Articles

• PLEASE READ THIS FIRST!
• The Buying Process
  • Merchandise, Merchandise, Merchandise.
    • How do you know your sales are off because of the merchandise?... simple, always assume it's the merchandise… assuming anything else is usually a distraction
  • Planning for Uncertainty
    • The fine line between having enough stock to do the sales yet remain lean enough to avoid a markdown bath is hard to walk... lean and mean says it all
  • Off-Price: Friend or Foe?
    • I know retailers that die for off-price and think it's how to make money and I know retailers who never touch it... O/P... love it or hate...
  • When in Rome…
    • I love what the European designers and manufacturers contribute to our industry, but watching a store attempt to manage its European merchandise is painful
  • Buyer Beware
    • Specialty independents read the same publications, "shop" the same "it" stores, attend the same trade shows and "work" the same hot lines... so why does one retailer/buyer identify something that another misses?
  • It’s Always About The Merchandise
    • With few exceptions, there was something for every customer to get excited about… and what about this year?... what's changed?... what's gotten the customer's attention?... what are the new must haves?
  • In Search Of Hip
    • Maybe all those years inhaling fibers and sniffing leather has finally taken it's toll, but, for me, the thought of a department store and hipness in the same sentence is a non-starter… hip comes from the ground up, not the top boardroom down... hip is attitude... and hip is only hip if not everyone "gets it"
• Selling, Service & Personnel
• Markdowns & Going On Sale
• The New Retailing
  • Goodbye Mainstream, Hello Tinystream
    • As more and more independents strive to amplify the differences between their stores and big stores they are moving further and further from the mainstream... this is good
  • Game Over
    • For independents that have survived the best big stores had to offer, it's time to move on... time to stop looking over your shoulder... time to take the lead
  • Crystal Clear
    • Those retailers concentrating on distinctive merchandise and exceptional service and de-emphasizing sale and clearance are achieving the best results
  • Half Empty or Half Full?
    • Independent retailing in the aftermath of September 11th
  • Narrow Minded
    • most independents still operate with too broad a focus... they carry too many price-points... buy from too many vendors and target too general a target market
  • Misery Loves Company
    • Nowhere is it written (or true) that all stores do well or do poorly at the same time... even in the worst of times, there are many stores that do well
• Inventory Management
• New Store Start-Ups
• This & That