David Brown

By The Numbers: Grim Figures No Reason to Despair

Published

16 years ago

February 1, 2009

David Brown Instore February 2009 Issue

THE NOVEMBER FIGURES from our survey group certainly make grim reading. Still, they’re no reason to despair, although they suggest you’re going to have to get creative with your average retail value, achieved margin, purchases and expenses. If your sales are down by say 20 percent, then your average retail value needs to be increased by 20 percent — e.g. an $80 item needs to become a $96 item — to keep your numbers up. If you can manage only a 10 percent increase in your average retail value then you need to boost your margin to make up for the lost gross profit. You’ve got work to do!

By The Numbers: Grim Figures No Reason to Despair

This story is from the February 2009 edition of INSTORE.

Related Topics: David Brown

David Brown

David Brown is the president of Edge Retail Academy, a leading jewelry business consulting and data aggregation firm that provides expert business improvement plans to help with all facets of your business, including improved financials, healthier inventory, sales growth, increased staff performance, recruiting and retirement/succession planning, all custom-tailored to your store’s needs. They offer Edge Pulse to better understand critical sales and inventory data, to improve business profitability, benchmark your store against 1,200-plus other Edge Users, and ensure you stay on top of market trends with their $3 billion-plus of industry sales data. Contact (877) 569.8657, ext. 001, Inquiries@EdgeRetailAcademy.com or EdgeRetailAcademy.com.

click to Comment(Comment)

Up Next

By The Numbers: December Not Quite as Bad

Don't Miss

By The Numbers: You’ve Got Two Choices

Family Legacy, New Chapter: How Wilkerson Turns 89 Years of History Into Future Success

After 89 years of serving the Albany community, Harold Finkle Your Jeweler faced a pivotal decision. For third-generation owner Justin Finkle, the demanding hours of running a small business were taking precious time away from his young family. "After 23 years, I decided this was the time for me," Finkle explains. But closing a business with nearly nine decades of inventory and customer relationships isn't something easily managed alone. Wilkerson's comprehensive approach transformed this challenging transition into a remarkable success story. Their strategic planning handled everything from advertising and social media to inventory management and staffing — elements that would overwhelm most jewelers attempting to navigate a closing sale independently. The results speak volumes. "Wilkerson gave us three different tiers of potential goals," Finkle notes. "We've reached that third tier, that highest goal already, and we still have two weeks left of the sale." The partnership didn't just meet financial objectives—it exceeded them ahead of schedule.