Oh my. Once again, our premise holds true: "Retailing is a mirror of society."
All sorts of traditional loan facilities have either dried up or become so very arduous that potential users are discouraged. And this dearth of debt availability - the credit crisis - shows no sign of ebbing.
"Okay," says Sam's Club, "we need to give our customers what they want, in this case, SBA-backed term loans of up to $25,000." And their pilot program has already loaned to about 100 small businesses. Cool, eh?
What we love is watching the competitive juices roil at Costco, Staples, Sears, Office Depot and others. "Let Sam's Club have this 'loyalty program' all to themselves?! Are you mad? No way!"
Banking isn't going away. It's just (finally!) being re-invented, in this case, by retailers who are listening closely to their customers.
My, but this mirror of society can foster some fascinating adjustments, and business opportunities.
Showing posts with label tight credit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tight credit. Show all posts
Now Who's Holding Retailers Back?!
Right now, the changes going on in the economy are simultaneously encouraging and discouraging. What a time to be in retailing!
Yes, the overall consumer confidence level is rising. Finally! In fact, we are predicting that Holiday 2009 sales volumes will, in a macro sense, recoup about 50% of last year's drop. That is, if you dropped 9% last December, you likely will be up 4-1/2% this year. We're that optimistic.
But, what's so discouraging is the reticence of vital groups to get on board with this optimism. Not seeing customers come in is not the biggest hurdle right now for many retailers. Instead, the problem is that vendors, bankers, and other lenders are not coming to the party. They need to get with it: the pendulum is swinging back.
The inherent negativism of banks is holding back retailers' ability to get enough product in for Holiday. Failure to raise credit limits for retailers from now through November may, very likely, stifle the sales potential.
What a shame. A missed opportunity for recovery? Timid creditors may be to blame.
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