Posted by retailmakeover on June 26, 2012 1 Comment
Independent Retailer Month Launches in Canada July, 2012
What:
Independent Retailer Month is a global Shop Local campaign that runs throughout July to highlight the important role local merchant’s play in the community, economy and overall retail sector.
Who:
Co – founded by Kerry Bannigan, CEO Nolcha Fashion Week, and Tom Shay, principal of Profits Plus. Independent Retailer Month Canada is led by Barbara Crowhurst CEO Retail Makeover & Retail Makeover Web Design. Independent Retailer Month United Kingdom is led by Clare Rayner, The Retail Champion.
Where it all began:
Independent Retailer Month started life in the USA and was born from the collaboration of two very different individuals who share a common desire to salute independent retailers around the globe. In 2003, Tom Shay, principal of Profits Plus, created a holiday, 'National Independent Retailer Week', to show retailers how they could create celebrations for their communities, industries and own businesses.
In 2009 Kerry Bannigan, Founder and CEO of Nolcha Fashion Week, devised ‘Independent Retail Week’, a week-long, city-wide, shopping extravaganza in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and New Jersey advancing the business of independent fashion retailers. This initiative worked with over 300 retailers, garnered support from the city’s tourism boards, chambers of commerce and Mayor’s office; with features on NBC, Fox, ABC and CBS.
Early 2011 discussions began between Bannigan and Shay as they wanted to be inclusive of everyone that had some form of recognition for independent retailing. July 2011 Independent Retailer Month USA was born with the goal to become a global campaign highlighting the important role local merchant’s play in the community, economy and overall retail sector. The campaign expanded to the United Kingdom led by Clare Rayner, The Retail Champion.
In 2012 the global campaign expanded to Canada, led by Barbara Crowhurst CEO Retail Makeover & Retail Makeover WebDesign.
Independent Retailer Month Objectives:
Impact the independent retail sector globally with relevant support, expertise and insights
Connect consumers and communities to local retail merchants reminding them of the benefits of shopping local
Engage small business organizations, networks and thought leaders to demonstrate the importance of independent retail to the global, national and local economy
Boilerplate for media:
About Independent Retailer Month
Independent Retailer Month is a global Shop Local campaign that runs throughout July to highlight the important role local merchant’s play in the community, economy and overall retail sector. Co – founded by Kerry Bannigan, CEO Nolcha Fashion Week, and Tom Shay, principal of Profits Plus, the initiative aims to impact the independent retail sector globally with relevant support, expertise and insights; connect consumers and communities to local retail merchants reminding them of the benefits of shopping local; and engage small business organizations, networks and thought leaders to demonstrate the importance of independent retail to the global, national and local economy. www.independentretailermonth.ca
Posted by retailmakeover on June 24, 2012 0 Comments
"Working with family members has the potential to be a very trying, sticky and challenging situation. It can bring out the best in you and your relatives--and also the worst in your working relationships. It can cause you to minimize or overlook errors or omissions that your relative commits, or it can make you excessively hypercritical and condescending. Just why does this happen? Working with family members is difficult for any number of reasons:
You know so much about the other person--you've been privy to intimate information about them.
You've most likely had arguments or negative conflicts with them.
You have years of experiences with them, both positive and negative.
You know the other person's "hot and cold buttons," the thoughts, feelings and behaviors that reward, cajole and pacify, or punish, threaten and dismiss the other person.
Maybe you don't like your relative or, conversely, you're very close with that person, which means you could either be overly critical or overly protective of them.
You may provide too much supervision or teamwork--or you may provide too little.
As a result of the knowledge and closeness you have with this other person, you may find it difficult to be rational, logical, accurate or fair with your thoughts, feelings and behaviors when it comes to interacting with that person. Your relationship with them--both at work and in your personal life--is probably suffering.
So how do you begin to correct the situation? First, you need to approach the other person and acknowledge that the current relationship isn't working optimally, that something is either "too right" or "too wrong," too positive or too negative. Then you need to discuss the impact your behaviors or attitudes are having on other employees and the company as a whole. Third, you need to agree to meet together . Fourth, it's important that you both agree that you're going to work together to improve and maximize the current relationship for your own sake as well as the sake of the organization.
Next, you both need to agree that you want to work toward making the working atmosphere more professional and less personal. You have to agree not to allow your personal feelings, either positive or negative, to enter into the work place. But be warned: These tactics will only work if you empower someone you trust, including another relative, to step in and stop actions that appear to be based on irrational feelings, either positive and negative (in other words, actions that you're taking that overlook or are overly critical of your relative's behaviour).
Sixth, you need to clarify the specific goals each of you agrees to meet so that behaviors and attitudes are directed toward meeting the company's goals and mission. Ensure that any statement of goals you create is specific, can be measured and assessed, and can be successfully achieved.
The next step is to make sure that your roles are carefully, objectively, rationally and completely described to ensure optimal clarity by all individuals for all roles. This is an especially critical step because it's very common that working relationships fall apart when this step has not been taken. When employees at any level are confused about "who is responsible for what," conflict and misunderstandings result, and productivity, employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction all decrease. To avoid this morass, you must spend time working on making each individual's explicit obligations. This facet of working together refers not only to each person's tasks and responsibilities, but also to each person's reporting relationships and source of power and influence, including their time, salary and bonuses, employees and equipment.
The eighth tip is to clarify the work processes that will be used on a daily basis: the process for making decisions, including who can make what kind of decisions, who is involved in these steps, and how decisions are to be made (by an individual, a pair or small group). Another process to consider is how to communicate with others and, in particular, which others. Basically, this aspect refers to just who is included in the communications loop and why. Are all the key players to be kept up to date about occurrences? Are key people being left out of the communications loop for reasons of power or jealousy? Are inappropriate people being brought into the loop for reasons of patronage?
The ninth tip is to build trust. Start by acknowledging the current situation. You'll be appreciated and valued for discussing a topic that others know about but are reluctant to bring up. Make sure that others can trust what you're saying and doing by backing up your thoughts and actions with clarity and explanations. Then, when you make a commitment to change the status quo, do what you're saying and say what you're doing. Make sure your actions speak for themselves, and when they don't, offer clear explanations. In addition, act with integrity, honesty and truthfulness in all that you do.
Above all, make certain that you're competent in all that you do. Ensure that you have the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform at a high level. If you don't, get some training, find a mentor, or redesign your tasks and responsibilities to align them with what you do best. Nothing destroys trust faster than incompetence. As you can see, trust is potentially the strongest element in any relationship. Without it, organizations fall apart.
The tenth and final tip involves showing the positive quality of interpersonal relationships. Just because you're related to someone doesn't mean you need to love them or worship them, especially on the job. Nor does it mean that the company is a playground for working out family problems. What is required is that you demonstrate respect for other people, especially your relatives. You needn't be fawning or ostentatious with your praise or criticism of them, but you do need to be professional and appropriate, whatever the true nature of your feelings and attitudes toward others, especially family".
Posted with love and respect for the challenges that face members of families that work together.
Posted by retailmakeover on June 06, 2012 0 Comments
Here is what the City of Madison recently did to survive road construction. This is a very inspiring story.
Letter received by the businesses in Madison City effected by the road closures:
Dear Madison-area business owner:
Road construction can present challenges for businesses, but with the right information, proper coordination and strategic planning, your business can not only endure the process, but also prosper during it. In 2009, the Small Business Advisory Council, with support from Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce and City of Madison staff, created the Road Construction Survival Guide to offer practical guidance on how to approach road construction work.
The success of the initial guide inspired the SBAC to update the document to promote newer resources, information and recommendations from Madison-area businesses. Thanks to generous contributions from Supreme Structures, Incorporated, and Judy Dahl, principal at JKD Communications, LLC, the new guide was published in 2011. We hope this guide will help you and your employees prepare for any future disruptions.
If you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact city or chamber staff. We want to help your business throughout the process. Road construction can be challenging at times, but the end result can be very rewarding for your business.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Alexander David CieslewiczPresident, GMCC Mayor, City of Madison
Posted by retailmakeover on May 31, 2012 0 Comments
I love this approach and teach: Turning customers into your sales force. Read on …...
"The most effective sales team you'll ever find is enthusiastic customers. The reason is simple enough: Customers aren't paid to praise. When a customer becomes a passionate believer in your brand, it means you truly earned it. Whenever they buy your product or service, customers feel like special club members or rebels for your cause.
But a repeat customer alone doesn't create a sales team. The trick is to transform that dedicated buyer into a missionary who spreads the word and converts friends, family and associates into customers, too. By building great word-of-mouth, you nurture an all-volunteer sales force that generates leads, boosts sales and leverages marketing dollars. Here are three basic ways to persuade people to talk up your business story. As you develop the customer sales force, you'll find other options suited to your business.
1. Set Up a Referral Program
The easiest starting point is to ask customers who are already fans to recommend you. First, let them know you're creating a referral program by sending out a letter or a postcard that explains how much you value their business and that your continued growth depends on their referrals. You'll get a better response if you include an incentive—say, a discount on the next order or a gift for every referral sent your way.
To keep building advocates, send your referral program letter to every new customer within a few days of his first purchase. You might also ask for written testimonials about your products, which can be included on direct mail postcards, mailers or brochures or posted on your Web and tucked into e-mail marketing. Send these testimonials to targeted customer lists, along with your appropriate sales materials.
2. Elevate Your Profile
Whether you sell up market services or mass-market widgets, you can generate positive publicity to make your company stand out—although it takes some sustained effort to build recognition.
You can publicize on your own—for instance by highlighting your family's background, like Perdue does, or its homegrown recipes, like Colombo yogurt does. Your goal is to weave an emotional story or hook that will draw press.
You can also become identified with a cause or a charity. Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, for instance, was founded on only $12,000 back in 1978. But the two owners created a national powerhouse out of high-priced unconventional flavors and the good will of philanthropy. Before that, few companies talked about social responsibility. Nowadays, hundreds do.
Either way, the important thing here is to be sincere. Promote only what you really believe in. To begin building publicity, create a personal and company media kit, which can be quickly done with Microsoft Publisher.
3. Choose Smart Partners
By forging alliances with businesses that target the same customers as you do, you'll create a word-of-mouth customer network that refers business. For instance, if you're a pediatrician, you might leave your business cards at the reception area of a local day care center. Likewise, the center might put up some posters on your office bulletin board. A parent who uses daycare services might recommend you to another.
Or, let's say you own an auto body shop. You can partner with a car wash/detailing service. The car wash might mail out your flyers along with monthly invoices and also place a stack of flyers on the counter for customers. You obviously do likewise. Takeout delis and caterer provides another matching combo. You get the idea.
You can also develop special arrangements with partners to offer discounts or perks—printed on the back of the flyers—that are only available to customers who patronize both businesses.
Don't forget your suppliers and vendors. Ask them to recommend you to their customers. Remind them that by referring sales leads or business to you, you're helping to build their business, too. To make it work, you must return the favor.
Experts say that customer referrals and word-of-mouth are about ten times more effective than other marketing. When it comes to bang for the buck, you can't go wrong with buzz. It's everywhere you want to be."
Posted by retailmakeover on May 16, 2012 0 Comments
The Canadian gift industry has just launched the Kids Health Gift Challenge, a fundraising campaign to raise money for the SickKid’s foundation. They have set up a page for Retail News with a fundraising goal of $500.
Retailmakeover is putting their support behind this great cause : Click here to check it out and help spread the word! SickKids Donations
Posted by retailmakeover on May 07, 2012 0 Comments
Please join me in congratulating one of our own:
Retailer Diane Petryna, owner of Take a Hike in Thunder Bay
Take A Hike Receives Business Excellence Award
Medium (7-25 Employees)
THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO - May 6, 2012 - Nine years after having won the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce's Business Excellence Award for small sized firms (1-6 employees), Take A Hike was once again recognized for its excellence. At last evening's 18th Annual Business Awards Gala held at the Valhalla Inn in Thunder Bay, the retail store received the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Award for medium sized companies (7-25 employees).
Take A Hike's continued business expansion and diversification, exemplary customer service, innovative staff training initiatives, and history of community involvement impressed the judges.
In accepting the award, store owner Diane Petryna acknowledged the on-going support her company has enjoyed from customers, employees, suppliers and the community. She also suggested that with her company's track record, the Chamber should expect Take A Hike back at the podium in 10 more years. "By then we'll be ready to pick up our award in the large sized business category," she said with a smile.
Take A Hike is an independently owned and operated outdoor lifestyle store located at 309 Bay Street in Thunder Bay. Since 1996, Take A Hike has been offering shoppers a unique collection of quality gifts, toys, clothing, footwear and gear.
As a leading retailer in Canada, Petryna is a member of the Retail Council of Canada's Independent Retailer Advisory Committee and is often cited in industry journals about best retail management practices.
Posted by retailmakeover on May 04, 2012 0 Comments
Strange weather is playing havoc with retailers’ plans. Here is a great article about weather and the effects on retail.
"Retailers are at war with the weather"
Already reeling from the winter that wasn’t, many stores in Canada now find themselves struggling to match their inventory to the spring that came too soon.
Tom Johnson, co-owner of Tall Tree Cycles in Ottawa, delayed bringing in new stock at his Ottawa bike store this year because last year’s spring was so “horrible.”
“Now because of the early start in the season, there are long wait times for certain bikes,” said Mr. Johnson, whose sales are up about 10 per cent this month from a year ago. “We can’t keep up. Orders are coming in. You’re filling them but you can’t get the new product on the floor to show it.”
The inability of some smaller- to mid-sized retailers to get shipments into stores faster comes after already suffering through poor sales last spring in cool and rainy weather, prompting some to delay or scale back inventory purchasing this year.
And larger retailers, though better positioned to respond to inventory challenges, are racing to recoup painful losses from a mild winter that melted away sales of such items as coats, boots and snow blowers. Anticipating a cold, snowy winter, many merchants were forced to clear out merchandise at heavy discounts, slashing profit margins.
For retailers of all sizes, the pressure to keep up with fickle weather patterns highlights the challenges of planning merchandise and reacting quickly to shifting demands in order to stay competitive.
Today, retailers are enjoying a welcome lift in sales of shorts, sandals and other warm-weather merchandise – up as much as 30 per cent or more in some categories from a year earlier. But keeping up with demand has been a challenge, especially for smaller players.
Part of the challenge is that retailers make many of their purchase orders six to nine months in advance, with little flexibility on deliveries from overseas.
“We’ve been working with our suppliers to try to get delivery dates moved up,” said Steven Cross, owner of Threads Lifestyle, an outdoors clothing and gear store in Toronto. “The biggest challenge is just having the goods on the floor.”
Mr. Cross, whose store is enjoying double-digit sales growth this month, said he “just gave up on winter” in early February and ran heavy sales of up to 70 per cent off to clear out inventory, which wiped out profits. On the flip side, he’s brought out many spring products 60 days earlier than last year – and 30 days earlier than he typically does – which is bolstering his bottom line.
Large chains, such as Wal-Mart Canada Corp., Sport Chek (owned by Canadian Tire Corp. and Rona Inc., say they’re in good shape to profit from record temperatures in much of Canada. But after having missed out on many winter sales, they’re now racing to bring in spring inventory to help cut their cold-weather losses.
“Demand is up, whether it’s consumables like water and sport drinks or … T-shirts and sandals and shorts,” said Evan Gold, a senior vice-president at Planalytics Inc. in Philadelphia, which advises retailers such as Canadian Tire, Starbucks and Payless Shoes on business weather intelligence.
“From a retailer perspective, they may be struggling individually, retailer to retailer, to make sure that they have enough product in the right place. … But over all it’s been good.”
This month so far in Canada, retail sales of T-shirts have shot up 16 per cent, women’s capri pants, 21 per cent, and barbecue supplies 33 per cent from the previous year, according to Planalytics. Restaurant traffic gained 3 per cent while retail traffic over all rose 5 per cent. Still, retailers wrestled with declining winter sales – boot sales fell 20 per cent, outerwear dropped 17 per cent and snow removal products fell 24 per cent, Planalytics data show.
The early spring hasn’t arrived in all parts of the country. In Vancouver, retailers are still operating in cool conditions, Mr. Gold said. “They’re still getting rid of winter product and the spring product isn’t moving.”
Spokespeople at most large chains said they’re generally ready for the warm spell. “We’re set for customers in nearly all of our seasonal areas, including patio furniture, barbecues, and lawn and garden tools and products,” Home Depot Canada’s Michael Langdon said in an e-mail. “We even have live goods available in certain Western Canadian markets.”
marina strauss — RETAILING REPORTER From Thursday's Globe and Mail Published Wednesday, Mar. 21, 2012 7:30PM EDT
Posted by retailmakeover on April 25, 2012 0 Comments
I loved this information and had to share it with you:
" One of the bigger challenges of being a manager or business owner is figuring out how to motivate and reward your employees. One of the key points in effectively managing human resources is to catch people doing something right and tell them about it immediately. It takes some work to recognize and properly reward your staff. The payoff can be huge – in a highly motivated and loyal crew that enjoys their work enough to become long-term employees that represent you and your business well. You may also find that you have created a culture where people are eager to apply to work for you because of your reputation of treating employees well.
Here are a few suggestions on ways you can reward your staff – without breaking the bank.
On a daily basis you can try to greet every person by name and with a genuine smile. You want your employees to know that you value their place in your organization. Getting personally involved has limits but a simple; “I hope your dog is doing better after his surgery” or “I’m sorry your son was sick and missed school yesterday” shows compassion and interest and means a lot to a person. Take every opportunity to praise them in public. A little goes a long way. It takes a little planning and preparation but rewarding your employees does not have to be expensive. Being effective may require a concerted effort and a time commitment but the effort does pay off. "
Easy Ways to Reward Your Staff
Say thanks:
• Smile
• Discounts for staff
• Promote from within
• Give credit
• Birthday cards
• Bring treats
• Movie passes
• Buy a soda
• Lunch with the boss
• Staff uniforms
• Newsletter recognition
• Send to conferences
• Special parking place
• Employee of the month
• Day off
• Free massage
• Casual dress day
• Book or magazine
• CD or tape
• Nominate them for an award
• Wash their car
• Have a contest
• Ask for their advice
• Gift certificates
• Name an award in their honor
• Photo on the wall of fame
• Thank you card
• Boss for a day
• Make a button
• Pat on the back
• Handshake
• Bottle of water
• Special coupon
• Listen
• E-mail a thank you
You made it! Congratulations on starting your own online store!This is your shop’s frontpage, and it’s the first thing your customers will see when they arrive. You’ll be able to organize and style this page however you like.You can start adding products to your shop...
