Fall 2019 - Inside Outdoor Magazine

Inside Outdoor | FALL 2019 42 I recently received an email from Rod Johnson, owner of Midwest Mountaineering in Minneapolis, Minn. Rod had been dealing with the dilemma of an over-inventoried department in his operation and thought that some of his ideas and experiences might benefit other shopkeepers facing a similar situation. With a bit of collabo- ration, below are some of the challenges Rod has faced, as well as potential solutions. My comments are added in bold. I might add a couple of my own strategies to Rod’s list of key observations. For starters, sometimes vendors are willing to participate with you if they feel their line would be a good fit. Perhaps with some negotiation, favorable terms might be agreed upon regarding return privileges, extra dating or consignment agreements. Secondly, having a solid merchan- dise plan – which consists of a solid sales and inventory forecast and open-to-buy planning – is critical to success in solving over-inventoried classifications. By employing the inventory management strategies that Rod has suggested, you might be able to improve the profitability of your more challenging categories too. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If things are not working for you cur- rently, change your approach. You can always go back to your old way of doing things if you don’t like the results. m Ritchie Sayner is the founder of Advanced Retail Strategies, LLC, an affiliate of Manage- ment-One, a merchandise planning company that incorporates machine learning into its pro- cess. His book “Retail Revelations: Strategies for Improving Sales, Margins, and Turnover” is available on Amazon. He can be reached through the website www.advancedretailstrategies.com. Buyer’s Side By Ritchie Sayner Get Over It Hello Ritchie, I’ve been struggling to get our paddlesports and ski department inventories down to plan for at least 25 years. Knowing that you are over plan is only 10 percent of the battle. When our buyer for these departments quit, I decided it was time to step in and do it myself. I believe the reasons previous buyers were not as successful in keeping inventory on plan included: 1. They’ve built up good relationships with vendors and reps and greatly reducing orders would reduce their incomes.  It’s easier for retail owners to stand firm because they are the ones who have to pay the bills. 2. Salespeople strongly urge buyers to order specialty items that have a slow turn and poor sell-through. Customers can buy these items on the internet. 3. Reps will say this item sold well for you at a good margin. You need to order more. Even though you have very little OTB, you must have a basic selection of good sellers for your customers. Items that are average sellers shouldn’t be reordered until inventory is down to plan. Items that are slow sellers need to be highlighted and cleared out at 50 percent off.  4. Many buyers are not good promoters and good merchandisers.  It takes a good promoter to get rid of the “dogs.” Special sale promotions through a store’s customer email newsletter is one good way. A 75 percent off “garage sale” is another way. 5. Reorders are sometimes sold out or have a long delay. Sell what you have. You may lose some sales. 6. Vendors urge buyers to place two preseason orders per year. Never preseason out-of-season items such as camping items and hiking boots in the winter. Place ASAP orders for these items. Cancellations often don’t get done in time if it turns out you don’t need the items.  Results: our paddlesports inventory is currently only 10 percent over plan. At this time last year, we were 100 percent over plan.  Tips for getting that over-inventoried department on plan