Do you find that trade shows are like Superman’s phone booth transforming you from a mild mannered retailer into a Super Buyer? If you do, and suffer for it back at your store when the excess inventory rolls in, you’re certainly not alone.
There you are with all of this great, new, tempting merchandise. And there you are with reps pushing you to buy now (or you might not get it) and to buy more (since you don’t want to miss a sale). And all of these reps are your best friends. Don’t they come to your store and take you out to lunch and tell you that you’re their best customer? Of course they do. And we all know how hard it is to turn down a friend, especially one that gives you such great advice.
Well, all of those reps are just doing their job. Their job is to sell you merchandise. Naturally, they think what their firm has produced (or will produce) is the greatest. And they want to see it in your store. Not for them, but for you so you can benefit from having the merchandise to sell.
If you go to the shows and let all of the pressures that are designed to influence you do just that, you’re going to be in trouble. And that’s exactly what happens to most retailers. Don’t let it happen to you!
If you go to a show armed with an “open to buy” plan with projected buying numbers based on anticipated sales and desired turn rates, you’ll transform yourself from Super Buyer into Exact Buyer. You’ll check out everything and then go back and buy the best merchandise in the right quantities to meet your dollar plan. No more and no less. You’ll know that you have picked merchandise that you love, your staff will love, and, most importantly, your customers will love. And you will have bought all of it in the right quantities to insure that you won’t be seeing excess invoices and markdowns. You’ll turn your merchandise at the rates you desire and improve your bottom line.
Using open to buy gives a whole new meaning to Super Buyer!