Especially for retailers of seasonal fashion goods, buying markets are the most exciting, nerve wracking, and exhausting times of the year. They are also the most critical for continued success. Decisions made in a few long days affect the life blood of the merchant. Balancing emotions with strategies in the “buy” is the secret. The […]
Stock Availability
When it comes right down to it the most important measurement in retailing is how much inventory is available for future sales demand. Too much inventory ties up cash and leads to the erosion of margins. Too little inventory will result in lost sales. While the best tool for managing inventory levels is, hands down, […]
Merchandise Planning – Friend or Foe?
Budgets? We don’t need no stinkin’ Budgets! No one likes to hear that dreaded phrase: “Sure it would be great, but it’s not in the budget!” That one expression always seems to bog down progress, innovation, and the entrepreneurial spirit! But, as our friendly controller reminds us, “Without a budget, we can’t make profits; without […]
How to Set Up a 4-5-4 Calendar
The 4-5-4 Calendar is ideal for merchandise analysis and planning as it divides the year into comparable periods of time. Rather than incrementing periods based on the Gregorian calendar, the 4-5-4 Calendar divides the year into four and five week periods. Unlike the Gregorian calendar, the 4-5-4 calendar assures that comparable periods always include not […]
A Formula In Need Is a Formula Indeed – Balancing Inventory Plans
Often times there is a need for an objective way to distribute inventory between two or more stores or departments or classes or sizes, etc. Rather than using a seat-of-the-pants or traditional method (we have always done it this way) there is a mathematical model to solve this dilemma. Let’s use some hypothetical statistics to […]
