Winning Retail Begins With A Winning Plan

Congratulations to all the retailers that have managed to maintain their business or grow from the previous year.   Managing expenses in the upcoming year is going to be the difference between the growth retailers and the ones that are looking for trouble.  But managing doesn’t mean cut to the bare bone, it means making careful and thoughtful decisions about when and where to spend your money.  Setting up an Open to Buy Plan for your store is the most important tool any retailer can have and with some POS software packages, it is a built in feature and requires little maintenance.  

If you don’t have a good buying plan, you end up marking down much of your inventory and have lean or no profits.  The reverse is too little inventory and your customers will shop elsewhere and your loyalty is gone.  You need to have the right inventory at the right time in the right quantities.  Sounds simple, but how many retailers follow this as if their retail life depends on it, because it does.  If you don’t have an Open to Buy plan set up, do it now and start the new year off right.