Retail Views
Bruce Aronson and his family have been in the outdoor industry since 1952. Their single location store is the largest specialty outdoor furniture retail store in the New Orleans area. Although Bruce has served as VP of The Casual Furniture Retailers Association and has been active in the industry for many years, he does not claim to be any less confused by retail than any other retailer out there.
What Elephant?
I should have guessed it when I got my first faint whiff of peanut breath. I had suspicions when the chair cushions in the room were all badly pancaked. The bales of hay everywhere finally tipped me off. There was an elephant in the room and it was manufacturers were going into retail. The most recent entry into what is arguably the hardest way to make money in the world is Brown Jordan. Last wee... Read More
Comments (0)What Elephant?
I should have guessed it when I got my first faint whiff of peanut breath. I had suspicions when the chair cushions in the room were all badly pancaked. The bales of hay everywhere finally tipped me off. There was an elephant in the room and it was manufacturers were going into retail. The most recent entry into what is arguably the hardest way to make money in the world is Brown Jordan. Last wee... Read More
Comments (1)How And Why We Calculate Close Ratios
In my last blog, I wrote about the ICFA Sales Certificate program and promised I would tell you I have done so my sales staff can make best use of the program. This blog is going to be about how we created some basic metrics suggested by the program.The course emphasizes that a sales consultant can only improve if he/she knows a few statistics about themselves. The most important is their “close r... Read More
Comments (0)An Old Dog Learns Some New Tricks
I hope you are a member of ICFA. If not, I urge you to become a member if for no other reason than to purchase the ICFA Sales Training Certificate Program at a significant discount. Let me tell you a little about this and my personal experience with it.I have been looking for a sales training program for newly hired sales consultants for years. I don’t know if you’ve tried to find one, but they ar... Read More
Comments (0)What Me Worry?
Our industry is hard and fraught with peril. Every year, we take big, scary risks when we place early buys. Every year, we bet our livelihoods on the state of the economy and the housing market. We bet huge sums on advertising hoping some part of our advertising budget will work. It is no wonder then that it is the rare specialty outdoor retailer who doesn’t worry. Several months ago, the worry b... Read More
Comments (1)It Really Is Better to Give Than Receive
In a recent press statement, Wal-Mart announced two initiatives to great fanfare. First, they made a “Buy American” commitment in which they pledged to increase purchases of products made in the U. S. A. by $50 billion over the next ten years. Second, they commited to hire 100,000 newly discharged veterans over the next five years. Taken at face value, both programs seem worthwhile and created gre... Read More
Comments (0)Please Don't Color Me Green
Probably as earth shattering as Time Magazine’s pronouncement of Person of the Year is Pantone’s proclamation of the Color of the Year. For 2013, that color is - - - wait for it - - - Emerald Green (Pantone color #17-5641). I can just hear the sigh of relief coming from you or is that the chirping of grasshoppers as a sign of your boredom? Now, don’t get me wrong, Emerald Green might be pretty bu... Read More
Comments (3)When Is Your Liquidation Sale?
Recently, as I was talking to a rep on the phone, I received a Casual Living eblast with a headline that blew my mind: “The Greenhouse Mall liquidating after 35 years in business.” The headline was so earth shattering to me that almost hung up the phone without saying goodbye to read the article. As it turns out, the headline was very misleading. It implied The Greenhouse Mall was liquidating and... Read More
Comments (3)Are Retailers Relevant Anymore?
Just when I thought it couldn’t be any harder to be a retailer in this industry, a couple of manufacturers proved me wrong this year. To wit: Brown Jordan selling direct to consumers on their web site and Summer Classics partnering with Frontgate in a new Internet venture. In the first quarter of this year, Brown Jordan redesigned their web site. The site went from being informational and brand es... Read More
Comments (1)Who's That Barking At My Heels?
I am sure one of the most boring jobs at a brokerage house is reading through prospectuses for IPOs. They can put you to sleep faster than Ambien. And, since I don’t sleep very well and don’t want to get addicted to a sleep aid, I thought reading Restoration Hardware’s June, 2012 preliminary prospectus while propped up in bed one night would do the trick. But, instead of slipping off to dream land... Read More
Comments (1)Ain't Chicago Grand?
Neither the American Airlines pilot sick-out or the threat of temps in the 40‘s kept Chicago from rocking during the Casual Furniture show last week. I haven’t seen the numbers, but it seemed to me the show was more crowded than it has been in a while. Maybe the fact that everyone was in good spirits about this year and the upcoming one made the audience look bigger. Regardless, I came home feelin... Read More
Comments (1)This Is What A Web Site Should Be
If you have been reading my blog over the past few months, you know I’ve ranted about some vendor web sites that I considered pretty awful. In this blog, I want to rave about The Pride Family Brands web site. It has undergone a recent upgrade and is so good, I think it should be the model for all of the vendors in our industry. Let me tell you why.First and foremost, the web site makes no attempt... Read More
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