We all know the feeling - cash flow is limited, you’re in those leaner months, and you need something new to bring the customers in.
The first one seems obvious. Applying to your suppliers for a 30-day account. Trade terms. So many retailers that I meet refuse to get trade terms from their suppliers because they ‘don’t want to get into debt’. Now I’m not an accountant but I feel that’s a very close-minded way to look at trade terms. Having your cash flow tied up in stock is not going to give your business a chance to grow. The key here is to be bang on with your inventory control, so that most of the stock has sold, when you’re bill comes due. Now you’re probably not going to get trade terms from a new supplier, however, freeing up you cash flow with existing, high turnover products, will allow you to invest some of that money into pro forma purchase for new stock.
Now consignment is when someone gives you stock for an agreed set period of time. At the end of the period, you run a report on what’s sold, your supplier invoices you, and you return what’s left. I find this works particularly well with brands that aren’t well know, or up and coming designers, who are eager to see their products in a store. [Tweet "The win for you is a fresh new brand, and the win for the consignee is they can promote the fact their product is already stocked in a retail bricks and mortar store."] You need to have a contract in place when you have stock on consignment, and I’ve included one in my 4 intelligent ways cheat sheet, that you can download from salenaknight.com When you need some fresh stock, getting someone to give you products may not always be the answer. For big-ticket items, or ones that take up a lot of space, whether on the floor or in your storeroom, the answer may lie in drop shipping. Drop shipping is when you take an order for a product and it’s shipped straight from the supplier. Preferably, you’ll keep a sample item in store, because after all, people are coming to your retail store to see things in person. The customer orders and pays you, you send the order to the supplier, and it’s shipped direct. The bonus of drop shipping is that you can sell as many as you like, without have to fill your storeroom with stuff.
In big retail stores, real estate is bought and sold, and you too can do this in your retail store. Where do you start? My first suggestion would be to sell your windows. These are high priced real estate, and if you put together a media pack that encompasses how you can promote a brand online along with offline in your windows, you can end up with a very tempting package for someone who wants to get their product featured. Package together things like social media profiling, electronic marketing, a giveaway or review along with insert promotions. Go forth and have a profitable day! Download the cheatsheet below