How should we look at the Christmas season for 2009?
Now in the beginning stages of Christmas 2009 how should we be
looking at the possible “second worst Christmas” season in decades?
This past week jobs report came out and we are losing less jobs than
months before. This is great consolation for those without a job,
isn’t it? But it shows that things are starting to get better. I
still believe as I have for the past year that spring 2010 we’ll see
the light.
You’ll find that Christmas 2009 won’t be as bad as you might have
thought it would because Americans just cannot Not shop. There is
pent up demand. Not a mountain full but its there.
What should your goal be this season? I believe it should be to pay
down debt and build up cash. Business will still be too flaky this
coming year so you don’t want to be caught with a lot of debt and a
lot of old inventory on New Year’s Eve.
You’ll probably be discounting some as you always have been. But
this year assemble a case or two and name them
Say good bye to our old friends
Or
Extreme Value Case
If your customer wants a discount this year lead them not to your
“old dogs case” but to your Extreme Value Cases!
Give discounts, even up to 70% just to get rid of anything over
15-18 months old and older.
You may also want to use this case to entice sales and assist sales
for the “good” cases.
Maybe you’ll discount 15% off of new items and if the customer wants
a better discount have them think of other gifts they need and do
something like this:
“I’ll give you 25% off this new item you’re looking at if you’ll
also buy for your secretary, grandmother, mom, daughter this
beautiful strand of pearls (at 40% off) from our extreme value case.”
Let’s say the new item is tagged for $500. At 15% off, selling price
is $425. If you ONLY sell the new item at 25% off it sells for $375
and that’s all you get.
But now if you add in the $600 strand of pearls at 40% off you now
have a sale of $360.00 for the pearls and also $375 for the
discounted new item for a total sale today of
$735.00
So this is what you’ve done:
-
Sold an item and moved it out with a 25% discount.
-
Got rid of a 3 year old item at a little above your cost, but.
-
More importantly took in 49% MORE CASH by selling two items. Your
sale went from $375 to $735.
Continue on this way and you’ll find that your Extreme Value case
will get smaller and your bank check register will get larger.
This again will be a lower price point Christmas but its still a
great time to move “bunches” of lower price points. Remember men
still are hunters. They hate shopping “just show me that thing there.
O.K., I’ll take it! I’m ottahere”.
I suggested this a few years ago and for many it worked well.
Go to a store where you can buy baskets with handles, similar to an
Easter Basket. Get the colorful shredded filling, the same as you
would for Easter and buy colorful cellophane, the way fruit baskets
are delivered. You’re going to duplicate this look.
Plan to make 6 or 12 (hope you sell 50 actually) baskets to sit on
the counter and showroom floor.
Gather in your store an array of different kinds of jewelry, leave
the boxes open so folks can see and place these in the baskets, then
seal them with cellophane and a bow at the top. It should look like
fruit baskets but with the jewelry being visible.
Figure the retail prices of the baskets and arrange the type of
jewelry so that you discount the baskets 25% and have baskets of
jewelry gifts that retail for
$99.00
$149.00
$199.00
$249.00
$399.00
$599.00
$699.00
And more if you feel adventurous. Place tags on the baskets
“All items enclosed sell separately for $135 but as a basket of
savings, only $99.00!”
You’ll want to push them, even advertise them to your customers as
an easy way to shop. Who’d buy these?
- Men who need to buy gifts for his staff at work.
- Anyone with lots kids/grandkids/nieces/nephews n the family.
- Wants to give a really cool gift.
These baskets can be given to one person or on their own they can
take them apart and gift wrap them individually.
This is a wonderful way to get rid of those watches that don’t move!
The basket would have in it
[] Watches
[] Necklaces
[] Colored stone rings
[] Silver jewelry
[] Jar of jewelry cleaner
[] Polishing cloth
[] Diamond or colored stone earrings
[] Pearl strands
[] Cufflinks.
[] Other jewelry items you want to get rid of. Seed the basket with
goodies and dogs.
[] Make sure everything is clean & sparkly.
Be creative just think “price points”
This is the time of year to be very good at suggestive selling.
Have a great season, pile up the cash.
Sincerely
David Geller
www.JewelerProfit.com