Apparel Trade Secrets from Microsoft Small Business
The Top Trade Secret articles allow you to see what a fellow retailer in your retail vertical is doing to succeed. It offers a retailer's insights and "secrets" of success, along with details about how Microsoft Retail Management System has helped a business to thrive. So read on!
Business Name: Title 9 Sports, a women's athletic-wear company based in Emeryville, California.
Employees at Title 9 Sports, a women's
athletic-wear company based in Emeryville, California.
With big apparel retailers vying for customers' attention, how does a small apparel retailer compete? We asked Title 9 Sports President Renee Jacobs for tips — or top trade secrets — that have helped the small retail chain grow wildly successful over its 15 years in business.
Here are four apparel trade secrets that Jacobs offered:
1. | Be 'evangelical' about your business. "We don't just sell fitness clothing, we sell fitness. We extend our mission to customers by sponsoring a cycling club, a hiking club, and running events," Jacobs says. (Title 9 refers to the federal law requiring schools that receive federal funds to provide girls and women equal opportunity to compete in sports.) | ||||||
2. | Stock up on everyday wear. Title 9 has grown sales by expanding product lines beyond athletic gear to active women's wear that can be worn at the office or at home. These "sports-informed" apparel lines are made using the same materials that are used for athletic gear. Customers love the blending of "hard- core technical and everyday functionality," says Jacobs. | ||||||
3. | Have a no-hassles return policy. You can return an item at Title 9 for any reason or for no reason. It may sound simple, but large retailers like L.L. Bean built a loyal following with such a no-hassles return policy and smaller retailers should consider it, Jacobs says. | ||||||
4. | Use powerful technology to help boost sales. For the past 15 years, Title 9 was saddled with an inventory and point-of-sale system that made sharing customer and inventory information a time-consuming manual process. Since Microsoft Retail Management System was installed, sales have increased by 8 percent, Jacobs says. Here's how the system helped: On This Page
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Increased sales due to inventory control
The system's powerful inventory and sales tracking features are used to keep each store stocked at optimum levels and with best-selling items. The stores that have high-volume sales can be replenished twice a week instead of once, resulting in inventory turns that can increase by 15-20 percent, Jacobs says.
The system's "Top Items Report" help apparel retailers
get information on top-selling items. This helps with restocking decisions.
Purchasing time has been reduced from two days to one, and this has saved money on inventory. (In fact, inventory levels are down by 6 percent.) This has ensured that the stores are well stocked with fresh merchandise, says Jacobs.
Before implementing Microsoft Retail Management System, "Each store's inventory was invisible to the others, and stores had to send out wish lists so the warehouse knew what items to restock," says Jacobs. "Inactive items had to be manually deleted from the system."
Less time spent on mundane tasks
The Title 9 staff and management accomplish more in less time — on previously dreaded and time-consuming tasks. Inventory and sales information for each store is now automatically updated, and in real time, so that the warehouse knows what needs to be replenished for each location, Jacobs says.
As a result, time on physical inventory has been reduced by 50 to 70 percent. Accuracy of shipments to stores has been increased too, and far less time is now spent tracking lost shipments.
"We've increased from three stores to six while actually reducing [the amount of time spent on] IT and accounting," says Jacobs.
With Microsoft Retail Management System, apparel retailers
can review accurate information about suppliers.
Overall, Title 9 paid between 20 and 30 percent less for Microsoft Business Solutions Retail Management System than it would have for other systems, Jacobs says.
Improved customer service
Customer service got better, too, with Microsoft Retail Management System. The ability to share customer information among stores has lead to better service. For instance, customer discounts can now be given regardless of which store the customer shopped in.
Finally, Title 9's loyalty discount program, which used to be hampered because customers who registered in one store were not recorded in the other stores, has been corrected thanks to the new system, Jacobs says.