Facing Business Challenges
Laura Blunt, Right Angle Strategies -- Gifts and Dec, 1/1/2012 2:00:00 AM
This past August, during the New York International Gift Fair, a knowledgeable and elite mix of independent retailers, vendors, sales agencies and service providers gathered to discuss their respective business realities. The roundtable objective was to learn how each participant operated in today's evolving economy and marketplace, specific profitability challenges, and what best practices could be shared to encourage better performance and profits for the betterment of the industry.
The lively discussion yielded a thoughtful and thorough list of specific profitability challenges faced by retailers, vendors and sales agencies, as well as suggested best practices for each to ensure future business success and increased profits.
Profitability challenges stemming from stressed economic conditions with broad effects for all roundtable participants included a decline in consumer demand and shifts in what, where and how they buy, decreased cash flow and increased costs to market to and service customers. Both vendors and sales agencies noted being challenged by the shift in retailer buying patterns as a result of tightened credit and cash flow, while retailers also took issue with vendors loosening of exclusivity restrictions/ territory protections on in-demand products and brands that drive traffic into their stores.
Cornerstones to recommended best practices for all participants to encourage better performance and profits included clear and consistent communication, better education, more consumer traffic-drivers, offering special services, clearer differentiation of product between mass market and specialty offerings and valuing the role of the sales representative.
Conclusions
All participants recognized the mutual importance each played in the success of the other, with genuine interest in implementing new ideas and seeking out solutions to improve business for all. And despite the shared challenges and acknowledgement of economic conditions, their consensus outlook for the future was positive.
The roundtable adjourned with all participants recognizing the need for continued dialog and a deeper analysis into the changing roles of retailers, vendors and, especially, sales agencies. By working together to continue this conversation, it should be possible to establish a common goal to identify ways to achieve profitability and provide consumers the product they want.
For the full "2011 GHTA Industry Summit Roundtable" whitepaper, which includes some of the best practices identified for each of the industry segments, visit www.giftandhome.org/IndustryNewsandData/IndustryWhitePapers.aspx.
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