Category: Retail Projections

Enough Already with the "Covid Fatigue"

8/10/2020

Have you noticed? "Covid fatigue" has been spreading lately. It seems to be almost as contagious as the virus itself. Ugh!

And small wonder. Even as parts of the economy strive to re-open, they only remind us of how different everything is.

Major League Baseball played in stadiums of cardboard cutouts of fans. The U.S. Open Golf Tournament with no spectators. Professional basketball teams in "the bubble" at Disney World.
And some colleges preparing to resume fall classes have been described as "a cross between a seminary and a minimum-security prison."

Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress cannot agree on what should be done next. A nasty election campaign season looms. Protests are still happening in many locations.

Remember this: all these things that contribute to our Covid fatigue, what we have called the "Pandemic Trifecta of 2020" – the virus, the economic meltdown, the national protests – all of these are uncontrollables. We all are victims of all three pandemics.

But, you CAN control what you choose to do with your business going forward. Will you choose Door A, Door B or Door C?

Smart Buying in the Covid Age

8/3/2020

That's a sign of the times, isn't it?

While retailers are more accustomed than most folks to cope with change, 2020's unrelenting flexibility tests have been a challenge. Forget about five years. Retailers have to be ready for the next five months! It's back-to-school and then Holiday.

The only certainty about the next five months is that they will probably feel like the past five months. Yet you still must run a retail business. And that means you still must buy and sell merchandise.

The opportunities – and the pressures – are mounting.

Come Labor Day, How Might Things Look?

6/15/2020

We believe there are not one, but three(!) pandemics occurring simultaneously right now. Of course, the COVID-19 virus elevated the word "pandemic" to a status that identifies even a generation of babies.

But the other two pandemics are equally paralyzing: the nationwide (even worldwide) protests of racial injustice, and the severe unemployment from the economic collapse.

Indeed, three concurrent, worldwide sinkholes. We call it the "pandemic trifecta of 2020."

So, what's an intelligent retailer to think now?!

Here's one idea that we believe can help you have more confidence in your immediate decisions. Think beyond this week and this month.

Which Shoppers Will Emerge First?

4/27/2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly gained the respect of the general public. Surveys continue to show that, while folks are eager to be able to resume moving about, they do not expect to resume their pre-pandemic discretionary shopping and dining activities anytime soon. They are awaiting effective treatments or, even better, a vaccine.

Main Street restauranteurs and retailers understand that, according to survey results reported April 27.* In fact, these owners anticipate it could take another eight months – that is, most of the year – for consumer demand to reach the so-called "New Normal."

Dealing with Your Landlord: This Is Better Than Begging!

4/20/2020

Let's assume your stores have been closed for weeks now. We recognize how conscientious you are. So, after paying what you can to your employees (and yourself), the next most-worrisome dilemma is your rent.

How best to get some immediate relief from each month's lease payment?
And you wonder, what would be the best way to negotiate with your landlord?

As you likely have discovered, a common choice for many landlords is to offer to defer your payments. But that means taking on more debt, as those payments are only being postponed to a later point in time.

You need a better solution than that.

The Dynamics of Merchandise MIX and Amount

4/13/2020

The Retail Owners Institute® has developed a retail strategy for "Inventory Management Going Forward."

As we often do, it was recapped as an unassuming chart (see below) identifying the Five Stages of Merchandise Mix Management, from "Before COVID-19" to the "New Normal?"

The Opportunities of This Crisis: Don't Miss 'Em!

4/6/2020

Each of us, our households, businesses and communities are in different stages of shutdown due to the coronavirus.

While we cannot speak to when this will end, we do have some ideas for dealing with the fog of uncertainty that hangs over us all

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