"Seasonal Review to control expenses...”

Inventory, Rent & Payroll are Absolutes to running your business: 

Is your store running as efficiently it can? Can you share you space with another business? Resolve cash leaks by thinking creatively and apply accordingly.

INVENTORY-- That's where Wholesale Resort Accessories can assist. Let our 20,000 square foot warehouse be your stockroom. Purchase as needed from WRA Wholesale.

What Happened Last Season? Last Year? YOY Past 5 Years

Do you have funds available during off periods? What's in your Safety Net?  

What is your Margin (Cost Of Sales-NET after paying ALL expenses)?

Focus on products with greatest margins. Use loss leaders wisely.  

5-10% Cash Reserves for the Un-Expected

Resort retailing always experiences the unexpected. Be prepared.

 

Retail Challenge: Managing Cash Flow and Budgeting with Fluctuating Expenses

Learn More: Eric Groves-Alignable

 

photo credit: wuestenigel <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/30478819@N08/48826192306">Calculator with the word Retail on the display</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>

Luxury Ski Resort Retailing... Did You Know???

Did You Know???

$4 Billion are generated by the Ski Resort Industry annually and increasing by 5% every year.

And, you'll  miss out on Luxury Retails Sales if you don't ...

Have an stylish facade/trending decor and appealing merchandising in your shop. The affulent customer expects the same experience from their vacation shopping as they are acustom to at home.

Greet them with poise and graciousness of the same to which they present themselves.

Offer an experience. If the retail shops of a resort offer an outlet mall experience, your luxury customer will pass on it, and not return.

Provide affluent customer creature comforts. They expect and won't settle for less then the needs they have at home. Quality products & Wi-Fi. excellent customer service, convenience, etc.

Make them want to come back for more... year-after-year.

 

 photo credit: Prayitno / Thank you for (12 millions +) view <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34128007@N04/5063627141">Rodeo Drive Beverly Hills</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>

 

 

Spring Clean Into Summer with a Retailer Makeover...

To Dos:

  1. Review & Clean-up Physical Store/Online Image
    Update Decor, Images & Copy
    Identify trends in your industry
    Evaluate & Update Product Merchandising 
    Respond to Reviews 
    Update/Create Website/Blog

  1. Evaluate Your Team
    Do you have the right players in the right positions?
    Do you need to hire or fire?
    Who is your dream team member?

  1. "What Business Plan?" 
    Dig it out and dust it off
    What are the differences between then and now?
    Have you grown in your core service?
    What's out dated?
    What's new?
    What do your customers want?

  1. 1-3-5 Year Goals
    Most likely they have changed over the years and that's okay.
    Grow within your goals.
    What opportunities are on your radar?
    Take daily baby steps toward your goals every day.

  1. Organize Email Files
    Clean them up or delete accordingly.
    Organize subfiles as you would a file cabinet
    Systemize your computer file titles for easy searching

  1. Clean-up Financials and Backroom
    Discount or donate stale inventory
    Evaluate your finances
    Review your purchasing strategies
    Trash the trash
    Clean & freshen the space 

    photo credit: Walt Stoneburner <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/8404611@N06/6244758934">Pallets</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>

    What's the "BIG" Idea

    You Get the "IDEA"

    As a small business resort retailer, you know...Ideas have a life of their own...They begin with a glimps into the future and over-the top-enthusiasm... until it's squished, altered, unheard of, done before, or crazy.

    BEST Ideas have their own life, evolve, and are touched by many. 

    That said...What's your BIG Idea?

    • Write it down 
    • Protect it 
    • Understand there is risk
    • Prepare for judgement
    When you're ready...
    • Share it
    • Let it go
    • Watch it GROW!!!
    More on this topic...



     

     

    Do you view the world in Awe? There is potential in everything around you...and at this moment you have all the resources to create AWESOME. Change your ways... change your world. WRA is... Partner with us!

    Is your Comfort Zone Uncomfortable?

    Consider this...

    Are you Optimistic? 
    Optimism is owning "Reward outweighs risk".

    Do you break the rules...especially your own?
    Growth is found in breaking the rules. Man made them... you can CHANGE them.

    Do you know a better way?
    Of course you do, thats why you're in business!

    Do you use ALL the technology available to you?
    Create GREAT...everything can be improved with technology. Use it.
     
    Do you view the world in Awe?
    There is potential in everything around you...and at this moment you have all the resources to create AWESOME.

    Change your ways... change your world.

    WRA is... Partner with us!

    Read more on this topic.

    Partner with WRA Wholesale to Lower Your Inventory Imbalances & Lost Renvenues

    You know the challelnges of seasonal inventory planning.

    What’s trending, social media, and a device in the hands of all can change things instantaneously. 

    This results in stale inventory and lost revenues over night.

    When you partner with Wholesale Resort Accessories, our 20,000 square foot warehouse becomes your backroom stocked to the rafters.

    Partnering with WRA Wholesale will lower your risk of inventory imbalances and lost renvenues.

     

    Take advantage of our...

    Low/No Minimums

    Same Day/Next Business Day delivery & Shipping

    Shipping Discounts

    Our Partnership GROW$ PROFIT$!!!

    We study the trends and provide quality products at affordable prices your customers will love.

    Do you have a product of interest, let us know and we may consider it for our catalog.

    Grow your profits by becoming a strategic partner with Wholesale Resort Accessories, call now to learn more. 775.856.2600.

    Top Reasons Small Business FAIL...

    A MUST Share from Hartford Newsletter. BY Brian Sutter

    For the following Reasons...

    WRA WHOLESALE is a GREAT choice for Inventory Management Partnering.

    Cash flow. Mention those two little words to almost any small business owner, and you’ll see them flinch. 

    Very few business terms get as cool a response. And sadly, those two little words (both of them four-letter words, interestingly enough), are the #1 reason small businesses fail. They take out more small businesses than any other factor.

    In fact, 82% of small businesses fail due to cash flow problems.

    And while most small business owners agree cash flow is the #1 risk for small businesses, cash flow is also a blanket term – a symptom, if you will – of several underlying causes.

    When you look at those underlying causes, you can better see how to solve the cash flow symptom.

    1. Develop a minimum viable budget.

    Or, in other words, stay cheap. 

    Here’s what I mean: As your business launches and grows, there will be a push and pull between funding and supporting that growth, and being conservative with your spending. When in doubt, stay conservative. The “lean and mean” startup headset – and the concept of a minimum viable budget - is your friend.

    You need a lean operating budget that can get through hard times. And you must expect and prepare for those hard times. Do not think that your business will be the sunny exception that never has trouble.

    That’s the trick with a lot of budgeting – to continue to be careful with your money even when times are good. Actually, you have to save money and stay frugal when times are good. Because if you can’t save then, in the good times, it’s unlikely you’ll do it when business gets tough.

    2. Protect your credit.

    Have you ever seen a business start to slowly fall apart? 

    Often, the first sign of trouble is that they start delaying payment on their bills. Or they’ll change their payment terms from 30-day net to 90-day net. The move doesn’t fool anyone. Even interns know what it means when a company delays paying its bills. 

    In the next phase after delaying payments, a company will start playing the game of “who can we not pay for as long as possible”. It’s risky, because eventually the business makes a mistake and their credit gets dinged. Or one vendor gets fed up enough to finally call a collection agency, or to stop service. 

    Once that’s happened, it’s often too late. 

    As the saying goes, “you can only get a loan when it looks like you don’t need one.” Once you’ve shown signs of being financially strained, your loan options dwindle dramatically. And even if you can get a loan, the terms will be far less attractive.

    3. Manage your inventory like it was your biggest, most expensive business asset.

    Because that’s exactly what it is. 

    Poor inventory causes a slew of expensive problems that can directly impact cash flow. They include: 

    • Ordering new items you don’t actually need, simply because you couldn’t find them.
    • Expired items that should have been sold (even at a discount) before they became worthless.
    • Unfulfilled ordered based on inventory demands you could have predicted.
    • Extra costs accrued by having to fill those backorders.
    • Disappointed customers who have to wait for backorders to be filled.
    • Wasted employee hours spent looking for lost inventory, placing rush orders, managing back orders.
    • The steep cost of paying for more inventory space than you would actually need – if your inventory was properly managed.
       

    This list goes on, but I think you get the idea. This is an expensive problem that’s surprisingly widespread. 43% of small businesses do not track their inventory or use a manual process. And 55% of small businesses do not track their assets or use a manual process.

    4. Have cash reserves. 

    If your business slowed down for three months, could you manage the downturn financially? What about six months? A year? More than a year? 

    It’s not a fun exercise, but you might want to talk with your accountant about how well positioned you are for an extended period of a soft economy. You never know – the news might be better than you think. Maybe you are well-positioned to get through a bad spell. 

    But if you’re not, you’re still lucky. You’ve got time to get ready. It might be worthwhile to slow down your company’s growth, if only by a little, to make sure you’ve got cash reserves to manage everything if businesses conditions changed. 

    Again – this isn’t a fun conversation to have, and it could mean you have to do a little bit of belt-tightening. But it’s a far easier conversation than have to tell employees they’re out of a job. 

    5. Get yourself a great accountant (or CPA).

    Problems with cash flow rarely come out of nowhere. They usually accumulate over time, in one form or another, while the business owner is busy with any number of other projects and responsibilities. 

    That’s why having a great accountant or a CPA can be so helpful. If you’ve got a smart, proactive financial professional who’s really looking at your company’s finances with rigor and insight, you’ve got a fantastic insurance policy against cash flow problems (and many other financial woes). 

    Unfortunately, that same quality of a great accountant – being proactive – is also the #1 quality business owners say their accountant lacks. Almost half of all small business owners, regardless of the size of their business, say their accountant is “more reactive than proactive.” 

    On the positive side, though, about half of small business owners don’t have this problem. They do have a proactive financial partner. Be like those business owners. It might just save your business. 

     

    Conclusion

    Cash flow problems are almost like death and taxes. You’re never going to escape them. But it is possible to manage cash flow. And you can definitely tame it to a point where it doesn’t threaten your business. 

    Who knows… maybe you’ll even be among the happy group of small business owners who don’t frown or shrug when people mention these two little four-letter words.

    About the Author(s)

    Brian Sutter

    Brian Sutter is the Director of Marketing for Wasp Barcode Technologies, a software company that provides solutions to small businesses that increase profit and efficiency. He has contributed content for Forbes, Entrepreneur, Marketing Profs, the Washington Post, Fast Company, Allbusiness.com, Business.com and Huffington Post.

    Brian Sutter
    Director of Marketing, Wasp Barcode Technologies
    VIEW THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE @:
    https://joupi8qoeh1b9353-6092797.shopifypreview.com/blogs/news/articles?preview_key=c2e7405efc7d3c22b5f4a967bf66769a

    Holiday Marketing Ideas...

    Boost Sales, It's Shopping Season!!!

    Make it an experience for your customer, they'll shop longer if you create a Festive Enviroment with Cheer.

     Offer...

    Gift Cards

    Hire Musicians

    Holiday Contest

    Toy Drive

    Support a Local Charity with % of Sales

    Offer Hot Cider & Holidaty Eats

    Side Walk Sale

     

     

    'Twas the Eve of the Holidays,

    And, All Through Warehouse

    ALL Creatures are Stirring

    Even a Mouse …

    For Your WRA Team knows stockings will hang by the chimney with care,

    In hopes that Snow will soon be there;

    Children of all ages will nestle snug in their beds,

    While visions of snow covered hills dance in their heads;

    Skiing & skating, snowboards will fly...

    And you can trust while they close their eyes

    The WRA Team will busy without rest

    To make certain this Holiday Selling Season... is Truly Your BEST!

    HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD SELLING SEASON!

    Best Wishes, Your WRA Team at Santa's Workshop

    What Your Parents Taught You About Business

    Keep on keeping on-- when things are rough, tough and tumble, that is the most important time for the tides are preparing to turn.

    Save money-it provides freedom to grow.

    Commit to your goal-- despite setbacks persevere, think creatively, find another way to achieve your goals.

    Integrity matters most--honest, fair and reasonable thoughts and actions solidify relationships.

    Negotiate the deal--to a fair and reasonable, win-win.

    Diamonds in your own back yard--grow your current relations.

    Go with the flow--you will discover opportunities you never knew existed.

    Anything is possible--allow fresh and new thoughts, ideas and action to be a part of your daily journey.

    Make friends--we play and work with people we like, strangers are friends we haven’t met yet.

    Balance your work & play--all work and no play…is boring and makes one not so fun to be with.

    Follow through-- from beginning to end, don’t quit, fulfill your obligation…find another way.

    Connect with Your Customer

    4th of July is a time to connect with your customer and community by letting them know you appreciate their business with value added services.

    Creat an Experience.

    Decorate your store for the 4th of July

    Offer Convenience.

    Extend store hours

    Be an Expert.

    Offer information on communtiy holiday events

    Provide Service.

    Greet customers at the door with a holiday game challenge with discount rewards.

     

     

    Free Samples Make Buyers out of Browsers

    Offer free samples or lifestyle tutorial that demonstrates product value...

    Certainly you have experienced it yourself. Recently, while browsing the mall food court I was offered a sample of gyro meat. Already set on a Greek Salad, I didn't partake; but he did catch my attention. For, as while my husband I dined we notice his incredible success rate in turning--even uninterested by-passers into buyers; not to mention the competition wasn't making any such offerings. So it was easy to gleam amongst others.

    Now, will this make the potential customer feel obligated? Not necessarily. But the person offering should give a BIG thank you, because freebies save ad/marketing dollars that may be spent on less influential avenues.

    Next time you are offered a sample, monitor your response to the offer. Note what works to get you to say yes and what doesn't.

    Then, I challenge you to create an experience for your customer.

    Next time you introduce a new Wholesale Resort Accessories product, offer a sample demo and tasty treat. Why not try one next week for fun...make  it simple--yet an experience that engages. Partner with a local restaurant or offer a regional food or beverage sample. Offer information about the area while you are demo doing the demo. 

    Some stores that really work it...

    Barnes & Nobel will let you lounge and read for as long as you want in the hopes and certainty you walkout with purchasing at least one item, even if its from the coffee shop. 

    Beauty counters offer the free makeover that most often ends in a sale.

    Grocery stores often offer tasty nibbles that results in sales, if not that item, more of other items for it sets a relaxing pace for the customer.

    And, my favorite, Trader Joes--I just love getting my sample coffee and browsing only to leave with several items that weren't on my shopping list.

    Let me know what has worked for your.

    photo credit: Alan Light <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42274165@N00/37591946900">Iowa City, IA</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>

     

    Since its creation in 1982...

    WRA-Wholesale Resort Accessories' culture is to “Enhance the Tourist Experience”—a customer that demands Quality, Value, Selection & Timely Delivery.

    Our mission results in a number of actions in our everyday work.

    WRA-Wholesale supplies and distributes exceptional Brands, Quality Products, Value Prices with Timely Delivery.

    For you this means, stress free Inventory Management & BIG Profits!!!

    Providing you with an Outstanding Service & a Support Team. 

    With an ever expanding range of 1500 + Winter & Summer Resort Products & Souvenirs with LOW/NO Minimums…from winter boots to aqua shoes, ski pants to beach towels, snow ball makers to volleyballs, floats, totes and beyond…we are constantly looking to add exciting and enticing quality new products to meet the demands of your customers. 

    Buying WRA-Wholesale products means guaranteed quality and fast delivery to your shelves without stressing cash flow, bottom line or loss of sales. 

    Trust WRA-Wholesale with your Backstock & Inventory Management.

    Increase your profits & bottom line...

    Call 775.856.2600 today to schedule an appointment, phone consultation & learn more...