At this time I am sorry to report that my sales reflect pretty much like what I am pretty sure is happening across the retail landscape nationwide…..it’s dismal! And the worst part of it all is that if it’s this bad now, Christmas time, I could only imagine how bad it’s going to be in January, especially in the retail sector.
This blog is of this moment a summary of things that are going on in my business and perhaps will give you an idea of how to survive this coming crisis.
During the months leading on to the November Midterm Elections I saw a general slowdown in sales and I correctly anticipated that this would drag things down to a level that would have direct impact on the Holiday Season. This speculation was one of the most important elements I used to set down my goals for the season. As expected they are in line with my continuing advice regarding all business, “Tread Water till the Next Wave”.
Normally I would build up inventory and in January either have it all paid off (perfect scenario) or borrow against my credit lines to extend payments till hopefully the next surge of sales from the end of January till Valentines Day in February. This of course is what I am trying to avoid. At this moment any inventory purchase, especially in the jewelry retail industry, is totally speculative. Gold is continuing to climb and sales are down as well as the overall mind set of the average consumer.
As written in my past posting “Direct Mail Advertising 10/6/20”, I implemented what I felt was the most cost effective method of advertising at my disposal. But bringing into mind that my inventory is very limited I cut back on that advertising as well.
The Wave is Here, I rode it but failed to stay on:
“The Next Wave” came in the form of a very popular watch. In November of 2009 I felt this was going to be a very strong seller and I speculated on it’s performance and purchased 20 of them. Sure enough I sold out by March and reordered 12 of the units. Unfortunately restocking was projected for June. I was OK with this because it was going to be Father’s Day. The watches never arrived and they were expected to come in “sometime in the Fall”. I finally received them on Columbus Day and although I was tempted to order an additional twenty units I backed off because of the slowdown in sales and I felt that the “trend” demand for the watches may have expired. I was wrong. Within a month’s time I had sold out on the watches. When I ordered another dozen at the beginning of December I was once again told restocking would be in March.
At this moment I am trying to keep away from “Trend Motivated Jewelry Styles” and I am concentrating on the slow moving “Traditional” items. These are high end, high budget items that I will offer on Anniversaries and Birthdays. I’m also banking on my repair services. I expect a large number of cheap watches that need to have the bands sized and other jewelry repair items that need to be adjusted as well. I am fully aware that my overhead is small enough to be able to survive on just this alone.
As of my last business report my planning and conservative speculation has paid off. My overall revenues are down 26% but my profit margin has climbed from 44.8% to 56.9% and this means that my gross profit is down a mere 3,858.00 dollars! If I compare these figures to my best gross profit year, I’m off by 18%.
Overall I have written off the Christmas selling season and have already begun to prepare myself mentally for Valentines Day. In the meantime I plan to enjoy these Holidays in the spirit they were intended to be enjoyed as. A time to share with the family and observe the birth of Hope for Humanity 2010 years ago….
Happy Holidays everyone.
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