David Brown

By The Numbers: December Not Quite as Bad

Published

12 years ago

March 1, 2009

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[h3]December Not Quite as Bad[/h3]

[dropcap cap=T]he bad news: December’s numbers were dismal. The good news? The percentage drop was less than in November. Interestingly, the average store sold 48 more items in December compared with the same month in 2007. However they reduced their average retail value by such a degree ($99, or 28 percent) that gross profit was slammed. Such a strategy is not sustainable. You have to get back to selling at full price. That could mean eliminating some vendors and focusing on serving your best customers by doing things such as throwing invitation-only private events. Cutting costs will also boost your margin.[/dropcap]

David Brown is president of the Edge Retail Academy, an organization devoted to the ongoing measurement and growth of jewelry store performance and profitability. You can contact him at [email protected].

[span class=note]This story is from the March 2009 edition of INSTORE[/span]

If you’d like to contribute your own data and receive a personalized KPI report each month, call (877) 910-3343 or e-mail: [email protected].

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