Unlocking the Secrets of Successful Retail: Techniques, Hacks, and Concepts

Running a successful retail business requires an in-depth understanding of your retail offering and its performance at any given point. This post delves into some of the essential techniques, hacks, and concepts used in the retail world.

1. Utilize a Range Plan

In its simplest form, a range plan is a comprehensive list of every product line for retail. Categorize and attribute key details such as supplier, cost price, retail price, brand, collection, etc. Consider it your retail bible, guiding you in understanding your range and making range building and ordering a more straightforward task.

Below are some of the key headings, which I colour code and group for ease of use.

DEPT

SUBDEPT

CLASS

SKU

DESCRIPTION

COLOUR

BRAND

COLLECTION

SEASONAL/ CONTINUITY ( If relevant )

STATUS ( I would recommend to have at least three, Current, Discontinued, and something like New for product that has not launch yet )

COST PRICE

RETAIL PRICE

INTAKE MARGIN ( Calculation )

SUPPLIER

LEAD TIME

MOQ

PACK SIZE ( Buying pack sizes )

LAUNCH

SHELF LIFE ( If relevant )PT | SUBDEPT | CLASS | SKU | DESCRIPTION | COLOUR | BRAND | COLLECTION | SEASONAL/CONTINUITY | COST PRICE | RETAIL PRICE | INTAKE MARGIN | SUPPLIER | LEAD TIME | MOQ | PACK SIZE | LAUNCH | SHELF LIFE

2. Categorize Your Product

Ensure your product categories align with your sales percentages. For instance, if 25% of your sales come from Treatments, aim to have around 25% of your stock in treatments. Fewer SKUs in an area can mean less waste and stock needed.

3. Understand the Retail Cycle

Retailing operates in a cycle, involving planning future sales, receiving stock, and reviewing recent sales and stock. Whether dealing with monthly repeat orders or seasonal orders, understanding these stages concurrently can simplify buying and ordering processes.

4. Implement a Critical Path

A critical path is a scheduling tool that outlines essential milestones and their deadlines. Use it to ensure a smooth launch of your new range, timely receipt of reorder, or just to get into a routine of reviewing your sales and stock position.

For example, to set your monthly orders in your calendar, I would first create a simple table in Excel to work out the dates. Starting with the day you want the stock to arrive every month work backwards. Substract the amount of working days of your supplier's lead time. A pro tip : use the workday function in excel. Give yourself a couple to do the analysis, so substract those two days. Do you have any other steps, like talking to your supplier about new product, mark it in calendar as the first step.

Once you got all the dates you can then put them in a Gant table or your normal calendar or diary

By incorporating these strategies into your retail, you'll find the complexities of buying and ordering products significantly streamlined. Stay tuned for more insights into the dynamic world of retail in your salon, spa or barber shop.

And if all of this sounds sounds a bit too complex, get in touch we are always happy to support.