding everything ok?”, of course not! Yet, the curt actions of poor clerks often give that message. As their excuse for not greeting a customer, some trainees tell me, “But I don’t like to be bothered when I shop. I like to be left alone.”

Well introvert, retail is not about what you want. It is about what customers want. Leaving the customer alone costs your company big money. 80% of customers never return to businesses due to perceived indifference from staff. 80% want to be noticed. 100% want a friendly greeting.

Greeting anyone with “Good afternoon, welcome to (your store name) feel free to look around and I’ll be right back,” is not pushy, it’s good manners and the first step to making a successful sale. Doing it within 15 seconds is the best (that’s not that long – try counting as you walk in to your store.)

Sometimes employees size up the customer long before they actually say anything to them. I used to have an employee like this – he felt he could “read” everyone and if they were just looking, he’d let someone else wait on them. It would be like the hostess of your local diner giving the Prime Rib menu to only those she felt could afford it, while the others got the menu with hot dogs. That comes from their personality but that’s another post…

If you’re with a customer and another walks in, first ask the person you’re helping, “Would you mind if I greet this person, I’ll be right back?” Any reasonable person will say, “Yes.” When you meet the new customer, greet her with, “Good morning! Welcome to (your store name). While I’m with another customer, please look around and I’ll be right back.”

No reasonable person will be offended and you can go back to your first customer. The person who entered can relax and look around and the first customer doesn’t feel you abandoned them.

The best salespeople make big sales by developing warm relationships that start with a friendly greeting. Whether they are white, black, straight, gay, single, a couple, a mom, etc. They’re all purple and their money is green.

If you don’t perform this first step of a sale properly- greeting them like they are coming to your home, you often make your job as a salesperson much harder.

By Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor

Gannett Blog: Bulletin: Gannett announces 700 newspaper layoffs

2011-07-24T09:11:00.000-07:00

Gannett Blog: Bulletin: Gannett announces 700 newspaper layoffs: "U.S. newspapers division President Bob Dickey distributed the following memo today to more than 20,000 employees at virtually all Gannett'..." This morning (Sunday, July 24, 2011) I did not get my local Gannett Sunday morning newspaper the Hattiesburg American ... this happens so very frequently I'm on a first name basis with the Circulation Department, so frequently earlier this week I emailed the General Manager and was told delivery of the American is 'contracted out'! Her statement as copied and pasted: "Thanks so much for taking the time to email me with your concerns about the Hattiesburg American’s delivery. As General Manager, I am ultimately responsible for all operations here at the newspaper. I agree 100% that our delivery service is not what it should be. About 3 years ago, the Hattiesburg American made the decision to contract out the delivery of the newspaper. We now have contracts with three delivery Agents responsible for the delivery of the Hattiesburg American, the Clarion Ledger and the USA Today. This decision has been beneficial in many ways but has made it much harder for me to manage the delivery process. Please know that I am working diligently to improve our service." Like thousands of other locals I have elected to not renew my subscription when it expires in eight or so weeks. Being a life long resident of the Hattiesburg, MS I have read the paper all my life, as a child in the 1930's we - my older sister and younger brother - were required to read the American and be able to discuss items published in the American over dinner. My father came to Hattiesburg in 1924, my mother in 1925, they insisted on our being aware of what was happening ... they insisted that we all get good educations, sending us out of state to universities, my brother to Europe. I have always looked forward to reading newspapers, when traveling I always pick up USA Today, NYTimes, WSJ and very often local papers. It is disgusting to me that over the past four or five years too often the American has not been delivered, and let me say, I live in the city limits in a middle class subdivision on a lake with paved streets and street lights within 5 to 10 minutes from two Universities. For 70 years our family owned and operated a business that regularly advertised in the American, some years we were the single largest advertiser. The Newspaper Advertising Bureau (NAB) on a number of occasions selected Waldoff's advertising as some of the best in the United States awarding us plaques, trophies, certificates at conferences in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. Currently I do consulting for retail stores nationally and purchase advertising for clients, often we use newspaper where the demographics, circulation and coverage merits. Having said that, it is not surprising newspaper advertising sales are down on a local and national level for Gannett, I understand the dramatic impact the weak economy, Internet and television has had on the industry, regardless when the product cannot be delivered to those of us who want to receive their local paper, pay for their subscription in advance and still don't receive the paper ... the question is not what can be done to increase advertising sales, rather it is how soon before the paper stops publishing? It will! If I were a stock holder in Gannett I'd bail out when the market opens tomorrow morning, there is no potential upside for a company that does not deliver its product to the consumer. Additionally, I read the news release of July 18th: "Gannett Co., which publishes USA Today and more than 80 daily newspapers, reported a 22 percent decline in its second-quarter net income on Monday ... " In this news release the COO responding to a question was quoted as saying: GRACIA MARTORE, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: "With regard to newspaper ad trends during the quarter, I'd say obviously April was a little bit better month because of the later Easter, and also we had some things earlier in the quarter in the U.K. that helped numbers. I think June actually was a better month sequentially. So felt good about the way we closed out the quarter, and I'd say as we look into July, the sense we've gotten, and remember, it's extremely early in the quarter, is that things are perking along about in the same way. A little bit of improvement here and there, certainly nothing that looks less satisfying than what we achieved in the second quarter. So I think overall the quarter is getting off to the same sort of momentum start as the second quarter ended." The COO says he 'felt good about the way we closed out the quarter" ... down 22% in net income? Mr. Martore talked like a member of Congress, talking out of both sides of his mouth, spinning facts, not addressing the issue, ending on a positive note! ... as if he were talking to people that didn't have the ability to understand his bull shit. I found that type rhetoric insulting! Goodbye Gannett! Goodbye Hattiesburg American! Respectfully, Milton Waldoff Hattiesburg, MS

Inventory Control

2010-08-01T15:54:00.000-07:00

I continue to visit with some stores that do not have an inventory control system.

Let me note here ... I am not in the business of selling inventory control systems!

In EVERY situation they were over stocked, over bought and all had much to much
old out of season carry over inventory!

In every situation they had too much in some classifications and too little in
other classifications.

If you are in the retail business you should have an inventory control system -
if you want to be profitable!

You should know what is on hand at all times!

You should know what is selling at all times!

You should know what is not selling at all times!

You should be carrying the necessary inventory in each situation!

You should know what your Open to Buy (OTB) going forward is ... at all times!

You should know what your OTB is by classification.

You should adhere to an OTB like you should adhere to a budget!

There are a number of companies that offer computerized inventory control and OTB!

Some are excellent, some are not!

Much is dependent on the representative you work with.

Some are excellent, some are a disaster!

I have worked with stores that were signed on with respected inventory control
companies and their representative had no clue about what was right for the
store ... their turn was much too low, their markdowns were too low - yes, their
markdowns were too low! Their inventory was not focused on where the customer
was buying! ...and too often the representative took great exception to my
honest analysis of the situation.

Regardless ... not having an OTB is like attempting to build a house without a set
of detailed plans!

And, it's up to you to make sure you are getting the right advice!

Debt

2010-08-01T15:40:00.000-07:00

You can't borrow yourself out of debt!

Surviving As This Unusual Economy Continues to NOT Recover

2010-08-01T15:02:00.000-07:00

Driving home late evening recently I was thinking about the stores I am working with and some of the stores I am talking with. This was following a heart breaking conversation at dinner with a man whose son and son-in-law have a men's operation which is soon to be in bankruptcy. In as much as they are too far gone with too many problems to attempt to save, even too many problems for me to become involved with ... and I have an enviable reputation in crisis management. The son and son-in-law are going to lose their store, their homes along with their savings!

I could not think of anything else from the time I left them, waiting in the airport, on the flight home, as I walked to baggage claim, as I drove home from the airport and since ... I made some notes, finally this afternoon I am getting around to creating this blog and at the same time adding additional information so as to hopefully assist some merchant store owners from getting in the same situation!

The point of this email is to emphasize ...

1. The great importance of keeping your inventory in line, not allowing your store to get over inventoried and not getting over bought. You would not go to the super market and buy more tomatoes than you can eat before they spoil. Why allow that to happen with merchandise in your store?

2. Buy less and only what you can sell over the short term and pay for!

3. Take fast markdowns and increase turn while maintaining a constant flow of fresh desirable merchandise, so every week there is newness in the store ... Remember there is new merchandise on the market constantly. In over 40 years in the women's and men's fashion apparel and accessory business I have NEVER been to New York and not been able to locate more fresh desirable merchandise that was right for our stores.

4. Stay liquid and take care of every customer that enters the store like you and your employees have never taken care of customers before. It is very expensive to attract a new customer, keeping an existing customer is so important, don't lose sight of their great importance to you and your survival.

5. Write every customer a thank you note and phone customers to thank them for their business .... yes, 'write' a thank you note and phone ... make that a must! Sure it is time consuming and requires a special effort ... it is less of hassle and less expensive than locating and motivating a new customer to shop your store. Convince your sales people that it is also less hassle than locating a new job! If you really want to save and grow your business - this is a must!

6. Don't miss an opportunity to communicate with a customer who has been in the store and express your appreciation for their shopping in your store. Sales people come and go ... you are a constant ... you are the owner ... you need and must have customer loyalty ... to you and your store! Re-read item number 5 above!

7. It is a buyers market ... the weak, unattentive, unappreciative, unorganized store owners are not going to survive these difficult times. Re-read # 5 and # 6 above!

8. For the last eight+ years stores have been closing faster than ever in my memory, regardless of the promises you hear out of Washington ... a significant recovery has not happend and not on the immediate horizon. Don't bet on what might happen - stick to solid proved retail practices! Matter of fact, drive by any automobile dealers parking lot ... look carefully, you'll see less cars than at any time in the past 20 years ... why? People are buying less automobiles just like they are buying less apparel, accessories, shoes and just about everything else!

Matter of fact ... walk through Neiman's, Nordstrom, Saks, etc., you'lll note they are all carrying a great deal less inventory.

9. Businesses may now be laying off less employees then over the last five or six years, hiring is still much lower than in the past and there is no solid indication it will pick up anytime soon. Nearly everybody I know and talk with have been and are effected in some manner! You! Me! Your son and daughters! Your neighbors!

10. Homes are still being foreclosed and there are more homes on the market than can be absorbed in the next 18 to 24 months ... probably longer.

11. Banks have not made it easier for small or big business to get loans, they continue to cancel and call customers loans at the slightest indication of slowness.

12.Jobs continue to be scarce, unemployment in many areas of the country is 8+ percent.

13. Gas prices will sky rocket if Iran develops nuclear weapons, which according to the media could happen within the next 24 months, perhaps much sooner. The Middle East remains in constant turmoil, don't bet your money in the form of excess inventory on what may or may not happen in that area ... or with Korea.

14. Retail chains are still closing stores. Including Starbucks, Blockbuster and super market chains.

15. Wal-Mart may be doing a few percentage points more than last year. The retail specialty stores I know are not a Wal-Mart!

16. Airlines are continuing to pack us in like sardines, without the olive oil! Most are charging for checked bags and some like U. S. Air charge for desirable coach seating.

17. Stores are continuing to promote earlier, with deeper markdowns, deeper discounts and stronger and more frequent advertising! ... especially email!

18. Now is not the time to expand or open new stores ... and nearly all shopping center devlopment around the country is continuing to be on hold. New store openings are being postponed.

19.Congress remains totally dysfunctional!

20. The wars in the Middle East continues to cost 2+ BILLION a week! Our goverment is having to borrow more and more BILLIONS, primarily from foreign countries - debt is now measured in TRILLIONS upon TRILLIONS of dollars. At some point Washington is going to have to bite the bullet and increase taxes to pay this debt down!

21. The congressional election in November will not solve the problem! Don't bet on it! If the Democrats keep a majority in congress they still will not function without the cooperation of the Republicans. If the Republicans take the House and/or Senate they will not function without the Democrats and a Democratic President.

22. Do not depende on an improved economy over the short run! Let's say it does improve dramatically, you will be able to buy additional merchandise! Note # 3 above!

23. 90% of your customers do not have to buy clothes and accessories! They can wear the same dresses, shirts, blouses, sweaters, jackets, skirts, pants, shorts, bras, lingerie, etc., they currently own ... the great majority of people don't buy new clothes because they wear them out or have nothing to wear! They are not going to go nude because they don't buy something new. People, including you and me, buy because we 'think'or 'want it' not because we need it, rather because it makes us 'feel good' ... however, as income stays tight and especially if taxes go up at the end of this year, customers can live without what you sell, eating out, electronics, furniture, decor items, cars, suv's, and vacations ... all things we can put off or live without! In the depression of the late 1920's and the 1930's the consumers did not start buying clothes until needed - by then WWII had started!

24. To survive, you and every other store must operate smarter, constantly watch expenses and pay more attention to every detail.

25. Spend all day or at least as much time as possible every day on the sales floor! Greet your customers, remember names, make sure your employees are greeting your customers, make sure the customers know you are there, you apprecaite them and as I said in item # 5 and 6 ... thank them with a thank you note or phone call. Regardless of the amount of the purchase! Remember the person that buys a small and inexpensive items today is a customer that knows your store and may well be in the market for something more expensive tomorrow - they will certainly share with their family and friends disappointing service - we know that from hundreds of studies made over the past 40 years, additionally, by being on the floor you will get better production from your sales people ... and perhaps you will not need as much coverage, if you are on the floor.

It is going to be a great deal easier to follow these suggestions than it is to look for a job in this economy. And, if you have an employee that is not giving you a 100% and does not follow your instructions about taking care of customers and writing thank you notes, you need to remind them as noted in item # 5 above, "It's going to be a lot easier to do what is necessary to keep this job than it is to locate another job!"

DO NOT ALLOW UNATTENTIVE AND UNAPPRECIATIVE EMPLOYEES TO PUT YOU OUT OF BUSINESS!

I am not preaching doom and gloom'!

I am saying it is not going to get better over the short term!

No one has a clue as to how long this will last!

Don't try to out smart the economy!

Economist don't know!

Think about something a great football coach once said about his under performing losing team ...

"It's the basics ... blocking and tackling that we are not doing! Unless we get them correct, you can forget about winning!"

So it goes for retail!

It is Retail 101.

If you don't take care of the basics ... you can forget about surviving!

There will be thousands of independent retailers that will survive this economy!

There will be thousands that have not and will not survive this economy!

"It's the basics!"

Get them right or your store will become history!

If you have better survival ideas ... we all need to hear them!

A summation of some of what I have said above: merchandise flow must be timed right, merchandise must be fresh and desirable, slow sellers must be reduced rapidly and moved out of the store, sales people must be attentive, caring and express their appreciation and do the things that will keep your store(s) viable!

A quote to remember:

"The most common form of failure is giving up what you want most for what you want right now." Earlier this afternoon I posted on this blog additional quotes on 'Failure' you might find of interesting.

Very simply, there are less dollars being spent on apparel, accessories and shoes ... competition is tougher and the customer has more options to save on what they buy. Clients that have followed our recommendations are without exception doing better if we are assisting them in staying in business, and if we are or have assisted them with a going out of business sale.

Regardless, you will continue to see a lot of store closings and going out of business sales over the next 12 to 18 months ... we have gotten more calls in the past six months than at anytime over the past 12+ years!

A thought that I picked up from Vicki Pevsner, a respected consultant:

There is an art to opening a business!
There is an art to operating a business!
There is an art to closing a business!"

Milton Waldoff
The Waldoff Group
Solutions Especially For Independent Stores

Failure

2010-08-01T13:09:00.000-07:00

FAILURE

The most common form of failure is giving up what you want most for what you
want right now. Unknown

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.
Henry Ford

     Remember the two benefits of failure. First, if you do fail, you learn what
   doesn't work; and second, the failure gives you the opportunity to try a new
   approach.  Roger von Oech

Success is not built on success. It's built on failure. It's built on frustration.
Sometimes it’s built on catastrophe. Sumner Redstone

Failure is not fatal; victory is not success. Tony Richardson

     Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though
   checkered by failure ... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy
   nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory
   nor defeat. Theodore Roosevelt

Success is not forever and failure isn't fatal. Don Shula

     We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often
   discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who
   never made a mistake never made a discovery.  Samuel Smiles

     Like success, failure is many things to many people. With A Positive Mental
   Attitude, failure is a learning experience, a rung on the ladder, a plateau at
   which to get your thoughts in order and prepare to try again.
     W. Clement Stone

     Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not
   defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we
   can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.
   Denis Waitley

The Waldoff Group

Retail Solutions Especially For Independent Stores

TheWaldoffGroup.com

2009-10-16T17:02:00.000-07:00

Below is a note from a former client, Anne Beneville, who owned an upscale shop in Nyack, NY named Hip Chik. I assisted her in closing the shop in the Fall of 2007 because her husband was being transferred to another city.

The talk she mentioned was written to deliver at the Las Vegas MAGIC Show, Feb 16, 2009. MAGIC is the largest men’s, women’s, children’s apparel and accessory show held in the world, twice a year in Vegas. So large that the new convention center cannot hold all the vendors and now the show has spread to three or more other convention centers and hotels … 90,000 +/-

From: Annie Beneville
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2009 6:20 AM
To: TheWaldoffGroup

Well, hello Milton!

What a great speech you gave - so appropriate & succinct. I see now the mistakes I'd been making owning Hip Chik. I'm relieved to have had the reason to close when I did otherwise I would not have survived.

Your words are pearls of wisdom & those who follow will survive.

Sincerely,

Anne

Do lean inventories mean retail holiday woes?

2009-10-16T15:15:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from MRketplace.com - October 16, 2009

As consumer spending has fallen amid the economic downturn, U.S. retail chains have cut back savagely on inventory to save cash. An understandable reaction, but one that could spell trouble for suppliers and retailers alike in the run-up to the holiday season, reports Richard Woodard.

The grim specter of last year's Christmas holiday shopping season is still casting its gloomy shadow over the U.S. retail sector as the year's most crucial trading period beckons once more.

Retailers have spent much of the past 12 months cutting staff, shuttering stores and renegotiating credit lines in a bid to stay profitable -- or just to stay alive.

And one thing is clear: this time around, they are determined not to be stuck with unwanted merchandise which will have to be sold off at deep discounts in the new year.

In many cases, inventories have fallen harder and faster than sales as companies look to reduce their cost base and boost gross margins.

To take a few recent examples of inventory cuts: Talbots (Q2) -- down 29% on last year; Neiman Marcus (Q4) -- down 23%; Tween Brands (Q2) -- down 18.5% per sq ft; Saks (projected, H2) -- down in the low to mid teens percent.

No wonder then that companies like Brown Shoe, for instance, have seen fierce cuts in wholesale revenues -- in the footwear company's case, down 21.1% in the second quarter.

Caution and conservatism

Clearly, caution and conservatism are the dominant emotions this year, and for good reason.

But if these emotions are not kept under some control, retailers could find their shelves emptying at an alarming rate during what should be the most lucrative trading time of the year.

According to the snappily titled "U.S. small and mid-market outlook 2009: Retailers and suppliers take stock of economic downturn," a report compiled by Forbes Insights in association with financial services company CIT, this year's retail picture isn't just about lean inventories.

The survey found that retailers wary of losing sales momentum to competitors were likely to discount more and earlier this holiday period -- viewing this as an easy way of injecting quick cash into their hard-pressed businesses.

Meanwhile, retail consultant Emerson Advisors suggests splitting shipments into multiple deliveries, effectively committing to purchases at the latest possible date and giving the opportunity to cancel or reduce if the trends don't look promising.

The company also recommends, where possible, holding back up to 20% of deliveries, watching demand and then sending merchandise to stores where it's selling, rather than where sales are weak.

Playing with fire
All of these tactics make sense, but they're also playing with fire. Get it right and you maximize profits, minimize expenses and those gross profit figures look rosy; get it wrong and you risk missing out on desperately needed sales.

No retailer wants to be left with racks full of unsold stock as 2009 comes to a close, running inventories lean and mean may make economic sense, but the margin for error is wafer-thin.

Milton Waldoff note: Independent retailers have a huge advantage over chains, they can turn on a dime: -

- Jump on a plane and go to NYC on a Sunday return 2 to 4 days later having replenished their inventory into the categories and items that are selling.

- They can schedule an email or ad last minute!

- They can move the store around in a matter of minutes to feature what’s selling.

- Owners are right there to lead, motivate, follow up and sell!

Don’t lose sight of the great opportunities afford you as a independent store with one or a few stores.

Customer Service Overhaul

2009-10-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

Excellent article!
Take the time to read and implement!
It has been my experience that many retailers think they are giving better customer service than they are.
Really good customer service is ‘exceeding the customers expectations’, which includes a phone call or thank you note following the customers visit to the store!
Milton

Customer Service Overhaul
From the Internet by DMS
We all think we know how important customer service is to being successful in retail. Then why    do we, as consumers, keep getting lousy service wherever we go?
Assuming most customers are reasonable people, the answer to the above question is:
1. Store staff doesn't know or don't understand what the expected behavior in terms of customer    care is or
2. Management gives the issue only lip service and does not establish firm criteria to maintain high customer service levels.
It always boils down to quality of management doesn't it? In both of the above cases, it's management that is squarely responsible. So, before things get even worse, here are the commandments you need to put in place and make sure they are ingrained into everyone's mind:
1.   A Vision of Customer Service Excellence That is Clearly Developed and Communicated: If you do not set the expectations right from the beginning, you can't blame anyone but yourself.
2. Recruit, Hire, Train and Promote People with People Skills: When you are interviewing for new people, look for indications of a friendly, helpful nature and ask questions probing for the level of people skills . When evaluating staff performance, make sure there is considerable emphasis on their performance in the area of customer service.
3. Measure Individual Service Performance, Report Results and Celebrate Victories: What is not measured can not be managed. End of story. Develop a performance chart for each staff member and rate them from 1 to 10 for their Customer Service performance. You'll see a marked improvement almost immediately.
4. Solve Problems When and Where They Occur - that means immediately: Customer studies show that as long as a problem is resolved fast and to the customer's benefit, most become very loyal customers for life. Study your policies and procedures and eliminate the fluff and unnecessary steps that take up time. To speed up the problem resolution process, empower your staff to make certain decisions without having to look for management.
5. Stay Close to Your Customer: When was the last time you took one of your customers to lunch or even a coffee? I know a lot of you are laughing at me at this point; but unless you know their honest opinion, how are you going to improve your operation? Think about it.
Review the above points in your retail environment and make sure you are 100% on top of all of it. That, in itself, would be a major accomplishment.
Milton Waldoff added this reminder: The customer that is easiest to get back into the store is the customer that has shopped the store and been delighted with the customer service and likes the merchandise!

Sales Tip: The Value of Follow-Up AFTER You've Made the Sale!

2009-10-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

Everyone that has worked with me has heard me say over and over again the great importance of follow up after the sale. I believe that when most people hear the words customer service, they automatically think of the service that occurs during the actual sale. It is just as critical after the sale! It is the icing on the cake! It solidifies the relationship between the customer and the store, not just the sales person.

Remember ‘excellence is in the details’!

Milton Waldoff Group

The Importance of Customer Service After The Sale
From the Internet by Brad Huisken

We have spent hours and hours talking about the importance of customer service and how that should be the foundation of every sale that you make. We have not talked however, about the importance of customer service after the sale. I believe that when most people hear the words customer service, they automatically think of the service that occurs during the actual sale.

Most salespeople provide quality customer service during the sale because the satisfaction is immediate and it is a means to an end. In other words, good customer service leads directly to a sale. However, the top salespeople are not on top because they make one sale to each customer. They are on top because they make multiple sales to repeat customers. So, what sets them apart from others? The difference is that the professional salespeople are providing that same high level of customer service after the sale as well. I know that people want to buy from their friend in the industry.

My automobile guy is my automobile guy because he is my buddy in the business. We do not socialize very often; in fact, we rarely see each other. However, he is my guy. Since he is my guy, he has also sold cars to my sons, daughter, and friends of mine who are in need of a car. I just happen to mention his name and give out his business card. My insurance guy is my insurance guy not because we are friends but because he is the nephew of my wife’s best friend. For this reason alone, we have our homeowners insurance, car insurance, business insurance, and health insurance with him. I imagine you can guess with whom my children have their insurance. Your right, my insurance guy. I might also add that once these two people had secured my business they have lived up to my high expectations, which in turn has caused me to give them a tremendous amount of referral business.

Your business is no different, get your customers to think of you, as their friend in the industry and you will be amazed at the snowball effect it will have on your productivity. Some of the things that need doing should be obvious to you including: follow-up calls, written thank you notes and so on...

Too often...many more things that need doing are usually overlooked...to the great determent of the business.

Thoughts gathered from the Internet

2009-10-14T18:39:00.000-07:00

Thoughts gathered from the Internet

by Milton Waldoff

Following the retail press and talking with clients and others over the last month or so, the conversation has evolved from "will things turn around this fall?" to "how do we succeed in this new environment?"

The comps get easier as we move into the 4th quarter, mainly because the big down turn started in Sept and Oct 2008, so the reported numbers should improve, and perhaps the overall tone of the reporting, but few think we'll see the economy and consumer spending bounce back dramatically. Everybody understands that business will have to be earned, one sale at a time, one customer at a time.

The pieces I've chosen for this month focus on this theme; one sale at a time, one customer at a time.

From Hurlburt & Associates

How Do I Drive More Traffic Into The Store?

"When I was writing Shopportunity! I was told a reportedly true story of a Nordstrom shoe department sales person in Los Angeles. You've certainly heard her legend: She sells more than $1.5 million worth of shoes a year and is the number one sales person in all Nordstrom. Customer-by-customer she's built an amazing business and one that is not dependent upon traffic.

One of the underleveraged elements of a great retailer selling great merchandise through great sales people is the ability of the person on the floor to educate. But you don't have to be talking with the customer in real time to educate. You can mine your past sales, determine what the customer might like to know about now and reach out to (her)."

From Retail Customer Experience...

Retailers Try To Get Personal With Shoppers

"If there is a silver lining to the current recession and any signs of hope for a fashion retail environment that has been hammered by the Internet, it may be this: Shopping is about to get interesting again.

Retailers are in the process of shifting from being brand and product-centric to being market and consumer-centric. In other words, the shopper is in the driver's seat. Stores at every price point are having to work harder than ever to get people in the door, and, once they get them there, to pique their interest in what they're selling."

From the Los Angeles Times.com...

Recession Forcing Retailers To Think Small

"The Great Recession and Americans' retreat into thriftiness are teaching retailers a new lesson: How to survive when consumers are focused on "needs" rather than "wants."

For years, shoppers splurged on everything from $5 lattes to $200 jeans, and retailers responded by opening more stores and offering more choices. Now, beset by high unemployment and limited access to credit, shoppers are limiting most of their purchases only to essentials or the best deals.

The changes are likely to last for years. Even when the economy improves, it will take years before the debts that piled up during the decade-long shopping spree are paid off. Americans are also getting used to their newly adopted frugal habits of saving more and spending less."

From the Associated Press...

Small Business: Keeping A Sales Team, Well, Sailing

'With all the doom and gloom in the marketplace, it's easy to fall into a slump, particularly when sales are down and the pressure is on to perform. But now's the perfect time to be working with your sellers on perfecting their pitch and helping them see beyond all the negativity so they're better equipped to deal with the challenges ahead."

"Owners and managers' primary job right now should be to find a way to keep their sales team out of a negative pattern and help them find the silver lining in this supposed dark cloud."

From Newsday.com...

Retailers and suppliers brace for slow recovery

2009-10-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

The following is a copy and paste from MRketPlace.com received today via email that I thought you might find of interest. The yellow high lights were done by me.

As you have heard me say:

Control inventories! ... Do not allow slow sellers to remain on your floor! ... Take fast markdowns!... Don’t over buy! ... Make more market trips! ... Give the customer better service then they expect!... Write thank you notes to every customer!

Milton Waldoff
The Waldoff Group

In The News

Retailers and suppliers brace for slow recovery

September 18, 2009

Faced with one of the most challenging years on record, retailers and their suppliers are being forced to adjust their business strategies to deal with this drearier operating environment. And with retail inventories down, discounts up, and credit still tight, many believe that consumer spending will lag the turnaround of the U.S. financial markets, new research reveals.

Few industries have felt the effects of the recession as acutely as retail.

The impact of plummeting consumer spending on the sector has been well documented, with many retailers dealing with tumbling revenues, slow-turning inventory, steep discounts, and stressed cash flow.

As a result, many middle-market merchants have spent late-2008/2009 in a state of strategic and operational stasis, limiting activity, slowing spending, renegotiating leases, and holding on tight as they wait for small signs of recovery.

The impact has not just been on retailers, but also on the vendors that manufacture and distribute the apparel and other goods retailers sell.

With retailers working hard to conserve their cash and deal with declining demand, they are purchasing less from their suppliers, and may be paying those suppliers more slowly, straining their cash flow.

How harsh have things been?

According to a new study produced by Forbes Insights in association with financial services firm CIT, nearly two out of three suppliers say they have been impacted by a retail customer bankruptcy this past year.

And worryingly, many retailers are taking a more conservative and cautious approach to the upcoming holiday season by controlling their inventories, and are planning more aggressive discounts earlier in the season.

"Many retailers continue to be concerned about consumer demand and are following conservative inventory and pricing tactics in anticipation of the upcoming holiday season, trying to maintain liquidity, so that they can be better positioned for what is hopefully resumption in consumer spending in 2010," explains Burt Feinberg, managing director and industry group head of retail finance at CIT.

Key findings
Key findings of the research report, 'U.S. Small and Middle Market Outlook 2009: Retailers and Suppliers Take Stock of Economic Downturn,' include:

Cautiously awaiting the return of consumer confidence. While half of middle-market retailers saw their revenues decline over the past 12 months, 41% expect their revenues to grow over the next year. However, growth rates may be tempered by a slow recovery in consumer spending.

Cutting costs and conserving cash. Falling revenues have caused many retailers to take steps to cut costs and conserve cash. They have halted planned expansions, put off store renovations and redesigns, re-merchandised their shelves, and closed existing stores.

They are also revising their leases, and seeking new terms with creditors.

Increased M&A activity on the horizon. The primary drivers of M&A activity will be the greater availability of credit, reduced valuations and the need for weaker companies to merge.

Inventory issues: Slow-turning inventory has been a burden for middle-market merchants. Even though they are stocking less than they did a year ago, many still feel that their cutbacks have not been deep enough. As a result, discounting has been rampant as retailers look to turn slow-selling goods.

Retailer bankruptcies impacting suppliers. Nearly two out of three have been impacted by a retail customer bankruptcy this past year, and nearly the same number expects additional retail bankruptcies in the next 12 months.

Many are turning to factoring and credit insurance more to protect themselves from possible customer bankruptcies.

. Managing customer relationships. To protect their businesses, suppliers are doing less business with retail customers with weak finances, they are monitoring their accounts receivable more closely, and are imposing more stringent credit terms and deposits for new customers.

At the same time, many are offering incentives to retail customers who pay early.

Guarded about the future
Not surprisingly, retailers remain quite guarded about the future, with most believing it will take several years before consumer spending returns to pre-recessionary levels.
Nevertheless, they remain hopeful for a possible turnaround beginning in 2010 to set their industry back on course.

And for those retailers and suppliers that are able to weather these challenges, better times may lie ahead.

A copy of the complete report can be downloaded here. (Note: Since this is a copy and paste you cannot download the complete report here, however you can go to MRketplace.com and you will be able.

See other news from around the world at Just-Style.com

Get breaking news stories from MRketplace.com by e-mail. Register today.

Opinion: The difference between clerking and selling

2009-10-14T17:47:00.000-07:00

By Bob Phitts - 23 Sep 2009

Times are tough. Good help is hard to find. Got it.

But wouldn't you think, if you weren't making money, you'd change your ways?
I'm talking about sales and how your crew is or isn't doing it. Here's how what I call "low-hanging fruit clerking" goes:

Customer walks in. Employee yells across the counter, "How are you today? Looking for anything special?"

Customer looks around, after a while asks employee, "Do you have this in a set?"

"I do right over here."

"I'll take it."

That is not selling.

That would be about as much like selling as a guy walking into a Ford dealership: "Yeah, I'm looking for the Mustang GT 5-speed in grey with black seats." "Right over here."

That is clerking. It is what passes for customer service. A real sale would be if the guy came in for a Focus and drove off in the Mustang because the salesperson found things in common and the customer opened up to him that he always wanted one since he was 16 in Toledo, Ohio and first saw it on the Ed Sullivan Show.

True selling is the whole tree, not just picking what you can reach without effort. When a customer thinks they can't afford it, when the wife says "you better think about it," when the customer selects a product that won't do what they want — that is when selling makes the difference. It's not pushy, and it's not cheap or tacky. It's the stuff of American business success.

When I was selling western wear in college at a store in the Santa Monica Place mall, I had a guy who came in to the store and immediately told me he needed a red shirt for a party. "Why red?" I asked. "My girlfriend told me to." I showed him how red really wasn't a good color for his skin, shared the mistake I'd made getting one once and found a good blue shirt he would wear more than once to a party. He also got a pair of boots and jeans — about $300 worth.

He returned to me after he received a handwritten note from me thanking him for his purchase. "You know, most people would have just gotten me the shirt and been done with it. But you took the time to educate me. Everybody said I looked so great, I should get more, so I'm changing my wardrobe." With that he purchased thousands of dollars of product.

Low-hanging fruit would have been to clerk a $30 shirt.

You want to compete in a global marketplace? Standout from a world that is overbuilt with power centers? Take money out of the business instead of putting it in every month? Reach higher. Hire salespeople. Encourage them to reach higher with every sale.

As any gardener can tell you, the ripest fruit hangs at the top, not near the bottom.

Opinion: Retailers need to cut their SKUs

2009-10-14T17:40:00.000-07:00

Although Bob Phibbs addresses his comments to large chain stores, I thought you might find the article below of interest. Click here to read his article.

I have added my comments to his article, they are in red.

Additionally I have hi-lighted in yellow comments that I strongly agree with.

Milton

Opinion: Retailers need to cut their SKUs by Bob Phibbs

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal talked about how all the largest chains are reducing choices for consumers.

Pharmacy chain Walgreen Co. is cutting the types of superglues it carries to 11 from 25. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has decided that 24 different tape measures is 20 too many. Kroger Co. has tested stripping out about 30 percent of its cereal varieties.

In the next year or so, these and a few of the other largest retailers are expected to slice the assortment of products in their stores by at least 15 percent, industry executives and analysts say.

"All that go-go 1990s where we were adding items in and adding items in, and people wanted more, more, more, more choice… just didn’t pay off," said Catherine Lindner, Walgreen’s divisional vice president for marketing development, at a recent conference. Looking at store shelves, "people say, 'Whoa, you’re bombarding me. Help me figure out what I need.'"

Specialty stores key to success are ‘edited selections’, fresh new merchandise items customer are looking for now, attentive caring customer service, personal relationships, convenience and competitive prices.

If the big guys are doing it, you should be too. Here’s how: Not necessarily!

Take a look at your inventory categories’ sales figures by month and year-to-date. Know what ‘categories’ are selling and the percent of your monthly and annual business they produce profitably, plus how that compares to your monthly and annual inventories.

· Within each category, look at your bottom 20 ~~percent~~ 30 or 40 or ??% of your inventory — the ones ‘catagories’ not moving.

Cancel all orders to replenish This is big box computer lingo for automatically reordering! In specialty store language, we’d refer to this as a mindless re-order.
Come up with a sale to clear them out The sooner the better!
Use money saved to add to your top two categories of merchandise Or perhaps simply reduce total inventory so as to improve turn, gross profit and reduce debt!

It’s never easy to let go of items we personally thought would be good movers but when you have ~~20,000~~ (too many) SKUs, how much duplication of selection do you need?

The big boys know: too much selection does not improve sales. Same with you.

It is very important to keep in mind that a store cannot be all things to all people!

Remember - carve a niche, focus, fast markdowns, turn, newness and gross margin!

Keep your focus on turn, gross margin and newness … that means you are focused on the core items of your business and you are turning your inventory at least 5 to 8 times a year based on monthly sales to inventory by category, dept, class … at retail!

Never ever carry over anything from one season to another. If your customers didn’t buy it this season, why will they all of sudden they want it next season? It the item going to improve with age? All of the sudden they are going to start liking corsets?

Do not get emotionally attached to inventory!

Wanna understand this better … call me!

Same Store Sales Don't Really Show the Growth, Recovery or Hope First Reported by U.S. Retail Industry Experts in September, 2009

2009-10-14T17:23:00.000-07:00

This is one of the most accurate and informative analyses of what is happening in retail and the media coverage I have seen!

Take the time … the yellow hi-lights and dark face hi-lights were done by me.

Milton Waldoff

Same Store Sales Don't Really Show the Growth, Recovery or Hope First Reported by U.S. Retail Industry Experts in September, 2009 By Barbara Farfan

Monday October 12, 2009

Comparing this year's sales in stores open for at least a year with last year's sales in stores open for at least a year is supposed to reveal the strength of a retail chain. This is the premise of same store sales figures and this is what motivates members of the U.S. retail industry to go to the trouble of calculating, reporting, and analyzing same store sales monthly, quarterly, and annually.

Based on this premise of "strength," same store sales of the Old Navy chain not only had strength in September 2009, the chain seemingly developed super powers. With an impressive 13% increase in same store sales as compared to September 2008, Old Navy rocketed into positive sales territory faster than a speeding retail recovery.

To be fair to all other publicly traded U.S. retail chains, Old Navy was at a distinct advantage because it was comparing this year's September sales with last year's September, which saw an embarrassing 24% same store sales drop. And that 2008 drop was in comparison to its September 2007 sales drop of 8%, which was compared to its 3% drop in 2006, its 7% drop in 2005 and its 6% drop in 2004. In fact, Old Navy hasn't seen a same store sales increase in six years worth of Septembers.

So is this year's 13% increase really a show of Old Navy's "strength?" As much as sitting up in the intensive care unit after being hit by a bus can be viewed as strength, Old Navy did show some signs of recovery progress in September, 2009.

The problem with same store sales numbers is that they represent a limited view, but they are often given a very broad interpretation. An article in the Wall Street Journal said that the 2009 September same store sales figures "indicate that consumer confidence is beginning to return." Other headlines declared that sales were "better than expected," "on the rise," and "bouncing from the bottom." ABC News said that retail sales in September were "a sign consumer spending has started to recover and the economy was growing again." Really?

The New York Times tried to put things into perspective by reminding its readers that even though there was an upturn in September, 2009, the sales in major retailing categories were only back to 2005 levels. This is a good reminder. But let's also not forget that for some retailers, even getting back to 2005 levels is a faraway dream that is not going to be realized any time in the near future.

As an example, the executives at Limited Brands were likely giddy about seeing a plus sign in front of the chain's September, 2009 same store sales figure. It's the first time that's happened since August, 2007, so it was something worth celebrating.

A plus sign in front of same store sales is not only supposed to be a sign of strength, it's also supposed to indicate "growth." Let's take a look at the Limited's "growth" by comparing its sales figures from previous September months:

$654.8 million - September, 2009
$673.4 million - September, 2008
$713.2 million - September, 2007
$781.3 million - September, 2006
$687.3 million - September, 2005
$679.3 million - September, 2004
$714.4 million - September, 2003
$642.5 million - September, 2002

So, yes. The Limited saw some growth - if you're comparing its September 2009 sales with its September 2002 sales. But if you're comparing this September with any other September for the past seven years, the 2009 results can hardly be labeled as "growth."

Despite all other evidence, whenever a magical "plus" sign pops in front of a same store sales percentage, any history beyond one year seems to be disregarded by retail experts, who respond with unreasonable optimism.

The reward to Limited Brands for doing nothing more than exceeding its September 2002 sales levels was an immediate 4% lift in its stock prices. That puts the company's stock prices at least 10% higher than they were in September 2002. Somehow that much of a reward seems like major exuberance for a minor uptick that really wasn't all that positive.

Same store sales figures are a financial shorthand intended to provide investors with a year-over-year benchmark. But when the meaning of the numbers are misinterpreted, misunderstood, or misrepresented, it's like the shorthand has been written by a stenographer with bad handwriting. Instead of taking the time to figure out what the numbers really mean, the interpreters just see what they want to believe and then respond in an oddly disproportionate way.

Let's take a holistic and realistic look at the September, 2009 same store sales figures. Aeropostale had a 19% increase. That's on top of a 5% increase in September, 2008 and a 1.3% increase in 2007. That's what "growth" looks like.

Buckle posted a 5.1% sales increase in September 2009. That's on top of a 19.7% increase in September 2008, and a 10.9% increase in September 2007. That's what "strength" looks like.

Kohl's showed a 5.5% same store sales increase last month. But that was on top of an identical drop of 5.5% in September 2008. And that was on top of a 3.2% same store sales decrease in September 2007. Kohl's numbers might have looked positive last month, but they didn't exactly represent the "strength" or "growth" that positive same store sales are supposed to indicate.

Looking at a history of September same store sales figures reveals that of the 14 retail chains that posted positive same store sales figures in September, 2009, nearly half of them were comparing themselves to the negative numbers they had posted in September, 2008. It's easy to look positive when you're comparing yourself to your own negative past.

Of the 26 chains that still had minus signs in front of their same store sales figures last month, more than half of those declines were on top of declines in September 2008 as well. Negative on top of meltdown negative is not just doubly negative, it's more like negative squared.

Speaking of September 2008, the negative same store sales numbers that where posted that month by Neiman Marcus, Dillard's and Stein Mart were blamed in part on the impact of three major hurricanes. This year, those three chains had sales that fell even lower than last year's post-hurricane levels. Perhaps there are a few chains that are "bouncing off the bottom," but clearly there are still many U.S. retail chains that haven't found their bottom yet.

In response to the September 2009 retail sales numbers, the chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers declared "Let the retail recovery begin!" We'll just file that in the same folder as Ben Bernanke's "Recession is over" declaration last month, to be pulled out and re-read at a more appropriate time. At some point in the future both men will be right. But as long as jobs are still scarce, stores are still closing, and same store sales are still coming in at 2002 levels, neither economic expert is right quite yet.

Hope is an essential ingredient for economic recovery. But too much hope too soon could prove to be a setup for a huge consumer confidence disappointment. And when faced with record high unemployment, rapidly disappearing unemployment benefits, and a less than jolly holiday budget, the one thing that will snap consumer wallets shut even tighter than they've been before is another crisis of confidence.

While September same store sales are not really as good as many people want to believe they are, they're at least good enough to inspire cautious optimism. Considering the state that the U.S. retail industry was in this time last year, cautious optimism represents a huge improvement. For now, that is enough.

What We Don't Know Will Hurt Us

2009-02-24T15:16:00.000-08:00

The February 21, 2009 Op-Ed from the New York Times by Frank Rich should be a must read for every retailer, indeed for every American!

Link to Frank Rich's Op-Ed

I totally agree with Frank Rich, What We Don’t Know Will Hurt Us!

In many ways it ties in with my talk from Las Vegas on Monday, February 16.

You must judge as to whether to exercise extreme caution or not. Frankly, it is especially important to those of us engaged in selling direct to the consumer. I suggested in my talk that we would be ‘…. maybe 2010, maybe 2011 or perhaps 2012 or later’ before we see a significant improvement in the economy. The more I read, the more convinced I am this is true. That does not mean you should ‘close shop’ and get a tin cup … it does mean that the retailers that survive must operate totally different than we have in the past, and my talk outlines some of the things a retailer must do to survive.

It is good to be positive!

I would be positive, however very damn cautious!

We all know that the way retailers have been operating over the past eight to ten years has not been working, has not been producing the sales, gross margin or bottom line profits to survive.

I firmly believe the retailers that survive this economic depression of our time will operate with less inventory, less debt, more off price, faster markdowns, improved communication with their customers, and they will be smarter and wiser merchants than they were pre-2001. The old formula has not been working since 9-11 and will not work going forward in this economy.

There will be many retailers that survive … and many of them will be independent stores! The ones that do survive will live to see a better retail climate, they will have operated differently and smarter … they will buy less up front, they will go to market more often, they will buy less and more often, they will merchandise more selectively, they will buy off price in season, they will recognize slow sellers quicker, correct these mistake with fast mark downs, they will not carry over any merchandise from season to season, they will be much more customer service oriented, their advertising will change, as well as their attitude towards the customer. They will follow up with the customer more often, indeed after every store visit with a phone call and hand written note … they will not take their customers for granted … they will not tolerate unproductive sales people.

In the article, is Frank Rich right?

Am I right?

You will be better off being very concerned and doing the things suggested until you know for sure. At worst you will still be in business in a year or two or three or four. Not heeding this advice, you well may be watching it from the sidelines.

Read Frank Rich’s Op-Ed piece and make your own decision.

Should you need help in coping with this new economy, we are here with a plan that has worked for hard hit women’s specialty stores over the past three to four years … and it will work for you now!

It is not revolutionary, it is simply my idea of Retailing 101.

If you did not see a copy of the February 16th talk from Las Vegas, check it out here.

Milton Waldoff The Waldoff Group Check our web site: TheWaldoffGroup.com

How To Survive In This Very Unusual Economy

2009-02-24T14:50:00.000-08:00

The Waldoff Group Retail Solutions Especially For Independent Stores

An action plan for women’s specialty stores! Presented by Milton Waldoff, February 16, 2009

WWIN WomensWear In Nevada RIO Hotel & Casino - Las Vegas, Nevada

(Copy of this talk below)

Good Afternoon!

I appreciate having this opportunity to share some thoughts on how you might survive this once in 80 year economic crisis.

I’ll be brief, and I’ll be available after the meeting to visit with you or make an appointment for later today or tomorrow.

It is not necessary to take notes, a complete copy of my remarks will be available for you at the rear of the room following the luncheon.

If there is one thing I've learned in my over 40 years in retail, no one survives because they are entitled!

I assume there are some store owners here today who had a terrific 2008, increased sales, improved gross margin and made a profit they are proud of …

It is to those of you who did not have a terrific 2008 and are concerned about survival that my comments today are addressed.

At this moment you and everyone in retail are concerned about surviving this very unusual economy!

No one knows how long it will last, how many more jobs will be lost, how many more stores will close, how many more banks will fail, how many more car dealers will close, how many more businesses of all types will cease to exist.

Since January 1st more people lost their jobs in the United States than ever before during a 2 month period, the most in recorded history. Over one million jobs were eliminated, and this million does not include small businesses who typically do not report their layoffs and terminations, so it is considerably more.

It is good that our government recognizes the dire situation! Whether the trillion plus dollars they are appropriating will work, we’ll have to wait and see! At least they are doing more than simply talking about it!

Some of the biggest, best and greatest stores that ever existed in the United States are gone and more will die before this economy recovers.

Even at that, there will be many retailers that survive and live to play another day!

There will be many, many ladies specialty stores that survive!

The important question for you is …

Are you doing what is necessary to survive?

Retailers as a group have a mentality of optimistic worry!

I am personally very optimistic there is a way to operate profitably in this economy, and we’ve been proving it with stores like yours.

We know it is not continuing to operate in the same manner as we have been operating.

Personally, I am of the opinion that the retail business will get worse before it gets better, maybe in 2010, maybe in 2011 … who knows, perhaps in 2012 or later.

Operating in the manner we’ve operated for years has not worked in the last few years and it will not work in the future, and the future is now.

It is very important that we recognize the situation for what it is and take immediate action!

That will require difficult decisions!

One of my great mistakes when I was a retailer was not making difficult decisions early enough and then taking strong enough action - quick enough!

You must do what you must do to live to play another day! Don’t take anything off the table! Do what you must do!

Some of the things I strongly suggest to clients are:

Control your inventory! You must use a realistic well planned Open to Buy with inventory allocated by department in direct proportion to sales.
Calculate real dollars to the bottom line! Look at and understand your data by department, looking at margins and sales per square foot.
Develop a realistic budget for your expenses! Keep your expenses in line with your budget! Review your expenses to budget constantly, make adjustments immediately!
Analyze vendors by performance! In terms of maintained mark-up, mark downs, turns and profitability!
Never over buy unless you have a plan to move the extra merchandise! Too much merchandise can be a killer! You must have turn to survive!
Buy less and more often! Just like you do fruits and fish at the super market. Keep in mind you don’t want to put anything in the freezer.
Buy some Off Price on every trip to market! Desirable off price to me is 40% to 50% off current season goods that you hand select by style, color and size. Of course you might have to settle for a less, however push for more! You will get it more often than you expect. Every vendor has off price … items they cut too much of (or sold to little of), orders they could not ship because of store credit problems, orders that were cancelled, merchandise that arrived after the completion date, yet still in season. A vendor that says they cut to order and never have off price is lying! Have you ever prepared a meal for 12 and had nothing, zero left at the end of the meal? If so, some folks left hungry. Vendors are not perfect they can not anticipate how every item will sell, no more than you can! They give the off price to someone, why not you?
Make more market trips! You will make less mistakes by buying less and more often! Styles change, customer wants change, colors change … stay flexible! Keep a fresh flow of merchandise, the flow should be about the same retail dollars as sales + markdowns during most months! The extra cost of the trip will be justified in profits.
Take advantage of the market with LBA’s expertise and services! LBA is the best ladies specialty store resident buying office catering to small stores who focus on a moderate to better price points! Stay in touch and let them know what’s happening in your store. Communicate on a regular basis. A good New York buying office like LBA will more than justify their fee with advice on what’s hot and what’s not, whose got what, who to shop, who to not waste your time visiting, styles that are re-ordering, who’s got off price or special promotions and information on next season. You should keep trying new lines and weeding out lines that are not performing and vendors that don’t fit and don’t ship on time. Depend on LBA for new vendors and new trends … make them your eyes and ears in the market! You’ll get treated special in the market when the vendor knows you are represented by a resident buying office like LBA.
Take fast markdowns! If your customers don’t like it enough to buy it after 30 days, what makes you think they will like it any better in 60 days! Get it out of the store so you can try again.
The most important tool a retailer has to correct a buying mistake is a markdown! Everybody makes mistakes! Recognize yours early and take quick and immediate action! Remember the first markdown is the best markdown. Take it early and in this economy it should be at least 30%. Keep marking it down until it is out of the store! Only wine, whiskey and women get better with age!
We encourage our clients to go through their store every Monday and search for items to mark down. Yes, search! The days of running two sales a year is over! If you don’t understand ‘turn’ check our blog for a better understanding!
Never ever carry over anything from one season to the next! Never! It will not be worth as much next year! Fast ‘turn’ will result in increased gross margin!
Make certain your staff understands the problems you and all retail stores are facing in this economy! They must be motivated and understand it is going to be easier to do what is necessary and required than locate another job!
Give your employees the leadership they need! Motivate, motivate and motivate! Be positive and realistic with each of them daily! Expect more of them than they expect of themselves.
Spend as much time on the sales floor as humanly possible! Set an example in greeting people that come in the store. Set an example with your salesmanship and customer service!
Make sure every person that enters the store is greeted and treated like your best customer! Never prejudge a person that enters the store! You never know who might just be the biggest sale of the day or become a regular good customer! Customers go to specialty shops to get assisted by a caring and knowledgeable sales person.
Remind your sales people that good salesmanship is selling in a manner that motivates the customer to come back and ask for them! It requires caring in store attention and follow-up after the sale with a phone call and a thank you note!
Require these phone calls and thank you notes! Again I say, set an example by your own actions and monitor their actions! Let them see you are doing what you ask them to do!
Do not tolerate a non performer on your payroll! They will undermine the attitude of your good people! Hire slowly and fire fast.
Improve communications with your customers and potential customers! Monitor what works for you and what does not! I know for a fact that advertising works! John Wannamaker once said, he knew that 50% of his advertising did not work he just did know which 50%! He also knew he had to be ‘top of mind’ with the public at all times!
Stay focused on your core business! Analyze, analyze, analyze!
Be creative with your promotions! No one comes up with more creative ideas for ladies specialty shops than T. J. Reid. Her publication ‘Fashion Advantage’ is packed with ideas you should be using to improve your relationship with your customers and your community.
Thank your customers for shopping in your store! You can’t say ‘thank you’ enough, and you can’t express ‘your appreciation’ for their business enough!
Never hesitate to say to a customer you appreciate their business! See how many times you can say it one day!

I appreciate this opportunity to visit with you today and hope we can spend more time, one on one, talking about your business and how The Waldoff Group might assist you in improving sales, gross margin and profits!

Working with retailers like you across the country allows us to see problems and find solutions. Most merchants are so busy operating their business they simply don’t have the time or staff to find the right solutions and implement them. We have the knowledge, time and motivation to recognize, find solutions and implement them.

Our business is: ‘Retail Solutions for Independent Stores’ Our focus is: Women’s Specialty Stores

Look at our web site: TheWaldoffGroup.com Read some of the letters we have gotten from clients. You will see what some of our current and previous clients have to say about working with The Waldoff Group.

Don’t hesitate to phone, we’ll share references, many of whom you might know.

Survive this unusual economy so you can play another day!

Thank you for being here today! I appreciate you!

Call: The Waldoff Group - 601-268-2079 Milton Waldoff - Direct 601-434-3000 Email: TheWaldoffGroup@Comcast.net Visit: TheWaldoffGroup.com

2008-12-13T18:37:00.000-08:00

THE ECONOMY & RETAIL SALES Over the past couple of days stores have been very strongly promoting in newspapers, tv, email and direct mail. Hopefully you have been watching your local papers. Our local paper has had ads like: Dillards: 30% and 40% Entire Stocks of Handbags, Men's Spts Wear, Waterford Crystal, Fashion Jewelry and Watches, Men's and Ladies Sleepwear, Men's Suits, Men's Sweaters, etc., etc. etc. Then a more than half page ad Friday with 'Ladies Spectacular Storewide Savings' ... 40% off entire stock Sportswear, Dresses and Suits, Leather Coats and Shoes + 30% off Already Permanently Reduced Merchandise'. Belks: 28 page full color section ... featuring an Extra 20% off all regular and sale prices storewide! Along with: 45-65% off all red line merchandise when you take an extra 30% off. Plus: 27 of these pages featuring full color items at special prices ... many items at 50% and 60% and 70% ... and you take the extra 20%, unless it has a red dot, then you take 30% off. Stein Mart: 3/4 page 14 hours sale for today, Saturday ... 8AM to 10PM ...featuring dozens of items at 50% off and 30% off .... plus a coupon to take an additional 20% off ALL RED DOT & Clearance purchases! Kohl's: 16 full color pages, featuring Door Busters, Night Owl Specials to midnight and Early Bird Specials from 6AM to 1PM on Sat. J.C. Penny & Goodie ... both with Door Busters ... Penny open til midnight both Fri & Sat with all types of specials. The few locals that are left are running 40% and 50% and 60% with savings to 75% and 80% ... The purpose of this email is to again remind or push you to do whatever it takes to move your inventory ... the prices and discounts you see today are going to be at greater discounts after Christmas and in January and February ... and between today and Christmas Eve. It is important you get as much inventory out the door NOW as possible and to start the new year LEAN with money in the bank ... We are firmly convinced we have not seen the worst of this economic situation, January and February will be the two worst months in recent retail history! I hope I am totally incorrect, however I have not read or heard anyone that thinks differently. Whatever inventory you own today is worth more now than it will be worth in a week or two weeks or a month or two months. There are more people shopping now than there will be later, whether it is a week or two months ... or six months! The time to go quail hunting is when the quail are flying! Retail Traffic, the magazine of the 'real estate and real estate development industry' ... that includes every chain and major shopping center developer in the country .. is suggesting that 2009 will be a 'Lost Year' ... and they don't see things getting better until 2010. Get your inventory in line with projected sales, be careful what you buy and buy as much as possible hand to mouth ... do not get over inventoried ... cut your staff, and make sure everyone on your payroll are 1000%, yes 1000% motivated. Meet with them on a weekly basis and explain what is happening, although they see it in the newspapers, magazine and tv, bring it home to them! Motivate them! Make sure they understand that it is going to be much easier to do what is expected than to locate a new job! Thousands of retail stores will close in the next 12 months ... more than have closed in any 12 month period in history! Worse than the 'great depression' because there are so many more stores now! The challenge is so great that even good merchants will not survive! The stores that do survive will learn a new way to operate, a new way to merchandise, a new way to buy, a new way to advertise ... if you plan on rocking along the way you have been going for the last 5 or 15 or 25 ... get ready to close, you will not survive! We are entering a new day in retail ... nothing is going to remain the same ... there will be less store fronts and less customers entering fewer store fronts ... If there is one thing I've learned in my over 40 years in retail, no one survives because they are entitled ! No one! Some of the biggest and greatest names that have ever existed in retail in the Untied States are gone. Some of these stores are listed below. And, yes, some of these were bought and renamed, nevertheless they are gone! Often if they were sold it was because of weak or poor management or killer decisions! I made some in my business life (personal too!) ... however I'm not listing Waldoff's, perhaps it should be listed! Regardless ... the list below is in no way all inclusive ... Abraham & Strauss B. Aultman Bamberger's Best & Co. Battlestein's Broadway Bullock's Cain Sloan D. H. Holmes Scott Donaldson's Dunlap Emporium Frederick & Nelson Frost Bros Garfinkel's Gimbel's Godchaux's I. Magnum Leighton's John Wannamaker Kennington's Kress Leggett's Maison Blanche McRae's Mervin's Miller & Rhoads Peck & Peck Porter Stevens Prange's Raleigh's Reynolds Penland Sakowitz Sanger Harris Strawbridge & Clothiers Stewart's Thalhimer's Weiss & Goldring Woolworth How many did you recognize? Bottom line: Watch your business! Find a niche and work it! Be the best in what you do! Merchandise better! Buy smarter! Make more market trips to New York City! You'll get better selections, more off price and a great deal less pressure than dealing with road salesmen or someone at a regional market ... and you'll more than pay for the extra expense with your smarter buying! Join a New York Resident Buying Office ... they will more than justify their fee with advice on what's hot and what's not, whose got what, who to shop, who to not waste your time shopping, new vendors, styles that are re-ordering, who's got off price or special promotions, information on the next season and you'll get treated special in the market when they know you are represented by a resident buying office! Improve gross margin by searching out desirable off price from your regular vendors or their competitors! Insist on it! The big stores get it! And, they get advertising allowances, mark down money, guaranteed gross margin, warehouse allowance, personal appearances, selling fixtures, special discounts ... Don't over buy! Recognize weak selling items immediately! Take fast markdowns! Never carry over goods! Repeat: Never carry over goods from season to season! Don't allow anyone on your payroll to not produce at the level necessary and expected! Set your expectations high! Make sure every customer is greeted immediately when they enter your store and every time any employee sees them! Make sure customers get better customer service than they expect! Thank them for shopping in your store! Make sure your employees care and show it! Cut expenses! Increase advertising! Improve your communication with customers! Don't try to be all things to everybody! AGAIN: Thank your customers for shopping in your store! In this economy there is no second chance! The economy does not take prisoners! If you don't keep up with the program, your dead! You have problems? You need solutions? We're in the business of finding solutions! We have answers or we'll find them! Another set of eyes can see things you are missing! Working with retailers across the country allow us to see problems and find solutions, solutions you may not be aware of ... and we know how to implement them. Most merchants are so busy operating their business they don't have the time to find the right solution or to implement it if they do! Our business is: 'Retail Solutions Especially for Independent Stores'. Check our web site: TheWaldoffGroup.com (Please copy and paste) for what some of our current and previous clients have to say about working with The Waldoff Group and the writer. And our blog is interesting and informative: TheWaldoffGroupBlog@blogspot.com (Please copy and paste) Have a very successful and wonderful Christmas. Milton Milton Waldoff THE WALDOFF GROUP Retail Solutions Especially For Independent Stores 601-434-3000 email: TheWaldoffGroup@Comcast.net WEB: TheWaldoffGroup.comBLOG: thewaldoffgroup.blogspot.com The highest compliment we receive is a referral from a client, previous client, business associate or friend! It is important for you to know that I am never too busy to help those you refer to me. Thank you!

2008-08-08T10:44:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of The Waldoff Group, Inc. February 2006

Revised and Posted to The Waldoff Group Blog

August 8, 2008 Increase Inventory Turns to Get the Most Profit From Your Inventory Investment

While the present economic sluggishness will continue for some time, you can avoid a head-on collision with its effects! Consider this game plan to keep sales up, improve gross margin and get out of the short-term credit market.

How? Push turnover rate up. Increasing inventory turnover is always a good idea, it is especially profitable for stores selling apparel, accessories, shoes … items that change from season to season, year to year.

In good times, turnover is important; in bad times, it is critical. Higher turns mean that fresh, new merchandise will represent a greater proportion of your total merchandise (something customers love!).

Increased turnover will reduce your dependence on borrowed money by trimming down inventory.

Inventory turnover rate is the measure of an inventory’s efficiency at producing gross margin. It’s the number of times you “sell out” your entire inventory in a specific period of time, usually one year. Since each “turn” represents the inventory turnover rate and is the measure of an inventory’s efficiency at producing gross margin.

Additionally, since each “turn” represents the maximum gross margin inventory can produce, increasing the number of inventory turns in a year will increase gross margin dollars for that year.

In reality, of course, different types of merchandise sell out at different rates. Higher-volume, lower-priced items turn faster than big-ticket items. Therefore, the overall inventory turnover rate will be an average of the turnover rates achieved among all merchandise classifications.

Calculating Turn Over Rates: To calculate turnover, you first must determine average inventory. To do so for 2007, for example, you would take the ending inventory (at cost or retail, whichever you use) from the last month of the prior calendar or fiscal year, say December 2006, plus the ending inventories for each of the 12 months of 2007 . Then divide that total by 13, the number of inventories in the sum. The result is the average inventory for 2007. (Note: If you do not have monthly inventory numbers, estimate the average.)

The formula for calculating turnover:

Retail Method: total sales divided by by average inventory @retail

Cost Method: total cost of goods sold divided by average inventory @cost

Either way, you should come up with the same turnover figure.

(Note: I am a great believer in looking at everything at retail, not cost.) Once annual turn has been calculated, identify individual problem areas by going through each classification and calculate the turnover rate for each merchandise classification in your store. Once you have calculated the current turnover rate for each class of merchandise you carry, you have objective data at hand to show where improvement is most needed.

Should you have classifications that are only turning twice per year, you’re spending a lot of money to carry it. In order to justify tying up your money, slow-turning merchandise must give you a substantially higher gross margin.

To illustrate what a difference one additional turn can make, let’s say your sales plan calls for $720,000 in total sales over the next 12 months. At three turns per year, you will have to carry an average inventory (at retail) of $240,000 ($720,000 divided by 3).

However, if you achieve $720,000 on four turns, your average inventory at retail will only have to be $180,000 ($720,000 divided by 4), a reduction of $60,000. At a 50 percent gross margin, that’s a reduction of $30,000 in inventory investment (at cost).

Therefore, you could shrink your total investment $30,000, and pay down $30,000 in debt. Plus, you would reduce your interest expense by $3,000 (assuming interest at 10% times 30,000), which goes right to the bottom line, and dramatically improve your net profits!

Last but certainly not least, your inventory will be fresher (average in-stock time of 90 days versus 120 days). Thereby motivating customers to shop your store more often, reducing annual markdowns, improving the freshness of your inventory along with sales and gross margin, improving employee motivation and attract ‘sale’ customers who will look to your store for in season savings.

As your regular price customer becomes more motivated to shop more often she will have greater confidence in your store because she knows she’ll always find fresh new merchandise! She will realize you are not allowing old, picked over and/or rejected items to simply take up space, clutter your racks and require her to sift through merchandise she has already rejected.

Establish Your Turnover Rate Goal The next step to improving your overall turnover rate is to set a meaningful target turnover rate. First, review the turnover rate you just calculated for “actual” results.

Turnover rate for a retail apparel store should be at an absolute minimum of 3 … with the great majority of classifications turning a minimum of 4 and many turning 5, 6, 7 even 8 or 10 times a year. Slow turning classifications in women’s are typically bras, hosiery, shoes. Men's slow turn classes are underwear, socks, clothing (suits, sport coats and dress trousers) and shoes.

IMPORTANT: The higher level of fashion the higher level of turn. Next, let’s take a look at days of supply. Remember, inventory turnover measures how many times the inventory is “sold out” each year. A turnover rate of 1 would be a 12 months supply. This also can be stated in weeks, or days, depending on your retail segment. (For example, grocers are most likely to use days, especially for fish, meat, produce, flowers and other perishables.)

turnover rate: months supply; weeks supply; days supply one turn: 12 months; 52 weeks; 360 days two turns: 6 months; 26 weeks; 180 days three turns: 4 months; 17.3 weeks; 120 days

four turns: 3 months; 13 weeks; 90 days six turns: 2 months; 8.7 week; 60 days eight turns: 1.5 months; 6.5 weeks; 45 days ten turns: 1.2 months; 5.2 weeks; 36 days twelve turns: 1 month; 4.3 weeks; 30 days

A quick test for whether you are over-inventoried is to compare

your on-hand “supply” to your sales forecast.

For example, if you want to achieve an annual turnover rate of 4 turns, that would be 3 months “supply”. Therefore, at any given time, you should have no more inventory on hand than you can reasonably expect to sell in the next three months!

In this case, more on-hand (at retail) than the next three months of expected sales means you have too much!

More inventory than you can sell in three months increases markdowns and reduces gross profit.

Once You Increase Turns All these numbers are interesting, but when it gets down to specific cases, just where and how is inventory cut?

One helpful guideline is the 80/20 rule. That rule states that 80 percent of your business comes from 20 percent of your customers. Or, 80 percent of your sales come from 20 percent of the merchandise. In your particular case, the numbers may be more like 70/30 or 60/40, but the principle is the same: find the 80 percent of the merchandise that only 20 percent of customers want, and start some careful sorting. Chances are, there will be a lot of slow-turning items among that 80 percent of stock. List all the items that are now turning at a below-store-average target rate. Find out if there is a way to continue carrying a representative selection of those items without tying up so many dollars. As you continue to focus on reducing inventory, you also will reduce your need for inventory loans. The process of selling inventory that you don’t replace will give you a one-time cash infusion you can use to reduce your short-term debt.

The #1 question you should ask yourself as you buy merchandise:

“Is this item so important to my store that I’m willing to share a good part of my profits with the banker to have it?”

If it’s not that important, you’re better off without it. The trick is to reduce your inventory selectively.

Obviously, there’s truth in the basic retailing maxim that you can’t sell from an empty wagon. If you don’t have an appealing assortment of fresh new goods your customers need, want and desire, they have no reason to visit your store.

However, you may have to redefine “full wagon”. Here are some questions to ask about each item added to your store: Can my customers get this item at other stores in my market area? If yes, it has less pulling power. Sometimes it makes sense to carry brands sold in other stores …i.e. Estee Lauder, Vera Bradley, Ralph Lauren, etc., are so important they are often in neighboring stores. That being the case, you need the lines and your focus must then be on improved customer service, selection and freshness of inventory. Is this a good margin item, or is it subject to a lot of price competition? Slow turners with weak margins are double trouble. Does having this item in stock help me sell other higher-margin merchandise? If not, you may not need it. Can I get faster delivery on this item than I am now getting? If yes, you may be able to cut back on your weeks or months of supply. Do I order larger quantities of this item than I actually need in order to take advantage of price breaks or to meet the vendors minimum? If yes, you may be coming out on the short end when you figure in all your carrying costs, including excessive mark downs. And, the item may not be as good a seller as you expect, or may lose its appeal and quit selling. If it is a gamble or risk ... why expose yourself? There is enough gamble and risk just being a retailer! Do I have an emotional attachment to this item that reflects my personal taste rather than a business-like response to my customer’s desires? If yes, get rid of it. I have worked with stores that had old outdated merchandise in stock rooms, basements and attic's, even one that had a storage unit! Not only was the merchandise old, it was so old it now had no value.

Locating vendors that can supply you with quick re-orders can dramatically improve turn. A Balancing Act Stocking a store is like walking a tightrope. You have to balance your need to make your inventory investment as productive as possible against your need to offer an adequate selection of merchandise to your customers.

You must weigh the benefits of buying in small quantities against the quantity discounts you may lose by doing so. (In fact, some vendors may not be willing to sell small quantities at all.) That may be a reason to not use that vendor.

We all know that customers prefer newer fresh merchandise over older, tired items. The ancillary effect of higher turns is fresher merchandise, an important tool for bringing customers in more often and a great anti-recession tactic.

Merchandising is not just a balancing act, it’s a very subjective balancing act. However, you’ll be much better equipped to make subjective decisions if you have hard, objective facts about your inventory turnover rates at hand. Once you have carefully evaluated your merchandise in light of the factors we have discussed here, we believe you’ll find plenty of room for improvement.

Don’t let too much excess inventory cut the heart out of your profits. Any effort you put into speeding up your inventory turnover will be time and effort well invested.

Make more trips to market and buy less each trip! We are very strong believers in buying hand to mouth! You don't go to the super market and buy two to three weeks of tomatoes! Why? Because you know tomatoes spoil! Besides, the super markets always carry tomatoes in stock! You can take some risk out of your buying by remembering this! One more fact: In all my years of owning stores, merchandise managing, buying and consulting I have never ever been to market where there was not more desirable goods than we could use.

During World War II there were shortages ... however, that was in 1941 to 1945 ... 63 to 67 years ago! There were no shortages during the Korean War,

Viet Nam and Desert Storm! There are no shortages during the current conflict in the Middle East. Take a chance on there not being shortages and you'll decrease your risk and increase your gross margin!

Why stock up when you know you can always find more desirable merchandise!

Do not allow the cost of a market trip influence you to over buy! A market trip should pay for itself in terms of keeping your inventory fresh and increasing turn, besides you will be better able to keep up with what's happening, what's selling, what's not and what's on the horizon ... thereby making you a better merchant, merchandiser and buyer.

Finally … don't lose sight of your purpose for being in business. To make money, make a living, create profits so as to survive. Do not lose sight of this in the prestige and glamour of being a store owner, merchandise manager, buyer and the excitement of market trips.

Retail is not for sissies!

Take your eye off the ball and it will smash right in your face!

"It's a Buyer's Market. Haggle."

2008-08-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

The August 2008 issue of Money magazine devoted a page to this title: "Shopping Strategies. It's a Buyer's Market. Haggle." "In the tug of war with sellers, these days you've got all the pull." By Bob Tedeschi "If there's any silver lining to this sluggish economy, it's this: You, the consumer [buyer], are back in charge. For products and services, "you have a lot more power to name your price," says Nancy Koehn, a retail history professor at Harvard Business School. The proof? Nearly 70% of Americans have managed to negotiate a better deal on a purchase in recent months, according to America's Research." End of Money article! For years we been telling clients they can get desirable deep discount off price 'in season' from their regular vendors. We have never had a client that followed our guidelines and made the effort not be able to. Certainly you will not be able to get deep discount from every vendor everytime you ask ... however, you will score more often than you ever imagined. It is a matter of explaining to the vendor, preferably not your rep. Reps' typically do not make a commission on 'off price' so there is no incentive for them to make off price available to you. It is important you talk with someone in management or in the national show room who is not working on a commission. Every vendor has excess goods! Including every vendor that 'cuts to order'. Either from anticipating greater sales, cutting more than is selling, cancelled orders, orders on credit hold, goods refused by a store or merchandise left after all goods are allocated for shipment. Their profit is tied up in these items that are left ... they need to be sold and they will ... usually to a large operation. You need to convince the vendor you need and deserve in season goods at a deep discount! Often the vendor has small quantities, quantities that are much to small for a large national or regional chain, as an independent store you can use small quantities to increase your gross margin. And, don't be of a 'mind set' that you must have a run of sizes. The lady that wears a size 2 or 4 does not give a tinkers damn about what you have hanging in a size 12 or 14. So, you can clean up a vendors odds and ends. Do not buy something you would never buy at regular price, unless your reason is price and the deeply discount price now fits into your price range, since you can bring it in at full retail and red line or discount it to a price you can sell! Never buy something you don't think is for your store just because the cost price is greatly discounted. Push for in season goods, goods being shipped NOW, at deep discount (40% to 50% off the lowest cost quoted), not to say if the best you can get is 25% or a 1/3 off you shouldn't take it. That's still a significant savings to you and will off set some markdowns. Just start by asking for deep discount and when asked what that means, say 40% to 50% off the lowest price you have sold to major stores. We have worked with hundreds of independent stores and every store that has made the effort and followed our suggestions on how to talk with vendors has been successful and amazed! Let me repeat again: This will not work with every vendor every time! It will work! It will build your gross margin! It will lower your net mark downs! It will improve your bottom line! Stores cannot make a profit or survive by simply buying everything at vendors regular cost and marking it up in the normal way most stores mark their purchases. Those days are over! Your expenses have risen dramatically, you must improve gross margin! Give us a call ... we can help! Milton Waldoff

Link to: http://www.thewaldoffgroup.com/

2008-08-04T12:33:00.000-07:00

The following should be a link to our Web Site: http://www.thewaldoffgroup.com/

Our first blog ...

2008-08-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

The Waldoff Group is a retail consulting organization that works with independent retail stores. If you have not visited our web site, take a moment and take a look TheWaldoffGroup.com The purpose of this site is to allow independent store owner/merchants to post questions and communicate with each other on ways to increase sales, increase gross margin, new ways to communicate with customers and anything else that might come to mind. This blog will feature comments and information that independent retail store owners will find of interest and be beneficial to their business. We will be posting some information not included on our web site and you have an opportunity to post your comments and questions, then watch this Blog for advice you can give to other owner/merchants and what you can learn about being a better merchant from other merchants and The Waldoff Group. Recently I was having lunch with my favorite cousin, who is a great merchant business man, he brought up the Three Basics in Retail, two of which a retailer must have to be profitable. Often I mention these when visiting a store and some owner/merchants are not familiar with this rule of thumb. 1. Volume sales 2. Long mark-up 3. Controlled expenses Without two of the three it is impossible for a retail store to survive. Very often in my visits to stores it is obvious that the merchant is not doing enough business, or mark up is not enough or expenses are out of control. I explain this rule ... two of these three items must be in place! Take a look at your business, which of these three are in place? What can you do to make sure that two of the three are in place? Should you need help, that's one of our specialties! My next post will address communicating with customers in this period of rising advertising costs, increased competiton for the customers attention, fragmented radio and tv because of the great selection of stations plus CD's, DVD, Sirus, etc., and the continuing decrease in newspaper readership nationally. In coming weeks we'll be sharing information on the importance of increasing sales and improving gross margin, merchandising, buying, mark-up and mark-downs, advertising, other forms of marketing, merchandise presentation ... and responding to questions and comments. We're looking forward to your thoughts, comments, questions and answers to questions that others post. Milton Waldoff

The Waldoff Group Blog

Lost a Sale? It All Started With How You Greeted Your Customer

Gannett Blog: Bulletin: Gannett announces 700 newspaper layoffs

Inventory Control

Debt

Surviving As This Unusual Economy Continues to NOT Recover

Failure

Do lean inventories mean retail holiday woes?

Customer Service Overhaul

Sales Tip: The Value of Follow-Up AFTER You've Made the Sale!

Remember ‘excellence is in the details’!

Milton Waldoff Group

The Importance of Customer Service After The Sale From the Internet by Brad Huisken

Thoughts gathered from the Internet

Retailers and suppliers brace for slow recovery

As you have heard me say:

Control inventories! ... Do not allow slow sellers to remain on your floor! ... Take fast markdowns!... Don’t over buy! ... Make more market trips! ... Give the customer better service then they expect!... Write thank you notes to every customer!

Milton Waldoff The Waldoff Group

In The News

Retailers and suppliers brace for slow recovery

September 18, 2009

Opinion: The difference between clerking and selling

Opinion: Retailers need to cut their SKUs

Same Store Sales Don't Really Show the Growth, Recovery or Hope First Reported by U.S. Retail Industry Experts in September, 2009

This is one of the most accurate and informative analyses of what is happening in retail and the media coverage I have seen!

Take the time … the yellow hi-lights and dark face hi-lights were done by me.

Milton Waldoff

Same Store Sales Don't Really Show the Growth, Recovery or Hope First Reported by U.S. Retail Industry Experts in September, 2009 By Barbara Farfan

What We Don't Know Will Hurt Us

How To Survive In This Very Unusual Economy

"It's a Buyer's Market. Haggle."

Link to: http://www.thewaldoffgroup.com/

Our first blog ...

The Importance of Customer Service After The Sale
From the Internet by Brad Huisken

Milton Waldoff
The Waldoff Group