Harmony Bracelets have not worked for us. While we have sold 35% of our stock, the rest has sat for close to two months. This morning I made the decision to get out of the remaining stock this weekend and put the $9.95 bracelets on sale at $1.00. Now, less than three hours in they’re selling very well. We should be done by the end of tomorrow. This frees floorspace for us, giving us an opportunity for a new product story.
Too often I see newsagents hold onto product for the sake of hoped-for margin in the future rather than discounting and taking the cash today. Okay so we have lost money on the bracelets. The loss I am realising today is less, I suspect, than the loss because of non-performing product taking up floorspace.
You can’t bank margin from products that don’t sell.
So, when I decide to quit an item I set pricing for it ti actually sell out. The usual starting point is between 33% and 50% off. next is 75% and finally we move to a $$ price point. In the case of the Harmony Bracelets, their recent performance was such that I felt I needed to go straight to the $$ price point. hence the $1.00 price. It is also helping that school holidays have just started.
One customer bought 14 bracelets.
I like this post Mark for your transparency and for the advice.
This is an area we really struggle with in our store. We have made displays of heavily discounted stock only to leave it there for weeks, sell a couple of items and put the rest back where it came from. Sometimes I think rather than expend a lot of time and effort trying to realise a dollar or 2 we might be better off simply throwing the items out.
Shayne, I had some pink a3 paper that I inherited 8 years ago. It has followed me around all that time and even survived 3 store relocations and a new shop fit. I finally got rid of it a few weeks back. I had a regular customer come in and she was wearing a per school shirt. I gave her the whole lot for free……I never have to see it again……lol
Preschool*
Don’t throw stock out.
Even if you can’t sell it, it still has a value as goodwill. Pass it along to any local service group who may be able to use it.
Club raffles, prizes, counter giveaways, donate to fetes, schools and kinders, Mens Shed, RSL, Senior Citzs. etc.
There is a use for just about everything and sometimes you can get better value by giving it away. 😉
Definitely don’t throw stock out. As Lance said there are plenty of places that may want it.
If we can’t get rid of stock even on sale we just give it away to customers. It generates enormous goodwill.
Yeah we never through it out but we do quit it from the business ruthlessly.
We have last years calendars that will go to a kinda and 2013 Diaries that will will have the $1.00 treatment very soon