WHAT SHOULD BUYERS BE CONSIDERING WHEN ADDING NEW MERCHANDISE THIS SEASON?

Q: As our business begins to evolve, from pushing off receipts at the beginning of the pandemic, to needing new merchandise, do you have any advice we should consider?

Steve Pruitt: The time has arrived when all of our merchants need new merchandise deliveries – and I mean now! But here is the trick — we should not revert back to receiving product the way we used to. We need to be more strategic.

Between tight cash flow, changing fashion demand, and fears that COVID-19 could spike again, slowing traffic, even more, we need to be very cautious. Remember one of the “new” Golden Rules – You own the receipt plan. Only release quick sellers. So, ask yourself. “What will sell fast?”

As far as a strategy going forward, here is a challenge for you. Think of five new approaches to building your business this fall. I don’t care how crazy they might seem. Buying a sprinter van and taking the dressing room to your customers? Why not? Rolling in new athleisure brands and showing even more conservative dressers how to fit them into their lifestyle? Merchants are already succeeding with these approaches, even though they would have never tried them pre-pandemic. So, what seemed crazy to you before, but is starting to make sense now?

Send me your ideas and I will jump on a call with you to flesh out the strategy and tactics to make them work. Here is my email: steve@blksretail.com.

 I know we can get through these strange times with creativity and solid planning.

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