FREE Retail Articles: Your Resource for "Everything Retail."
I've written extensively about the fundamentals of retail management. These articles contain tips, know-how and perspective from a retail expert who has walked the store aisles, just like you.
Navigating Difficult Retail Times
The End of the Recession Every independent retailer will need to raise their level of performance in this new and more challenging economy.
Preparing For The Coming Recovery
Now is the time when successful retailers set themselves up for future success.
Navigating the Recession
Now is the time for every retailer to take a fresh look at their business and do the things that must be done to profitably adapt to the new reality.
SKU Rationalization - Reassessing Retail Assortments in Challenging Times
When sales decline, assortments have to be adjusted to bring inventories back into line. If inventories remain higher than sales can support, precious cash becomes tied up in inventory that turns very slowly, if at all. And in this economic environment, nobody can afford to have cash tied up in excess inventory.
Turning To Your Best Retail Customers
In this time, when it's tough to get foot traffic into your store, and tougher still to get them to open their wallets, turning to your best customers gives you the best chance to convert your inventory backlogs into precious cash. It's also the least expensive way, from both a marketing and a markdown perspective. You've spent a lot of years developing your relationships with these loyal customers. Now is the time to turn to them.
Has The Retail Sky Really Fallen?
For small, entrepreneurial retailers, this is a rich moment, full of opportunities, for fresh thinking and innovation. The sky hasn't fallen. At the moment, there may not be a lot of capital available for rapid expansion of new retail ventures, but the time is ripe for many small, entrepreneurial retailers to incubate new ideas, develop and refine new strategies, and engage and captivate new customers.
Now Is Not The Time For Independent Retailers To Go It Alone
Navigating these challenging economic times will not be easy for anybody. This will test the mettle of even the most seasoned merchant. Nobody can be sure when the turnaround is coming. Now is the time to be sure that you've got the perspective and guidance that you'll need to make the very best decisions.
The Retail Blues
Unfortunately, there's no magic bullet for turning this around. The customer right now is very frightened. It's going to take time for them to get their balance sheets in order, feel secure in their jobs, and regain their confidence. It's a mighty storm that's brewing, and for many small retailers the best they can do may be to ride it out with as little damage as possible.
Anticipating A Very Difficult Holiday Selling Season
The signs are all there that this could be one of the most difficult retail environments in recent memory for small and independent retailers.
Surviving A Soft Retail Market
Managing risk prudently, with a focus on maintaining margins and protecting cash flow, will enable retailers to come through this period well positioned to increase their business significantly once things improve.
An Unsettling Holiday Selling Season For Independent Retailers
The landscape is changing rapidly, driven by profitability pressures on the major corporate retailers, on the one hand, and the decentralizing effects of the internet on the other.
Growing Retail Sales
Passionate Retailing
The very best specialty retailing has always been built around the customer's lifestyle, aspirations and passions.
Lifestyle Retailing for Independent Retailers
A retail strategy built and marketed passionately around a personally held, clearly defined lifestyle or interest is the path to building a powerful retail presence.
The Long Tail and Independent Retailing
Even in a niche market, a well-planned expansion of consumer choices can reveal demand that was otherwise hidden -- and drive sales.
Creating Memorable Customer Experiences
Create A Memorable Customer Experience
Engaging your customers can make your store more than just a place to buy things.
Building Retail Brand Equity
Whether it's quality, selection, product knowledge, or customer service, small retailers can leverage a stronger brand identity to take on big-box competitors.
Great Retail Customer Service Starts With Great Employee Relations
Small retailers have an edge over larger competitors that treat employees like any other expense line to be reduced and controlled.
The Retail Consolidation Opportunity
There are many loyal department store customers who feel a little out of sorts right now.
How's Your Customer Service?
The quality of your customer service is a critical point of differentiation and strategic advantage between you and your larger competitors.
Building Your Retail Store's Brand Equity
Only a single minded clarity of purpose will build a memorable identity for your store, and brand equity that will earn long-term customer loyalty.
e-Commerce Retailing
Inventory Management and Cash Flow for e-Commerce Retailers
On October 8, 2007, Ted Hurlbut appeared on Product Sourcing Radio to discuss ways e-Commerce Retailers can improve cash flow. Here's an edited transcript of Ted's appearance.
Managing Retail Cash Flow
Cash Flow, The Lifeblood of Every Independent Retailer
The key is budgeting and benchmarking, so that there is a dynamic plan that assures the business is able to provide for its cash needs.
The Dangers of Asset Based Loans For Small and Independent Retailers
If you find yourself considering an asset based loan to finance your seasonal cash needs it should be a wake-up call that you have serious work to do.
Plan Your Retail Cash Flow!
In the end it's about cash flow. With positive cash flow, there is the promise of tomorrow and beyond. Without positive cash flow, there's only an abyss. In this moment, cash flow planning is more important than ever.
Planning Retail Sales
The Retail Tug of War
It's the tug of war between aggressive merchants and prudent managers.
The Beginning of Superior Inventory Management - Accurate Demand Planning and Forecasting
Developing accurate forecasts, continually updating them, and measuring their accuracy against actual sales offers independent retailers the greatest opportunities today to maximize their return on inventory investment.
Retail Seasonal Planning
The Big Finish to the Holiday Selling Season
Now is the time to proactively take the steps to assure that you have a banner finish to the holiday selling season.
Maximizing Retail Profits During The Holiday Season
The time to plan for a great finish to the season is now.
Retail Inventory Management
Turning Excess Retail Inventory Into Cash
How to turn excess retail inventory into cash.
The Full Cost of Inventory: Exploring Inventory Carrying Costs
When you reduce inventory, not only are you freeing up capital, but you are also creating opportunities to reduce expenses, improve profitability, and increase cash flow.
Managing Retail Inventory and Maximizing Return on Inventory Investment
Don't fall in love with your inventory, it's not likely to love you back. It's either going to be sold and converted to cash, or it's sitting there tying up cash, costing you more cash each and every additional day it's not sold.
Retail Merchandising
The Very Best Consignment Shops and Classic Retail Fundamentals
Spending some time shopping in the very best of these stores highlights and reinforces several classic retail fundamentals
Avoiding Heavy Retail Markdowns
As the new season begins, small retailers need to plan sales conservatively and maintain lean inventories to keep from slashing prices down the road.
Chasing The Last Sale
The objective for any small retailer is to maximize profitability and cash flow. Carrying too much inventory can decimate both.
Managing Pre-Season Retail Commit Percentages
Managing your pre-season commit percentages is one of the keys to having a profitable season.
Retail Management
Baseball Statistics and Retail Numbers
What small and independent retailers can learn from baseball statistics.
Competitive Shopping: Studying Your Competitors
Looking for new ideas to keep your store fresh and dynamic? Time to go shopping.
Greatness Is A Moving Target
As times change, small retailers must continually reassess what they're doing in order to thrive.
Marshall Field, R.I.P.
Smaller retailers should never try to compete on price alone. By focusing on customer service and quality, they can avoid the fate of big department stores that are losing the ability to offer a compelling customer experience.
Niche Retailing and The One Thing
What do you do better than anybody else? Identify your "one thing" and everything else will fall into place.
Is There A Future For Small Retailing
A few thoughts on what it will take to succeed.
Retail Gross Margin - The Overlooked Metric
The small retailers who actively manage their gross margins will quickly discover that profitability and cash flow will consistently beat their projections.
The Markdown Blues, Revisited
Thoughts on what smaller retailers can learn from watching their larger competitors wrestle in the mud.
Retail Demand Forecasting and Inventory Management Applications: A Tool, Not a 'Solution'
For all of the capabilities that have been built into these applications, it still requires a merchant's touch to take the information, interpret it, and utilize it to generate sales and gross profit increases.
For Equity Investors and Asset-Based Lenders
The Slippery Slope, Part One
The Bump in the Road, and Declining Collateral Values
The Slippery Slope, Part Two
The Case for Early Intervention
The Slippery Slope, Part Three
A Proactive Approach to Protecting Collateral Values