Inside Outdoor Spring 2020 Issue

In-Season stores; “too many” is clearly one of the biggest contributors to stores being overbought and to slow- turning stocks. If there was ever a time to reduce your vendor mix, it is now. Run a vendor report by classification and make decisions regarding the vendor matrix go- ing forward. Group them into three categories: (A) critical vendors that you must have; (B) vendors that you probably should have; and (C) vendors that you could live without, due to poor performance or dupli- cation with other brands. When it comes to dealing with vendors, negotiation will be the name of the game. In the short term, things you may wish to negoti- ate include shifting deliveries, pay- ment dating, available discounts, return privileges, cancellations, protection from online discounting and relaxing of minimum advertising pricing (MAP) policies. What will be the worth of your current inventory when you re- open? If you have been closed for two months with very little new merchandise arriving, the short answer is: not as much as it was when it first arrived. Since the footwear business by nature turns somewhat slower than apparel, the shelf life is arguably a bit lon- ger, but the same issue remains in place. You still have somewhat dated merchandise that you have not sold, mostly due to closure. What are you going to do? Most, if not all, vendors are backed up with spring inventory that was cancelled. They have the same problem that you do. This probably makes returning anything out of the question for now. You are going to have to do some level of promoting. Please resist the temptation to use what I have previously termed “the lazy person’s markdown.” This is where everything in the store is marked down equally, say 20 to 30 percent off. This has proven to be one of the least effective markdown strategies available. Alternatively, take targeted markdowns by class, vendor or style. This gives you the opportunity to promote what could be the most challenging inventory first. It is especially palatable with vendors where price accommoda- tions have been made available. Another option to consider could include shifting the major store-wide clearance events back a month, since there are rumblings that fall Inside Outdoor | SPRING 2020 17