When the CEO's say the weather hurts business then is it OK?

I have been in retail longer than I can remember, and as long as I can remember we were never ever to blame the weather on the loss of sales. EVER!
We we're told it doesn't matter how many people came into your store, 1 person could spend the same amount as 20 total If we had torrential rains, power outages, snow storms we were still expected to make the days sales goals and well even beat them. And this was during the days when business was good. The eighties!
As I read WWD, every CEO quoted blamed the weather right after Christmas for the loss of sales. Mmm, sales should have come prior to Christmas.
At Saks, they even opened late, concerned about their people getting to work in NYC, subways (underground)
Don't get me wrong, I was always one to understand that weather affected the buying patterns of shoppers, but no matter the case presented to corporate ..we needed to make and beat sales! Bottom line!
But this is really where the retailers went wrong, MARKDOWNS on winter merchandise and putting out spring.
This cold , snowy weather drives sales. Now there is a need not a want for a new winter coat, or new boots and cold weather accessories. This is what the retailers need to focus on THE NEED!
Instead of leaving the majority of product at full price they panicked and marked it all down, losing valuable profit. They marked and marked until they could not mark any more. Stores like Ann Taylor Loft, had 50% off your entire purchase and this was on top of everything being markdown 50 to 75 % already. I of course took advantage and bought a $100 sweater for $10, so who can blame me. but there's no profit in that sale, because the stores were empty, it was 29 degrees and i didn't want the new(not so lovely spring line that was already on 50% of the selling floor.
This weather hit retail at the right time but they didn't see it, they panicked. Why because all of the CEO's ha to make rash decisions before they left for their warm vacations.
And BTW, I would just like to see one year company's giving the hard working managers the week off after Christmas and the CEO's running the stores for them.

Running a retail store by no means is rocket science, although retail in itself is a science (another topic) but getting it right is well actually right before their noses. Cold weather warrants cold weather goods, warm weather warrants warm weather goods, Do you see the connection. As I stated on Sunday Sunrise with Frank Coletta, January is not the time to buy. Everything that you see is pre-spring, Its a test for what the consumer actually likes. And by the looks of the nautical theme in every pastel color under the rainbow(YUCK) it doesn't look too good.
If you buy a warm weather garment in January are you really going to wear it? NO!
you'll put it away and forget that you had it. then 2 things will happen, 1, after 30 days it will get marked down, you'll lose the rec. and you won't be able to get the price adjustment or 2, even worse when it's time to actually wear it you'll think what was I thinking!
Been there, done that lesson learned.
So to my point, the CEO's are claiming if they don't make sales it's because of the bad weather that hit, I guess very similar to the blizzard of 78, i don't think so. So, if your in retail, grab WWD, Dec 28th edition and hang on to it, FOREVER! So the next time you have bad weather and want to blame it on sales, pull out this issue and quote one of the famous CEO's. I mean after all if it's OK for them why isn't it OK for you?

December 26, Bah HumBug!

As you can see it's been a while since I posted, trying to make a new effort. Picture this, decorated stores, holiday music playing and sales associates actually being cheery. OK that was until De 24th, fast forward to Dec. 28th, decorations down, musac being played and well the sales people, not so cheery. Listen I was in retail for over 30 years, I know how it was, get used to it, get over it or get out of it. But for cryin out loud if your there and it's a job get with it!
The holiday season ended and some dumb ass from corporate told the stores sales were up, they did a great job, thank you very much for a wonderful season! Umh!, the seasons not over yet, not until the books are closed, lets say at the end of January! So that cheery disposition that you portrayed during the holiday season needs to keep on showing! It's not my fault that your manager took the week off, or that your short handed because they didn't allocate holiday hours correctly or even the fact that you have to mark everything down in the store and do a floor move with all new spring clothes. Don't blame me! Did I blame you because I bought my husband the wrong size jeans or a burberry bathrobe that was cut to narrow, No I don't think I did. I took responsibility. And it's about time you do the same. There was a time that to work in retail was considered an honor, the elite worked in retail(remember what I said, there was a time).
So when I bring back those jeans to exchange for just another size don't tell me I won't get the same price because the sizes have different sku's, I know that, even exchange people, same item.
And after I question the rationale, don't say to me"Well then I have to do a price over-ride' And.....Sorry one more step with your little fingers.....Oh and by the way..Thank you, have a good night should come with a return and exchange also! Mickey would not be happy, but maybe he no longer cares seeing the company sold for 3 billion to a private equity firm! Merry Christmas Micky!
Now off to Mr Nordstroms home, thank you for taking back the Burberry robe, no questions asked, sorry it didn't fit, thank you have a nice holiday, see you again! Now that's what I am talking about....Oh wait lets go to men's shoes. Mmm! Nice Italian shoes, $195, distressed suede really nice, "The demo" haha, sample was the right size. Sales person, not so much. Take the size off the shelve, tries it on, salesperson comes out from behind the desk(of doing nothing) "How does that fit?' Good can I try the other. In the back he goes, pulls out the match, "here you go"
hands it to my husband and walks away. Umh!!!!! Service.Yeah right. 5 minutes later, "How's it fit?" Before any words came out Swish disappears. Well it fits fine, it fits better in the box because if for one minute you think your going to get commission on a pair of $195 dollar shoes that you didn't sell, ain't happening baby! Bye-Bye!
So Dear Mr. Drexler, Nordstrom and any one else that runs the number one contributor to the global economy, WAKE UP! It ain't over until it's over, and it's not over until the customer says so!!!!!!!

I have nothing to wear, Just a closet full of clothes!

This is the time of year that I get a little antsy. Summer is coming to a close and I will be returning back to school, fortunately as a professor not a student. just as any student entering the new year, I still feel the excitement or the need to buy something new and fashionable to wear. I know my students notice, they comment on my shoes, my scarves , my signature big, bold jewelry and yes the never ending sea of black!. But as I reflect on what they comment about, I realize this is how they see me, they feel comfortable knowing that they will come into class and the familiar signature jewelry or scarf will be there to welcome them. They are in their comfort zone. They can take a sigh of relief. And for that I am happy. And now I start thinking, well that's not good, they know me all to well. What would happen if I started wearing bright colors, small delicate jewelry(I can see them cringing right now)?

I think they would have to enter therapy and I would be right behind.

But the dilemma is still there, What do I have to wear?

As I start looking in my closet I see a never ending row of jackets, leather, tweed, denim, dresses that the cast from MADMEN can wear, and so many black pants that I can open up my own store. The drawers in my armoire are no better, except for the fact that they are filled to the top with white, black, grey and brown t-shirts that go with everything , yet I feel match nothing.

The T is my signature top, as many know I hate ruffles and honestly that's all that's out there.

I tried to buy some blouses, but at last nothing was feminine, yet fashionable that wasn't Georgette and no one under 90 should be wearing Georgette.

So where does this leave me? The only place where I know I can add some WOW to the wardrobe, and that would be, In the shoe department!

I know I have a lot, and some are doubles, different colors of course, and yes I can only wear one pair at a time, but I never have to wear the same pair twice. A great shoe can change the entire look of the outfit, a flat can make it look casual, a wedge a little more sporty and a heel down right knock out sexy!

So there you have it, this is where I will spend my back to school clothing allowance. On shoes!
black pants, t's and jackets will be my staples, but my shoes, they'll be my signiture!
Welcome back students!

It's really the only option, one can never go wrong with a great pair of Laboutins, Choo's or even they great steal from DSW.


So back to school here I come, but first let's shoe shop!

Street wear

In this economy people are becoming more creative in utilizing what they already have. And this definitley means reinventing their clothing.

At one time reinventing clothing was called wearing retro or vintage. Today it can be categorized as survival.

Please contibute to this post;

How have you taken an existing garment or accessory and reinvented it to fit your style today?

The dress shown is very wearable today. At least for me!

Please share

listen, think and then speak a lesson in customer service

As stated a few months ago I will discuss openly many events that take place in the retail sector. Today is not exception. traveling to the Natick Collective yesterday with a friend we started off a good day in Nordstrom's and then it got worse. Our first stop was at the cosmetic counter where we were determined to buy a new shade from the new line Rouge Coco at the Chanel counter. We did not see the testers and a sales associate came over and asked if we needed help. My friend to remain nameless(just incase she doesn't want to be identified) asked about the new collection. The girl basically had not idea what we were talking about. Once she found the sample tray behind the cash wrap and not accessible to the consumer she had a difficult time finding the specific color that had made the "Hottest lipstick color" shade that we inquired about. It was starting to become a disaster and even though she said she would order it, we ventured to the next department "shoes" glorious shoes. my friend is returning a pair so while she is doing that I find a great pair of Tory Burch shoes "wedges" that I wanted to try on. A young "woman" approaches me and I ask her for my size. She then turns and tells a guy what I am looking for. Ok, thinking that he is a runner, no problem. Within 3 minutes, good timing out he comes, not with one pair of shoes but with &, yes seven. So giving him the benefit of the doubt I look around to see if there is anyone else in need of shoes near me! Nope! So i nicely (remember I said nicely) ask him'Are all those for me?" Yes he says, as proud as a peacock. And the conversations starts;
Well I didn't ask for seven pair of shoes, I asked for one. I don't want to try on 7 pair of shoes, I only want to try on the shoes that i asked for. "
As he sits down to start opening the boxes, the young lady from before comes over.
I then turn to her and express my displeasure in Nordstroms policy.
"I understand that Nordstroms policy wants you to bring out seven pair of shoes, however, I didn't ask for seven, your sales associate doesn't know me or know anything about me. he doesn't even know what style I like, yet you take it upon yourself, to guess what type of customer I am. You don't know what I do for a living or where I am going to wear these shoes. Therefore i find your policy invasive. As I am talking to the girl, the man is just sitting there with his moth wide open, thank goodness there were no flies, he would have caught them all.
I turned and apologized to him and made note he only followed his company's policy. he then continued to try opening the boxes and looked at me and said we don't have the one you want, but you can try on another shoe for size. Please that doesn't even make sense. Seeing the other shoes were not even Tory Burch.
So sorry, Nordstrom, no shoe no buy! And a letter to corporate.

Then we go upstairs, Yikes, my friend wants to find a Tory Burch embellished tank. A young girl approaches and my friend explains what the tank looks like and inquires as to whether or not they will carry it, As the young girl in the middle of the conversation walks away to grab a arm load of clothing, from another client we stand there a little dazed. She comes back and questions the knowledge of my friend as to whether or not it is really Tory Burch, hahaha. As my Friend is wearing Tory Burch! Good gracious! She finally after being interrupted I am sure by a customer that she is familiar with , my friend leaves her name and phone number so that if and when the girl realizes it is a 125$ tank she'll call her. And by the way the salesperson never told us her name, so we didn't ask!
We have not left Nordstrom yet and this was the beginning. A word of advice to all sales people.
listen to what the customer is not only Saying outloud" but saying between the lines, think about what you should do and say, then rethink it, then say it. In sales Nordstrom lost between the 2 of us, 2 tubes of lipstick @ 27$, 1 pair of Tory Burch shoes at 295$ and a Tory Burch tank at 125.

Total lost $474! wouldn't you want that in your pocket?

Change of heart, Change of story.

Today I was going to start with when I started retail in 1978, and write about my experiences at my first retail job. Then I red an article this morning on google news, Shoplifters, Studies say keep an eye on workers?

My first reaction, No kidding Dick Tracey!. This is nothing new, this has ben going on much longer than companies want to admit or companies want to do anything about. And here's why.

The company I worked for in 1978 had an in house loss prevention(lp) department. At that time they were high tech. A separate room in the back of the store , cameras facing all of the doors and all of the registers and these huge black domes hooked to the ceiling throughout. If you looked real hard you could see the camera inside and see it moving back and forth.

When an employee thought that someone was trying to steal something we would go to a phone not near the perpitrator and call security. We would describe the person, not having to worry about any type of profiling, and within seconds 2 or three lp people would be down, coming in from all angles. They would then follow them, and if they did steal they would take them away in handcuffs. Thats right handcuffs! We would cal it the Frankenstein walk of shame.

Our hands as sales associates would be clean, we went back to doing what we were hired to do. That would be selling.

I do remember one associate getting caught for stealing at this company, she claimed she was putting the money in her pocket to go get change. Yet the store was closing and she never filled out a change request form. Mmm! I don't think that is done anymore, not even when you just have to go change large bills in the back safe. OOOPS! Now everyone knows where the change is kept. You know it used to be a secret.

Now back to, why employee's steal!

First, they were never taught right from wrong, where that begins you decide! Second when they did something wrong as a child they were never punished for it, I don't mean chinese torture, I mean punished, grounded, phone taken away, maybe not sent to their room where the latest technology is, but maybe to the basement to clean it. They are a generation of no responsibility, no accountability, And who do we blame? Again, you be the judge of that.

Stores made it easy for employees to shoplift because the lack of responsibility and accountability and it falls on both parties shoulders. That's right I blame both parties.

As for the stores, they buy LP equipment, sensors, cameras etc but they do not use them. Either they are off or when they go off when your walking through no one takes the initiative to go and see why.

As far as sensors are concerned, DEAR STORES, SAVE YOURSELF THE MONEY!

Every good thief and employee knows how to pop them off, cover them or manipulate the system to get out of the store. Take the 10,000 minimum that its going to cost you in unused equipment and put it towards LP awards for employees, if they catch a shoplifter, and if they turn in an employee stealing double the reward!

Now, back to why employees steal, Because they can! Empowerment is a great thing for companies to allow, however, empowerment and just letting them do things because no one else wants to, or the managers too busy doing(what I don't know) in the back room is not empowerment.

In my day, the only one who could turn the key to do a return, adjustment or any kind of void was a manager. Now everyone can do it, hence register fraud! And what did that take, no time at all, a manager stopping hat they were doing, coming t the register with their keys, that were on their wrist(not left on the counter) and turning to void mode or return mode. If there was a void the employee had to sign and state why and so did the manager. At the end of the week, employee numbers would come up on a report that stated who had returns, adjustments, exchanges, voids and he total number of transactions and dollars worth. Over a certain percent or dollar amount, they were written up, if it continued, they were fired! That simple!

Today we do not fire, we cut hours! Which in turn causes more employee theft. Now they are mad at you for limiting their hours, now they will steal.

I could go on and on about all of the different reason why employees steal, but I have to say the main reason is because the stores allow them. Now they don't come right out and say "I'm going to hire you only if you steal from me" but they do say, here are your job responsibilities, we have a great team, you'll like it here, you get to wear our clothes. But they don't say, this is a job, you'll work hard, you'll be held responsible for you actions while working and you'll be held accountable for them too! Maybe if stores started out with that, then let them know all of the fluff, they may be better off. And oh yes, a little more than minimum wage to deal with the public is a necessity!

New beginnings for a wronged retail

I decided that today i would commit myself to really taking a hard look at retail past, present and future. It is a big part of our everyday lives whether we think so or not. Every time we go to the bank, the gas station, the grocery store we encounter a retail transaction, let alone everytime we go spur of the moment, I need this shopping!.
Looking back at last years retail history is how I cam up with the title to this blog. New beginnings for a wronged retail. After all its not retail that cheated the consumer with poor customer service, bad merchandise mix or messy stores, it was the people that run the companies. They wronged retail and then retail wronged us.
Retail in itself has a life, but the life comes from within. And the people within in the past few years have become greedy and self absorbed. take Miracle on 34th Street. Can you imagine in today's market a marketing executive suggesting that a consumer go to another store to buy a product. Absolutely not! Now I know the movie is fiction, but I truly believe that back then retail was one big entity, today it's millions.
The management generation running the retail establishments today are not considering what is important in a business atmosphere, and that would be called loyalty. They are looking at how fast can I make a dollar and how fast can I invest that dollar into 2 more things to make another dollar to invest in 4 more things. Unfortunately what they are not investing in is their people.
When I look back at what has happened in retail in the past, it is very disheartening. I have been in retail since 1978, I have seen good bad and the ugly. Both with companies and with people.
This year, I am going to focus my blog on all of that and try to explain what went wrong and that it can still be fixed with companies making a profit.
So for today, keep in mind that you have the capability and the ability to change how you shop, what you buy and how and what companies bring to the table.
We have the power!