Holiday weekends are usually a great time for the Furniture industry. People with a long weekend hear retailers in most major metro areas hammering hard to get that discretionary dollar. This year, was some concern since overall business has been lackluster for several months. Initial results from the weekend suggest that business in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain states was about where it was last year. Based on what the previous months have done, sales that were even with last year by most accounts would be a victory. But of course we all want to grow our business and so flat sales are not real exciting for most.
Most of the recent industries problems are blamed on a couple of key factors which are somewhat beyond the dealer base’s control.
1) Housing has been and will be rugged at least until 2008.
2) $1 a gallon jump in gas prices since January is the same as an $80 billion tax. Food prices are likely to increase another $30 billion putting a big hole in the customers discretionary spending. (Kiplinger Letter May 25, 2007)
3) Continued negative news in the war and uncertainty among the politcos as to what to do about it. Nobody likes uncertainty when making big ticket purchases.
Businesses hardest hit will be those that depend on home building and businesses that are big ticket consumer purchases that can be delayed (both categories of which furniture qualifies).
There are a couple of ideas that we have been exploring and would be happy to discuss with you in depth. These are ideas we have found by looking outside of our industry to things that are working for others.
1) Direct marketing campaigns are more productive per dollar spent than electronic media.
2) In depth sales training tied to marketing will fill up the holes in your bucket so incremental sales don’t leak out the sides.
3) Promotional giveaways are back and creating excitement for those who use them wisely.
4) Exciting promotions like a Super Sale using real Super Heros (see picture above of Mike with Batman and Wonder Woman).
5) Internet sales just keep growing, but retailers can’t count on riding the web market expansion. There are tricks for maximizing exposure and sales
If you would like to discuss any of these items, please call Chris at 800-391-2166 to schedule a consultation.
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