Most retailers have heard of the inventory managing tool "Open-to-Buy". (BTW, "Open-to-Buy" is slang for a budget for how much inventory to bring in, and when.) But all too often, Open-to-Buy has been shrouded in mystery. Too complex and/or too expensive.
Those days are over! The Retail Owners Institute is on a crusade to spread the word: Managing and controlling inventory IS within the reach of all retailers.
Here's the deal: Open-to-Buy is just a 4-part formula! And any retailer, anywhere, can put that formula to work, on their own!
What can an Open-to-Buy do for a retail operation?
• improve margins
• improve cash flow
• reduce the time spent on inventory management
• help have the right merchandise in your store at the right time
• avoid excess inventory
• invaluable when delegating to buyers
• help you sleep at night!
How Does The ROI Take Away the Open-to-Buy Mystery? Here Are Four Answers!
The ROI is the foremost resource for retail financial training and know-how. The Institute is dedicated to taking away the mystery of retail finance. Retailers CAN control the cause-effect connections between sales, margins, expenses, profits, inventory turns, and cash flow.
Here are 4 different ways (free or very low cost) that you (or your staff) can learn more about controlling inventory with an Open-to-Buy plan.
#1. Free TOPICAL TUESDAY webinar
November 15. 10 am Pacific Time/ 1 pm Eastern Time
"Back by Popular Demand: CONTROLLING INVENTORY LEVELS"
Free registration • Go here
About 80% of retailers are over-inventoried some or all of the time. As we approach this particular Holiday Season, having excess inventory may be especially treacherous.
Right now, controlling inventory is the #1 job of the CEO or owner. This live TOPICAL TUESDAY webinar with Pat Johnson & Dick Outcalt, Co-Founders of The Retail Owners Institute, will review the basics of inventory management, and show how The ROI's online multi-department Open-to-Buy Calculator automates the number-crunching for you.
There will be plenty of time for Q&A, so bring your questions (and your buyers!!) Go here to register for free
#2. On-demand info on The ROI site: CONTROLLING PROFITS, INVENTORY & CASH FLOW
This is an entire section at The ROI, dedicated to this major responsibility of retailing. Available online, 24/7, on-demand. Explanatory how-to articles that reduce the mystery. Short videos that teach, explain, and illustrate. Online calculators that automate the process (nothing to download or install; they just work!)
#3. The OPEN-TO-BUY CENTER
This is one of the new "special purpose portals" of The ROI: an entire website dedicated to Open-to-Buy! The remarkable multi-department Open-to-Buy Calculator is hosted here. Any retailer, anywhere, can do their own Open-to-Buy plans in just minutes. (Try it yourself! 1st month is just $4.95!)
And, if you need some refresher, the Open-to-Buy Center includes articles and videos. Just look under the RESOURCES tab.
#4. BASICS of OPEN-TO-BUY eLearning Kit & Calculator
Want more structured training? Need to train your staff in Open-to-Buy? Here's the perfect answer!
The BASICS of Open-to-Buy is a self-paced, online eLearning "KIT": a step-by-step how-to training course, and an online "calculator" that automates the cause-effect number crunching.
Talk about doing away with the mystery! And it's needed more now than ever before! Go to The ROI's eLearning portal for details about this new management training tool for retailers and buyers. (Be sure to watch the short video about the BUYING PLAN Forecaster!) "Learn it. Do it. Profit from it!"
There you have it. Four different ways that you and your staff can make Open-to-Buy planning your new best friend! Just depends on how you like to take in information. But the key: no more mystery about how much to buy, and when. (And, no more intimidation by "the experts".)
Who's Job Is Growing? The CUSTOMER's Job!
Think about cost-savings programs in stores - e.g., less staff on the selling floor and more "self-service". Self check-out by the customer. Online searches by the customer for product information. Online shopping.
Don't each of these actually shift the work to the customer?
The "job" of being the customer just keeps growing. (In fact, some grocery stores are starting to experiment with programs "allowing" the customer to scan the merchandise, place it into their shopping bag in their grocery cart, and then automatically ring up the total charge and pay via debit card - all using the customer's time, effort, and smart phone! "Attention Shoppers: Bring your own cash register.")
Where is the "value" for the customer in all this?
Reflect for a moment on the definition of "value". Value: Benefits received, for the burdens endured.
Certainly, many of the shopping burdens have been shifted to the customer, especially with the onslaught of new technology. But, what benefit does your customer receive for the increased "burdens" they now endure?
Some enjoy cost savings. Others like the increased sense of control. Still others may relish the time savings, or at least not having to wait for service. But of course, not every customer has the same concept of a "burden".
Want to deliver more "value" to your customers? Start by understanding what your best customers consider the burdens of shopping with you. Then, as a competitive edge, unburden them the best way you can!
Retailers: Have questions? Want answers? Join online TOPICAL TUESDAYS webinars - FREE
Success in retailing demands a competitive edge, and there are many ways to do that: product selection; pricing; customer service; location; instore "experience"; services; etcetera; etcetera.
But, retailers fail for only one reason: financial.
For eleven years, The Retail Owners Institute has been dedicated to providing any retailer, anywhere, with financial management know-how to avert financial failure.
And now, that effort continues in yet another way. We are launching a series of TOPICAL TUESDAYS webinars for retailers. Led by Pat Johnson and Dick Outcalt, Co-Founders of The Retail Owners Institute, these are timely and interactive. And FREE!
Free Registration is Now Open
Here are the upcoming topics. Register now for as many as you wish. Let your friends and colleagues know about them. And be sure to bring your questions!
"Make More with Less! The Power of GMROI"
Tuesday, September 13 10 a.m. Pacific Time/ 1 p.m. Eastern Time/ 6 p.m. in London
click here for details & free registration
"Is My Store Failing, Or Am I Failing My Store?"
Tuesday, September 20 10 a.m. Pacific Time/ 1 p.m. Eastern Time/ 6 p.m. in London
click here for details & free registration
"The BASICS of Open-to-Buy"
Tuesday, September 27 10 a.m. Pacific Time/ 1 p.m. Eastern Time/ 6 p.m. in London
click here for details & free registration
"Will you have a profit…or a loss?! How to Know"
Tuesday, October 4 10 a.m. Pacific Time/ 1 p.m. Eastern Time/ 6 p.m. in London
click here for details & free registration
But, retailers fail for only one reason: financial.
For eleven years, The Retail Owners Institute has been dedicated to providing any retailer, anywhere, with financial management know-how to avert financial failure.
And now, that effort continues in yet another way. We are launching a series of TOPICAL TUESDAYS webinars for retailers. Led by Pat Johnson and Dick Outcalt, Co-Founders of The Retail Owners Institute, these are timely and interactive. And FREE!
Free Registration is Now Open
Here are the upcoming topics. Register now for as many as you wish. Let your friends and colleagues know about them. And be sure to bring your questions!
"Make More with Less! The Power of GMROI"
Tuesday, September 13 10 a.m. Pacific Time/ 1 p.m. Eastern Time/ 6 p.m. in London
click here for details & free registration
"Is My Store Failing, Or Am I Failing My Store?"
Tuesday, September 20 10 a.m. Pacific Time/ 1 p.m. Eastern Time/ 6 p.m. in London
click here for details & free registration
"The BASICS of Open-to-Buy"
Tuesday, September 27 10 a.m. Pacific Time/ 1 p.m. Eastern Time/ 6 p.m. in London
click here for details & free registration
"Will you have a profit…or a loss?! How to Know"
Tuesday, October 4 10 a.m. Pacific Time/ 1 p.m. Eastern Time/ 6 p.m. in London
click here for details & free registration
Timing Is Everything!
The current economic meltdown, while fearful, is beautifully timed for retailers!
Sure, consumer confidence is down. Businesses aren't hiring. Nobody is lending money. But so what?!
The first ten days of August - unless you sell beer - are the absolute dog days of the retail year. As long as world leaders are getting their abrupt comeuppance regarding their fiscal irresponsibility, the timing for retailers is perfect.
Consumer confidence, although presently in the tank, is fickle. In six weeks, or by the holiday selling season, it could be at the highest in years. This kind of crisis brings leaders worldwide to a new sense of urgency. And we have high hopes that they all have gotten the message.
Retailers - be grateful for this timing. And reassure others to do likewise.
Sure, consumer confidence is down. Businesses aren't hiring. Nobody is lending money. But so what?!
The first ten days of August - unless you sell beer - are the absolute dog days of the retail year. As long as world leaders are getting their abrupt comeuppance regarding their fiscal irresponsibility, the timing for retailers is perfect.
Consumer confidence, although presently in the tank, is fickle. In six weeks, or by the holiday selling season, it could be at the highest in years. This kind of crisis brings leaders worldwide to a new sense of urgency. And we have high hopes that they all have gotten the message.
Retailers - be grateful for this timing. And reassure others to do likewise.
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