Retailers Forum Magazine - February 2024 EMAG

forumworkshop
FORUM WORKSHOP
If you are starting a small business on little capital,
how can you hope to compete with the discounts
of low-price retailers? They buy from
Hong Kong and Korea in huge quantities for
their chain of stores. Forget it. As a small business
you should set your sights on middle to
upper income shoppers. These people want
service. They want quality. They will recognize
quality if they get service. Your goal should be
to sell everything in your store for “list price.”
The weekend sale is a variation of the allthe-time
sale. The bargain hunters wait for the
weekends. The people who hate crowds shop
weekdays and pay more. Itʼs a decent way to
get people in the store during an otherwise slow
time. But advertising costs are very high. A
small retailer or service business would be hard
pressed to afford the television time.
The “real sale” is unpredictable, or so seldom
as to be hard to remember. Nordstrom has real
sales, as does Shapiroʼs gifts. Once or twice a
year, they clear their inventory. The price reductions
are dramatic, the time period limited. Both
sell leftover or seasonal merchandise to people
who could not otherwise afford to shop there.
But the sale prices are still high enough to dissuade
the “bargain hunter” or the poor. Nordstrom
attracts the
upwardly mobile who
need a nice wardrobe
and who will continue
to shop there during
and after their climb
up the ladder (or their
spouseʼs). The “real
sale” builds customer
loyalty. continued..
Page 48 FEBRUARY 2024 | RETAILERS FORUM MAGAZINE