Once Upon A Time
Once upon a time I was promoted to menswear buyer for Gold Circle Stores. Remember Gold Circle? A division of what was then Federated. My Divisional was a guy named Herb Smallzman. He was one of the smartest and best teachers a novice like me could have ever asked for! Herb was my friend, my mentor, my teacher and my guide. He had no equal at that time and holds the title to this day. Our office was in Columbus, OH, on the north side and not far from OSU.
There was a fad that became very popular quickly and was destined to die just as quickly. It was a rain jacket with a hood, rubberized on one side, cotton on the other and an American flag, screen printed on one side on the back. The vendor that came up with the idea could not keep them in stock! However the vendor price was quite expensive, I think they retailed for around $39 if I remember correctly - a lot of money in the 60's. Herb came up with an idea: 1) Buy the raincoats and have them flown (they were of course an import) to Columbus Airport. They had to be shipped rubber side out to save on taxes. 2) Find a screen printer that could handle what we wanted to do and quickly. 3) Get them to the screen printer and pay to have them printed with the flags overnight. 4) Hand deliver them to the stores (back then we only had 4 stores but they did a LOT of volume)! 5) Price them at $24.99: $5 under the competitor. 6) Run an ad for $19.99! How many lessons were built into this I can't say but there are many!
Speed is everything for sure! (You can guess who (me) picked up the swamp jackets at the airport, took them to the screen printer, picked them up and took them to the stores and set up the ad)! From there it was lesson #2: know your vendors and always, always treat them right! #3 was never be afraid to think outside the box, ever! #4: your competition is dirt so be respectful, never cheat and enjoy dinner with them but don't hesitate to do them in before they do the same to you! And, finally, #5: have fun!
Flash forward a few years. I became an assistant store manager in New Castle, DE. This was back when we could be a little entrepreneurial. This was in the days of 45rpms. (Yeah, I am that old) A new record came out and I listened to the song on the radio on my way to work. It was called "Does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the bed post over night"? As soon as I got to work I called our vendor and ordered everything they had: I think it was around 1000 copies or so but whatever they had I took right then on condition they get them to my store NOW! I ended up being the only show in town with the records that I stacked by the cashier at every checkout! I sold out, was the only place in town that had the records at least for a few days until the fad died. So, lesson #6: always trust your instincts!!
Flash forward a few more years. I was in Indiana when my company introduced a brand new item: garage door openers. As soon as I saw the ad proof I knew we were in trouble. It was a new item and the company would only ship 3 of each: good, better and best. And I was right! So I called the manufacturer and ordered everything I could fit into a 28' U-Haul. I lined up my receiving manager to drive the truck to Ohio to pick them up. When the ad broke ti wasn't 3 minutes until we were writing rainchecks! The company was all excited that the ad was such a success! But by Tuesday I had filled every raincheck while the company was still working on getting a shipment lined up to bring goods to the DC and then get them to the stores! Needless to say I got a phone call over that! So, lesson #7: Have a plan "B"!
Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I want to say that I am an FFE Liquidation Consultant after many years in retail management. In addition my wife and I own a Boutique Clothing Store on Marco Island FL. So I have a foot in both worlds although Daphne totally manages the store.
There are other tales to tell and anybody reading this will have their own! Else you wouldn't be where you are. But the point is that, in this day and age, there is no tomorrow. Do it now or better still, an hour ago! Embrace Social Media: Skype, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Tumblr, WhatsApp, Oculus, TicToc and the others. (I have even enlisted my 13 year old grand daughter to help me understand social media!) The old saying "You snooze, You lose" is even more relevant today than ever! Be prepared to invest in IT, in Logistics and in all the other tools available. I am talking BIG investment because that is your future!
Years ago I read an article in the HBR that I have never forgotten. "Why did the railroads fail"? The answer was that they lost track of what business they were in. They continued to think that they were in the railroad business and never caught on that they were in the transportation business. So, Lesson #8: Know what business you are in!