RetailBizBlog

Why? Because that is the day of the year when sales should be so strong that retailers move out of the "red" and into the "black" - PROFIT.  So now that "Black Friday", at least in the traditional shopping sense, is becoming a thing of the past as competition and a desire to maximize sales has driven opening times all the way into Thursday - could "Black Friday" in the accounting sense also become a thing of the past? After 20 years of working through Black Fridays, there is still no question that that day still reigns supreme as the largest shopping day of the year, but this year I was finally forced to ask myself , "Are we spending too much to make this happen?"  Malls across the country witnessed something that I have never seen in my 20 years - ZERO lines from around 3am until almost 11am.  A middle of the night slow down was no surprise to anyone, but the fact that malls were as empty as a Tuesday afternoon in June was a little

It's official - Holiday shopping is here!! Malls have decked their halls, retailers are playing one of over a hundred versions of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", and the retail heavyweights are announcing their "Black Friday" plans....errr dare I say "Black Thursday"?!  WalMart confirmed their earliest Black Friday specials won't be found on Friday at all, but at 6pm on Thanksgiving day, with many others following at 8pm. For me, this will mark my 20th retail holiday season.  Watching how this time has evolved through the years has been very interesting.  When I started, I thought people would eat their Thanksgiving dinners early so they could induce their tryptophan coma early enough to wake up in time for the early bird specials - at 6am Friday morning.  Then online shopping offered an alternative to risking your life in the malls for shopping safely from your couch - now we have "Cyber Monday" (insiders tip - most retailers still

Is it just me, or does it seem that CEO's of today are everywhere?!  I can't recall such a time when CEO's have been such public figures.  The headlines have moved out of the financial pages and into mainstream news.  Power players like Mark Zuckerberg, Howard Schultz, Jeff Bezos, James Sinegal, Tim Cook, and Yahoo's new dynamo Marissa Mayer, have turned the front page into the business page! The greatest thing about this, is we have a glimpse like never before into the business and culture savvy these mega-executives possess.  Zuckerberg proved he is much more than a lucky (and very intelligent) college kid in a hoody, when he successfully navigated into the mobile space before his initial investors had to decide to bail on him in Q1.  Howard Schultz, has many wondering if there is a political future in store for him (he continues to strongly deny) when he decided to rally other business leaders against the indecision and fiscal irresponsibility of our elected offic

Yesterday I took part in a TweetChat presented by the #bealeader community.  The topic for the chat was the importance of self-awareness for a successful leader.  One of the questions posed was "How does one keep self awareness from becoming the less desirable self involved?".   I responded with a concept that I had been taught very early in my career that I have since dubbed "humility time".  I had a few responses that unfortunately, the 140 limit of Twitter made very difficult to properly respond to. Very early in my career, I worked off the premise that knowledge was power.  At the time, I had all the knowledge, and assumed that granted me all the power.  My team very quickly delivered me a very harsh reality check in letting me know that was not going to be the case.  My manager at the time explained the importance of self-awareness.  She recommended I mentally schedule time for myself to intentionally be the guy "that does not have all the answers&qu

Every retail leader has had those employees that have simply seemed to have "lost their mojo".  Is it better to move them out before they contaminate your team with their "funk", or should you find out where their mojo went, and give it back to them? Strictly from a cost perspective, hiring and training a replacement can be expensive.  I will always advise in the direction of getting your rockstar back on track.  People fall into a funk usually from one of two things.  First, they have repeatedly felt under-appreciated for the work they feel they are doing.  Or second, the appreciation is always there, but the challenge is not.  The common denominator is pride, which in your business translates to ownership and performance. Lack of Appreciation - Appreciation can come in so many forms.  The easiest is a simple "thank-you".  If you really want to turbo charge that thank you, use your employees name and actually tell them specifically what you are thank

As companies evolve trying to keep up with their tech savvy customers, there are still some very simple "Do's and Don'ts" to keep in mind. 5 Do's of Great Customer Service 1.  DO have a genuine greeting.  No longer is this a formal robotic welcome to every pulse that passes through your door, but a warm conversation intended to develop a connection with your customers. 2.  DO be honest.  I guess this should go without saying, but even if you ask the most successful commissioned salespeople, being honest will create a bond that will deliver long term results that will far outweigh any potential increase today (could even generate a larger increase today if your customer recognizes your honesty!) 3.  DO be happy.  If you don't like your boss, or are having a bad day, that has nothing to do with the customers.  They should always feel you are happy to be there. 4.  DO be Knowledgeable.  Product knowledge, corporate knowledge, current promotional knowledge,

Yesterday, I spent some time walking the mall.  I was specifically looking at the visual execution of stores in the mall.  While, I was overall pretty impressed with the elevated level of appearance standards from the last time I did this exercise, I still saw several things otherwise great looking stores missed. Mannequins - These are the most important displays in your store.  Not only should the mannequin be in good condition, but it should be dressed in such a way, that a customer would want to have the same look.  Mannequins can drive your store sales by also including accessories to add to the detail and complete the look.  I was disheartened to see mannequins that were in store windows, with broken pieces!  I also saw clothes that appeared "flat".  They looked as if they were unfolded and then just draped over the mannequin.  As you adjust your own clothes after putting them on to look right, you should treat your mannequin the same.  The more like a person they look

When Fortune Magazine posted this year's top 100 companies to work for, a common thread between all of those companies is a culture that employees feel connected with.  Whether it comes from connecting as a family, supporting local communities or charities, or supporting the health and wellness of their people, the employees of those companies are very happy.  What I find interesting, is that most companies I talk to (that did not make the list) also talk about how amazing their "culture" is. If you listen closely to the employees, the difference starts to become obvious.  Those who work for top voted companies, will talk about their leaders as if they are people they know personally.  They will talk about things that they have actually done or been a part of.  Those who work for companies that don't make the list will talk about how their company has a strong foundation and leadership, good values in their mission statement, and they will list the great things

Try this - take at least 5 people (no max limit, the more the better) and tell them to stand in a circle and look at the ceiling.  Instruct them that counting is cheating, and that they should start to raise their hands when they think one minute has passed.  Typically, you will start to see hands going up around the 30sec mark, and in most instances, all hands will be up by the 50sec mark.  Now, do the same thing, but instruct the people to look at one another and engage in casual conversation.  You may have one person being very conscious of the drill, but in most cases, the entire group will go way past the one minute mark without raising their hands. I first saw this drill used in the restaurant industry to illustrate that when a waiter says to a table "I'll be with you in just a minute", that that minute can have two very different perspectives.  I have used it several times since then to illustrate the power of conversation.  In traditional retail stores, customer

This time of year is perfect for getting your stores back into "Grand Opening" shape.  Many stores have actual spring cleaning checklists to help them get through this time.  Here are the top 10 easy misses that keep your stores from looking their best (no particular order) 1. Get a Ladder! - Light fixtures, wall units, ceiling vents etc.  Customers don't look up, and usually neither do you, which is why there is WAY more dust up there then you really want to see!!  Getting rid of this dust and keeping the vents clean can actually minimize your buildup throughout the year!  Don't forget to re-aim your lights after cleaning them!! 2. Get LOW! - Floor boards, especially in corners can get caked with grime that gets pushed against them all year while you mop.  3. Get MOVIN'! - Move ALL the store fixtures.  Dust buildup, uncleaned spills, and sometimes it will even show how dirty the rest of the floor is! 4. The Fixtures - Rarely do the fixtures get wip

When I started in retail, I signed a time sheet that was printed on a dot-matrix printer, and the word thermal in a retail store only referred to undergarments.  Now, innovation and technology are paving the road for the future of retail.  Customers have proven, that there will always be a place for malls and stores despite the rapidly increasing ease to exist and shop online.  History has shown, that out of recession comes innovation.  Who would have predicted so much of that innovation would be around the internet and mobile devices?! Even when I started writing this blog, it was about rebuilding and establishing a positive customer connection.  Since then, the idea of that connection has evolved, and some companies are clearly still wondering "Where are we going now?!"  Again, when I started in retail, it was all about customer service, and going above and beyond was highly encouraged. Or, in other words, we were giving to our customers.  That and a booming economy lead

Open-ended questions, effective listening, sales approach, entrepreneur, "outside the box", visual appeal, loss prevention, customer base, foundation of change....these are all overused retail phrases that need to simply go away! Training, or to put it simply, the information you give an employee to do their job well, is too diluted.  Other than hands on training to teach a specific skill, most of your training should appeal to common sense.  People go through hours and hours of customer service training, only to be churned out as another robot simply repeating their training to everyone that walks in the door.  The customer experience (another overused buzzword) has evolved into building a much stronger human connection. Hire people (not workers) that can have a conversation, that can smile, and that genuinely seem to appreciate your brand.  Then your training turns into simply nurturing their pre-existing personality traits.  Give them essential product and company know

Accurate signage has long been a way to ensure that you are able to communicate to your customers even in the event you don't have an opportunity for a personal connection.  If done right, the signage can not only draw attention to great deals, but can often even transcend a language barrier.  That is why signage has long held the nickname "silent salespeople". This kind of marketing is extremely powerful, and can make or break any business.  This kind of marketing must be both delivered appropriately, and communicated just as effectively.  There are really 3 basic categories of sale a store will run through - 1. Full Price - New seasonal launch, most goods are full price. 2. Promotional - Usually shortly into new season as sales start to indicate which goods are meeting forecasts.  Items are then placed on a temporary (Promotional) sale price to accelerate sales.  3. Liquidation - End of season.  Deep discounts are offered to rapidly move through unsold merchandise.  A

"Payroll is tight...we have to cut hours!!" How many times a day are managers saying this?  It has been so drilled into our heads that payroll is the most controllable expense, that it has become just a way of life to be under the assumption that "we are cutting hours".  What if I told you that you don't have to cut hours (necessarily)? We need to stop looking at payroll like it is an expense we are trying to control, and start looking at it like an investment that we can manage.  Most companies look for an "entrepreneurial spirit" in their leaders, which is ironic when they take their leaders strongest tool (the schedule) and constrict it to a point that it becomes a weekly robotic action.  Most managers have felt forced to constrict their schedules to such a point, that the only thought that goes into writing it, is making sure there is someone there to open and close the store.  Your schedule is your biggest tool for success! Look at it that way

I was talking to a friend the other day, that has now owned a bar for a few years.  He has enjoyed incredible success in a highly competitive market.  He shared some of his secrets to his success with me, and no matter how many times people mention how their "outside-the-box" thinking lead to their success, the ideas themselves are most often so simple, that you can't help but think "Why didn't I think of that?!" The most obvious unconventional thing he does, is delivers free "shots" to his guests for no reason at all other than to create an atmosphere of fun and generosity.  These shots he explained to me are more flavored water than anything else, and are so inexpensive, they barely touch his bottom line.  But it has enabled him to enforce a zero tolerance rule towards his bartenders over-pouring to "preferred guests".  This is where he said he saves all the money that most failing bars lose it.  In his bar everyone is a preferred gu

Today, I want to share a story about how not "judging a book by it's cover" paid off. Several years ago, I was working for a premium retailer in Tuscon, Arizona.  It was a pretty slow day in the spring, and we were taking advantage with a little spring cleaning.  After a few hours of seemingly nobody coming through the door, 3 young teenage girls walked in.  Myself and the other sales associate gave a usual greet, and began to engage the customers.  My traditional experience would have grown a little suspicious when these girls amassed a rather large quantity for each of them to try-on.  Those suspicions would usually grow as these girls tossed product from one stall to the other. Instead of my allowing my suspicions to grow, I took comfort in my training of giving quality service and adhering to basic loss prevention measures (item counts).  These girls spent close to 30 minutes laughing and modeling.  They enjoyed their free reign of the store as they went back and

Fortune has released their  Top 100 Companies to Work For  for 2013.  With all the financial turmoil this country is going through right now, there are still companies out there making a difference and doing it right.  Want your company to be on this list?  From small companies (#37 Nugget Market has only 1145 employees) to very large companies (#98 FedEx has over 200k!) these 100 have found a winning formula to keep their employees happy.  85% of them also reported job growth last year despite most of them boasting minimal turnover!! I get treated like family -   A lot of places claim to treat you like family, but at #5 Wegmans Food Markets, their employees are so happy, that they tell those closest to them to work there with them - 20% of their employees are related!  Or how about #28 Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, that send loved ones gift baskets in the event you get stuck working long hours.  Who is more family than your dog? #95 Mars allows their pet food division employees

So the beauty of writing a private blog, is the ability to share my own thoughts and opinions without having to include another's voice to it. Since the release of the iPhone in 2007, the mobile market has been in a complete frenzy trying to keep pace with the trendsetting iOS platform.  In the home computer world, Mac also gained valuable ground on Windows with a user friendly operating system, integrated music platform (iTunes), and sleek designs.  Meanwhile, Windows was plugging along making improvements to a largely unchanging operating system, that is until now - Windows 8 is a huge change in the Windows world, and as many analysts see it, an equally huge gamble. The thing about computers, is they are whatever the end-user wants them to be.  The same can be said for mobile devices.  I am not a strict "Apple" or "PC" guy.  I have used both extensively, and am equally comfortable on both systems.  In most aspects I prefer a Mac desktop, but I believe that

A few years ago, I saw my first application of a retail mobile device while getting my lunch at a very busy Chipotle.  At the time, it didn't appear worth the technology cost, or the labor cost to operate it, as there was no noticeable change in speed or production.  About a year after that, I worked for a premium retailer, that had a scanner capable of pre-scanning purchases and saving them for a POS associate to call up and accept payment.  That worked a little better, as it allowed the "busy work" portion of the transaction to get handled ahead of time. Today, though, with apps and devices for both the consumer and the business so accessible, businesses are almost required to update.  Here are 6 Good Reasons to take action now! 1.  Capitalize on Emotion - Have you ever changed your mind in the time between deciding you wanted to buy something and finally making it to the POS?  Have you ever been in a fitting room and fallen in love with an outfit, only to talk you

As we head into the new year, I am starting to see a lot of articles about how CEO's are identifying the "customer experience" as their key initiative for 2013.  My first thought was to start posting several links to some of the better articles and ideas that are being shared. Then I thought, that isn't really what I have started with this blog.  If you really wanted to find good articles...sign up for Twitter!!  My goal has been to simplify everything for anyone  that is curious about retail. Breaking down the "customer experience" is really what CEO's are trying to define and influence.  The experience has changed so much in the last 10-15 years, that many company's are finding themselves way behind to the point of having no clue how to catch up.  So here it is, the customer experience of today - Technology - Consumers are now equipped with devices that can far influence their experience before they even step foot in your door!!  Social Media,

The holidays are over! The malls have settled down.  Most retailers are getting ready for annual inventory counts this month, and then it all turns back on to your PEOPLE!!! When I first started writing this blog, I wrote several articles covering the full employee life-cycle that have gained a lot of attention.  I consistently see a spike in the views of these articles in January and September.  SO...To make it a little easier for you, here they are: How to Read a Resume How to Prepare to Conduct an Interview How to Conduct an Interview Effective Coaching Effective Counseling Delivering an Effective Performance Review Hopefully, you have already selected your top talent and rockstars from this past season.  But this is a crucial time of year to maintain momentum.  If you can keep your team as dedicated and as focused as you had them in December, this will be a very rewarding year!