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.
Paperless Catalogs?!
We’ve all lived this scenario. Your client can't make a decision so you have to pull out three or four of the bulkiest catalogs you have in your store and bring them to the area where you and your client are working. (it's always the bulkiest catalogs, by the way.) The cocktail table you open them on is so small that, as you show one, another slips off the table. Then, the pages of the third f... Read More
Comments (5)You Have Got To Try Google SketchUp
Among many benefits of being an ICFA member are its webinars. Topics range widely and you never have to leave the comfort of your office to participate. The most recent one taught how to design an outdoor living room using Google Sketch-up. Paul Nigon with The Great Outdoor Room Company moderated the seminar. He did a great job. He calls himself a “regular guy with no graphics or engineering... Read More
Comments (1)Things I Should Have Learned in Kindergarten (but waited to learn till I went into retail)
Sales in the morning are not a good predictor of what sales are going to be in the afternoon. And, vice versa. One afternoon, recently, a friend was complaining to me about how slow that morning had been. I called him a few days later to see how things were going. As it turns out, a few minutes after our first talk, a customer came in and spent enough money to make... Read More
Comments (3)Buy High And You Might Just Have to Sell Low
Several years ago (read: before the bottom fell out of the economy) I decided to bring in some containers of Chinese-made wrought iron. It was a great value. A five piece set could sell for as little as $349. Not only were the price points good, the product quality was high. In fact, we haven’t had a single customer call us in the intervening years to complain about rust or broken welds.... Read More
Comments (1)Scattered Thoughts from a Scattered Brain
About two months ago, I lamented in my blog that some manufacturers were beginning to sell directly to consumers by developing Internet stores. I felt this was a “knee-jerk” reaction and that there were better ways to increase distribution. In the past week, two manufacturers have proven me right. Brown Jordan announced this week that they have engaged German furniture designer Mathi... Read More
Comments (0)Price Increases For 2011
It’s that time of year when manufacturers are ginning up their new products, fabrics, and programs for next season. They are also getting those pesky price lists ready for next season. After a calamitous 2009 and a dismal 2010, you would think price increases would be out of the question for 2011. Well, you’d better think again. Several manufacturers have talked to me about the need for price... Read More
Comments (0)Big Oil and Me
I have been debating for a week over what I should blog about this week. I finally made up my mind and got half way through the blog when I got a phone call from an outdoor specialty retailer on the Gulf Coast in Florida. His question to me and his state of mind made me stop writing in mid sentence and convinced my I had to say something about what the BP oil spill has done to the Gulf Coast.I hav... Read More
Comments (2)Catalogs, Things of Beauty or Things of Shame
While we retailers are dealing with the middle and end of our 2010 season, manufacturers are gearing up for the 2011 season. New product designs are being put to bed and now it’s time to work on new catalogs, price lists, and swatch books. Sometimes, I think vendors don’t understand how retailers and consumers use these items. They are sales aids, and as such, I think they should be as easy and in... Read More
Comments (1)Enlightened Ecommerce
In my last blog, I wrote about Ecommerce and our industry. I specifically talked about four things: Predatory Ecommerce pricing Brick and mortar stores’ disadvantage of having to collect sales tax Manufacturers’ drop ship policies eStores run by manufacturers There are ways to handle these points that can even the playing field between a brick and mortar store and then there are ways to handle the... Read More
Comments (1)Ecommerce, Evil or Good Disguised As Evil
Recently, I recently read an excellent article in one of our trade magazines about ecommerce and how it is affecting the outdoor industry. The article interviewed retailers and manufacturers and some see it as the best thing since sliced bread. Like many early adaptors, they feel Etailing is the “be all end all” that is going to create a sea change in our industry. Others believe no good can come... Read More
Comments (7)March Came In Like A Lamb
OUR NEW OUTDOOR KITCHEN CONCEPT DISPLAY: A while ago, in my last blog, I told you about the new barbecue area we were going to put in. As you may recall, we partnered with an outdoor kitchen contractor to do work for our clients. We used him to build our outdoor kitchen concept display. The build went very smoothly and we were finished within two weeks of starting the project. After the “build” p... Read More
Comments (2)To Grill Or Not To Grill?
This is going to be the make or break it year for the grill category in our store. We’ve been doing grills since the late 1980’s. We started with Ducane (well before Weber bought it) carrying grills on carts that ranged from about $400 up to around $800. At the time, $800 seemed like a lot for a pit. Within a few years, we had added an upscale all stainless prosumer grill that sold for around $3,0... Read More
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