Challenge 2009
HOW TO STAY AFLOAT
Ten ways to get ready for the challenge.
Cash is king. Any business needs to generate cash either through sales or savings and
when we say cash, we mean real money. Spend every £1 as if it were your last. Keep a
close eye on cashfl ow and cut your overheads. Anticipate a drop in trade – it’s inevitable
so investigate areas where savings can be made. Ask your landlord for monthly rent
centres, online or the independent retailer
Now is the
payments.
down the road.
This could lead to an overall contraction time to take
Be prepared to make tough decisions. Keep your staff informed and make sure
in the numbers of outlets selling cards if the
they know they are part of the team. Whether it’s the Saturday girl or regular employees
a long, hard
downturn bites as hard as the experts say it
– they all need to know what’s what. Be honest but if they don’t want to be part of the
will. look at your
solution then you will probably be better of without them. Not everyone in the business is
Whichever way you look at it selling
equal and cutting the headcount is usually the most effective way to cut costs. Lose the
greetings cards is a business and should be
business
emotion and don’t just cut back on hours to keep everyone happy – sometimes you have
approached as such. Retailers who fail to face
to see how
to lose people to protect the business and the remaining jobs.
up to the challenges ahead, may not survive.
All of which means now is the time to take a
it’s going
Look for ways to improve productivity. The whole business has to get leaner and
long, hard look at your business to see how it’s
to shape up
fi tter to survive and grow. Look at every aspect and see how things can be done better
going to shape up in 2009 and beyond.
and faster to free up time to do something else that will make more money.
It shouldn’t necessarily be all and doom
in 2009 and
and gloom however. If the right action is taken
beyond
Bargain hard with suppliers but play fair on payments. The business landscape
then any business, big or small, can thrive in a
has changed and you should be looking for value wherever possible, even if that means
recession. Here at Greetings Today, we don’t
renegotiating advance orders in exchange for earlier payments for instance. Don’t take
have all the answers but we can offer a forum
prices at face value and always ask for the best deals.
for insight, opinion and advice from all over the
Keep the communication lines to your suppliers open because they are your partners
greetings cards industry.
and nothing will worry them more than silence. Tell them how and when you intend to
So, are you up for the challenge?
pay them and if things change be upfront about it.
Cut your inventory. Stock that isn’t selling is doing you no good so assess your
‘Make a plan’
offer, cut out the weak performers and trade it on as effi ciently as possible. Don’t hang
After the initial emotions of anger, upset and
onto stock that isn’t selling – free up the space for something else. Trial new lines from
panic, establish a strategy for dealing with
publishers and monitor what works and what doesn’t. Shift things around in the store
these ‘challenging’ times.
regularly so customers know there is always something new every time they visit.
Make a list of all the strengths your shop
has when compared to your competition
Get creative in your marketing and PR. Look for ways to drum up trade that are both
Length of time established/reputation
cheap and effective. Get out of the shop to meet prospective customers. Don’t wait for
Size & Accessibility
them to come to you. C’mon, you work in a creative industry, channel that energy into
Great customer service
getting your voice heard.
Variety of products
Specialist product areas (jewellery,
Don’t slack on customer service. Cash-strapped shoppers still want to feel special
chocolates)
and gravitate towards the stores that they feel are welcoming and warm. If you have
Branded Products
staff, make sure they know their jobs rely on customer satisfaction.
Special services (balloons, party planning)
Maintain standards of cleanliness and tidiness throughout the store at all times.
Concentrate on these strengths and work
Ensure product lines are maintained particularly items that are exclusive to your store.
at enhancing them.
Enhance product placement of brand name products by bringing them forward in the
store. Enhance customer service levels by helping customers shop and always take them
Although unpleasant it is essential to
to the product rather than giving directions.
establish your minimum operating level
together with an exit plan. Having some idea of
Go the extra mile. Even if you do not stock something you probably know where to get
when and how you can exit the business if you
it. Set up a system to take ‘special orders’ from customers and source it for them. Quite
have to can relieve some of the pressure you
often customers want large quantities of a particular item for a wedding or party, which,
will be facing in the meantime.
even with low margins, can be a sizeable profi t.
Take a look at your rivals. Visit the local supermarkets, garden centres as well as card
LOOK AHEAD TO 2009
and gift retailers to monitor ancillary product areas you can easily compete on without
Many high street retailers are banking on
losing money.
Christmas being ‘OK’ but are fearful that the
Identify products that are identical to those that you already sell and change your
fi rst quarter of the New Year could be brutal.
supplier. It is important to remove direct comparisons that you cannot compete with on
That could be a saving grace for the
price. Customers will often pay more for a higher quality, well-packaged product.
greetings card industry as the roll call of
signifi cant occasions – Valentines, Mother’s
Don’t discount for the sake of it. Price cutting reduces your turnover and margins
Day and Easter – unfolds.
at a time you need it most and it also makes it harder to differentiate yourself from your
If ever there was a time to maximise these
competition. Instead, ensure you are value for money. You probably cannot compete
opportunities, it’s now. Consumers feeling the
on price with the multiples or supermarkets but you can beat them on customer service
pinch will still be buying cards across these
and product knowledge. Discounting will not get you very far in the future and should be
occasions, even if they are seeking out value.
avoided but be aware of local price fl uctuations and stay competitive.
24 Greetings Today
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