A Sign of Some Recovery?

With the unemployment rate at around 10% it is hard to believe that work is out there. However the

Labor Department is reporting that the retail sector by 321,700 jobs in November despite the weakest sales in 35 years according to some reports. That is a 37% increase over last year.

“Holiday hiring is definitely stronger than a year ago, but it remains clear that retailers are still reluctant to hire,” said John A. Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “Even if we see total holiday retail gains of 400,000 to 450,000 this year, it would be well short of the 714,000 seasonal jobs added on average between 1999 and 2007. Even in 2001, in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks, the retail sector added more than 585,000 extra workers in the final three months of the year.”

Still any improvement in hiring is better that nothing.

Color Trends for Summer/Spring 2010

Think vibrant for Summer/Spring 2010. The runways were full of color

Colors this summer are going to be warm, happy, and uplifting ranging in color from Tangerine Orange and Hibiscus Pink to True Blues.

Retailers shouldn’t limit there color pallet to just the clothing coming into the stores.

“Now more than ever, women are vigilant when it comes to spending,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “Instead of re-inventing their wardrobe at the start of each season, consumers want pieces to complement what they already own. Pairing a bold color with a basic piece or freshening up their look with bright accents addresses the need for practicality, as well as fun.”

Customers will be adding color by accessorizing with belts, bangles, and bags.

Getting Griding Right

Straight rows, this is possibly one of my biggest pet peeves. Than again I have a lot of them. When I walk into a store and see a row of racks that aren’t straight OCD kicks in and I have to walk away or fix them. Griding not only makes a pad more inviting, but it also makes it much easier for customers to navigate.

Griding is simple once it is constantly put into practice and done everyday. Start with one row and space the racks accordingly. Once they are aligned pick another row that runs perpendicular to the first row and straighten them to create a cross and work out from there. Getting a good base cross helps to give a reference point for the rest of the racks.

Double check the straightness by looking between the bars on the rack. Use the point where the bars cross and make sure they aline with the other centers in the rows. It is important that all of the racks look the same otherwise the sections will not lne up properly.

Through out the day, while walking the floor stop and do quick checks to straighten the rows.

Future of Retail

The news is looking good going into 2010. Retail Forward is reporting the same-store sales for December (excluding Wal-Mart) increased 3.0%. This number comes from a sales-weighted composite of 32 retailers. Department stores stores sales did lag, but they did have higher sales over last year while apparel and accessory stores did better than average.

Who is the big winner in all of this? Well, Amazon.com. They did cut into some of the sales from stores. Numbers show that more than half of all households shopped at Amazon.com during the holidays.

“The trend through the holidays is now pretty clear that shoppers are moving toward stronger spending into 2010. But it’s also clear that some cautiousness will persist and that s pending will remain uneven across categories and retailers,” said senior economist at Retail Forward, Frank Badillo

Maybe it’s time for more retailers to pull out their business models and take a cue from Amazon.com’s playbook.

Quote Of The Week

“We’ve seen, really across the store, improving results. Part of it seems to be better merchandising, part of it seems to be improved execution, and part of it is just momentum — once people start going to a store, they tend to return.”

~ Eric Bosshard quotes

Target + Wii

Trying to not only drive sales, but to create hype Target has teamed up with Nintemdo to put Wii kiosks outside of store entrances to ppromote their Wii Fit Plus. The kiosks will appear at 9 stores between  January 16-31. Read more.

Ebay’s Fourth Quarter Revenue

Ebay posted its fourth-quarter revenue of $2.4 billon. This shows a 16% increase over the same period last year.

“We delivered a strong fourth quarter with double-digit revenue growth driven by exceptional performance at PayPal and turnaround progress and momentum in our core Ebay business,” said Ebay resident and CEO John Donahoe. “PayPal significantly expanded its presence globally and, for the first time, processed more than $20 billion in total payment volume in a quarter. Gross merchandise volume and sold items accelerated for the third consecutive quarter. We are starting 2010 with significant progress against our three-year growth strategies for PayPal and Ebay and a clear focus on our priorities going forward.” Read more

Return Of The High End Customer?

2009 was the year of the discounters. However 2010 may be the year for the come back of luxuary goods. Shoppers are becoming more confident and with the Dow Jones industrial average up 25% high end stores may see their customers return.

“We started to see the luxury segments show better performance at the end of the holiday season, and I suspect that will be the area that will be the strongest in 2010, in part because that was the hardest hit during the last recession,” said Michael Niemira, chief economist and director of research for the International Council of Shopping Centers. Read more

Read more

Summer/Spring 2010 Women’s Trends

Boy Shorts and Hot Pants:

Hem lines are getting shorter. This years trend is for the more fashion forward, confident girl since the hem lines all but disappear. Although it may be questionable if anyone other than lady Gaga is wearing it there is no denying it that they were all over the Spring 2010 catwalks.

Warrior Armor:

Military meets tribal. Keep on the look out for metal plating, tunics, leather, and chain-mail insporations.

On the sales floor: Mix soft, flowing fabrics with the rough, warrior look.

Merchandising Tip OF The Week: Empty Walls

Even though lower levels of inventory coming into the stores the sales floor shouldn’t reflect that. Maintaining full displays in the first and second positioning on the floors should be a standard, but don’t forget the walls especially the top row if items are double hung.

Walls are meant to be merchandised to capture the customers attention and draw them into the pad. So making sure that the top rows are merchandise aren’t empty, but most importantly look full are important. Usually there is a tendency to stuff the bottom arms, where the customer can reach, full of product and leave the top arms empty or with one item only. It makes sense from a connivence stand point, but neglected top rows can kill even the most amazing wall. There are a few tricks that can be used to make the top row appear full:

1. Space out five or six items on an arm- This creates depth and gives the perception that the bar is more full than it actually is.

2. Change the size of the bars- Changing 12” arms to 4” or 6” hooks creates less empty space. This way the bar only needs two or three items to look full.