Like any addiction, it probably started by pressure on your ego. The roots of most bad habits can be traced back to social pressure. The difficulty is kicking the habit before it’s too late.
It is so easy to overbuy, because we love merchandise, that’s why we’re retailers. It certainly doesn’t help that the reps and manufacturers are feeding your ego telling you how you’re their best customer and you need to buy more. The pressure you face is enormous pushing you to “not miss a sale” or not to run out because it won’t be available later.
So, how do you stop the pressure and buy the right quantities? Well, you’re never going to stop the pressure because that’s what reps do. They want you to buy MORE, but when you know how much to buy, there’s nothing they can do to push you into overbuying. When you know how much to buy, you’re totally in control of the process and you will find your store thriving rather than struggling.
What’s the magic formula for knowing how much to buy? Open to buy planning. If you’re not using open to buy planning, you’re going to continue overbuying. If you’re using an open to buy plan that leaves you confused, you’re going to ignore it and continue to overbuy. If you’re using an open to buy plan and still struggling with markdowns, you’ve got the wrong open to buy.
A recent subscriber to myotbplan.com who had previously been a buyer at Nordstrom’s and now has her own boutique had two words for the system: EASY and FABULOUS! As you can imagine hearing that was music to my ears. You will have the same reaction when you subscribe – we guarantee it.
The sooner you subscribe to myotbplan.com and get set up (less than 3 hrs) you too will find that now you KNOW HOW MUCH TO BUY. Once you have the correct figures in hand, you will be able to insure a long, profitable life for your store.