Having Enough — Weekly Retail Tidbits #267
“You can’t do business from an empty wagon.”
— an old peddler’s saying, carried into the business world by a 1949 Dun & Bradstreet poster
The other night my family came for dinner. I decided to do burgers. Our GroupMe blew up with who could come and who could not. I flew to the store late in the day and bought enough food for 20 of us.
Most of my family will eat one burger. Some eat half. My teenage nephew eats at least two.
If there is one thing that rarely happens at my house, it is running out. I always want enough of everything. Monday night I had it — one leftover burger.
Two things have stood out this week as I have visited with you in your stores: having enough of what you stock out on the sales floor and not in the stockroom, and having enough of the items that work as group gifts — in stock and visible.
One of you told me you keep one of everything on the floor because there is no room for more. As we looked at the puzzles and books, I thought — there is plenty of room for more books and more mini puzzles. The owner agreed, and we made some changes. We stacked books underneath one standing for display, and stacked the mini puzzles, too.
Both are good group gifts under $20. One of my favorites is EvaBelle’s 2″ cross — also under $20 retail, and easy to buy for several people at once. The key is having enough in stock and enough on the sales floor. Customers do not always ask. They simply leave empty-handed.
When I was a retailer, I learned after helping hundreds of customers that I had to look for those good gifts in the $15 to $25 range, then believe in one enough to order a lot of it. They always sold. People were so happy to find enough for their Bible study, their lunch bunch, their tennis friends — and now I would add pickleball, mahjong and knitting groups.
Have you planned for that? And if you have bought deep enough to sell one SKU several times over, does your team know to display several so you do not miss the larger sale?
I would rather end the night with one burger left over than watch somebody go without. Your sales floor works the same way. One extra cross left on the shelf in January costs you very little. A customer who needed 11 and found 7 costs you the sale.
Just a thought this week as I think about all of you getting ready for the busiest time of year.
Need an idea? Please reach out. I would be so happy to put something together for you to review for any of our lines. 😍
xoxo,
❤️ AmyFay
Technology Tip
Me, Myself or I? Ask Your Favorite AI
It was really fun to hear from y’all after last week’s grammar story. Here are two questions worth sharing.
When is it “myself”?
Only when “I” is already in the sentence, like “I made it myself.” Otherwise, use my mother’s trick and say the sentence without the other person. “They sent the invoice to the manager and myself” becomes “they sent the invoice to myself.” Sounds wrong, so it’s “me.” “The team and myself will be there” becomes “myself will be there.” Also wrong, so it’s “the team and I.”
Stationery or stationary? “Stationery,” with an e, is paper and envelopes. “Stationary,” with an a, means standing still. In the Middle Ages, peddlers traveled from town to town, while booksellers often kept a fixed shop, called a station. They became stationers, and what they sold became stationery.
Anytime you are confused, you can always ask your favorite AI. Ask which word is right, then ask why. That is how I learned the stationery story. You get the rule, and sometimes a story worth telling a customer.
What the Headlines Mean for Your Store
The Census Bureau’s August numbers came out Wednesday. Retail and food service sales were up 1.2% over July, and the category that covers gift, novelty and souvenir stores was up 1.9% – better than the overall number, and up 14% over last August.
Deloitte’s holiday forecast, out last week, puts November through January between $1.70 and $1.71 trillion, a gain of 4.0% to 4.8%. Last season actually came in at 4.1%, so that is a forecast for a holiday at least as good as the one you just had, and they tie it to income growth rather than to prices going up.
None of that is a promise about your store. But if the headlines have had you holding back on depth, the numbers for stores like yours are not the gloomy ones.
Dolly Day · September 25
True South — Dolly: Queen of Country
Friday, September 25 is Dolly Day – 9/25, as in “9 to 5.” True South has a brand-new puzzle that celebrates her, with art by Lucie Rice.
“Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors” and “Hard Candy Christmas” are all in the art, and even the item number is just for Dolly: TSFF925. A percentage of the proceeds goes to the Country Music Hall of Fame’s music education programs.
- Pre-order in 6-packs: three 6-packs (18 puzzles) minimum per ship-to location
- Dolly goes on her own PO
- True South expects to ship November 15-20, in the order POs come in
Remember, Dolly’s birthday is January 19. Plan now.
3 Tango Tidbits
Three Worth Stocking Deep
Cobblestone Living — Alessandra Wrap in Moss, Isabella Blouse in Espresso
Moss and Espresso are the colors to have out this fall. Do you have the Alessandra Wrap and the Isabella Cotton Blouse on your floor? One size fits most on both, which makes them an easy gift to buy for someone else – or for oneself. Two of a color to start, then add in ones.
Faceplant — Accent Socks, and the new Signature Percale Sheet Set
Bare Blush and Coast Line are the accent socks to keep stocked – one size, bamboo cotton blend, antimicrobial and moisture-wicking. Easy to stock deep when somebody needs a gift for a whole group, and all socks are on sale through September 30.
Crisp, cool and brand new in the Sleep Suite this week – the Signature Percale Sheet Set, in White and Oat. True 383 thread count, long-staple cotton, and 17 inch pockets that fit a deep mattress. These are the good sheets, as nice to give as they are to keep. 🤍
The Winding Road — Highland Cow Ornaments in Knit Sweaters
The Highland Cow ornaments come six to a pack, each one in its own little knit sweater, handmade in Nepal and fair trade. You buy them by the six. Your customer buys them one at a time, and the depth on your shelf is what lets her finish her list.
“Give the lady what she wants.”
— Marshall Field
June Market Fun
With our star eyes on, because Tango is exploding with great stuff! 🌟
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| Shop Tango here → |
The Tango Showroom is open 10 to 4, Monday through Friday, at AmericasMart in Atlanta, Georgia. Come see us! 🌟
AmyFay Chandler
She reads all of this so you don’t have to. Based in Knoxville, TN, AmyFay is a wholesale sales rep for the brands she represents across Tennessee and Kentucky, and she oversees the D2C side for Sweet Tree Jewelry and Caroline B Cook — two of those brands — making sure brick-and-mortar retailers always come first. She writes Weekly Retail Tidbits (now in its 267th issue) because she’s living the same questions her retail customers are living, and figures things out alongside them. Her whole project: helping independent retailers stay human while the rest of the industry tries to automate them away.
Also from AmyFay
Two of the brands I represent run their D2C side through me, with brick-and-mortar partners prioritized at every step:
- Sweet Tree Jewelry — school-spirit polymer-clay earrings
- Caroline B Cook — children’s books (the Virtue Series, Church Kitty)
Wholesale questions? [email protected]
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