• Kevin Natapow

 

For those of you who received the Best Seller’s list this year (if you did not please email me and I will get it to you) you will see of the 10 store reporting ½ were down and most were flat. It was an interesting year for retailers and one theory I have heard out there is that after years of recovering both financially and psychologically from the 2008 collapse, many consumers are now making larger purchases like homes, cars, and other big ticket items they have been putting off for years. How true this is I don’t know but they trend I am noticing, both from clients and colleagues in the FT retail world is that sales did take a dip or at least a major slow down in 2015. That being said, many are still optimistic that 2016 will be a solid year with positive growth. Again, here is my plug for inventory control- this is a great time to buckle down and really find out what is selling for you. Reset (or set) min/max numbers and stay on it. Purge duds and start bringing in new items and best sellers that have been around for a while. Track those as they come in and set accurate min/max numbers for them and generate positive cash flow and higher turns. Don’t back off now and get cautious- this is the time that if you are not doing these things will make or break you so do it! Nuff said…

 

  1. *tough love*

 

  1. *knocks on wood* We’ve had a really great January and February is shaping up nicely. This is usually our dead season, but things are amping up compared to years past. People are buying things to fill their new homes/apartments with. All of this said, I’m looking forward to some purging and new items to keep the place looking and feeling fresh.

 

  1. We, too, have been off to a good start. I really have no idea why. Which is also good but scarey.

 

 

  • Kevin Natapow

 

Purge with care and buy with care- don’t do it on instinct- do it using math and a system. You have to have the right merch, at the right time and in the right quantities. No one is that intuitive!

 

  1. This is so KEY. Nothing is “magic” about this work.

 

  1. “THIS work, not his” oops

 

  1. I agree for the most part, but a little magic is necessary.

 

  1. Yes, after I wrote that I realized that magic is part of the fun, and can be very instructive. Fine balance I guess.