2008

By John Stanley The fun of retailing is that there are always opportunities to grow sales, even when the consumer may not like the product now that may sound like a contradiction in ideas. Let me give you an example. Heinz, the food company recently carried out a survey in the U.K. to find out

Around the world there is economic uncertainty, one day the stock market is up and the next it’s down. Trying to build your consumers confidence in such a difficult time is a real challenge. The key is to be topical, not typical in such a retail climate. What do I mean by that? A typical

Shrinkage – product that disappears from your business and directly affects trhe bottom line. The UK has the highest shrinkage in Europe, costing 3.8 billion pounds or 1.34% of total sales, according to research carried out by ‘The Centre of Retail Research’. Globally, shrinkage is a bigger problem in the USA and Japan than in

Over the last few months we have been monitoring the plastic bag debate. The latest news is included below for your information. Shopping bags in the spotlight Graham Readfearn March 24, 2008 11:00pm NEVER have our humble shopping bags been the subject of such intense scrutiny. Once simply something to stuff your groceries into, the

At JSA we are constantly analyzing how we can be greener in the way we run our business. We made the decision that we should move from 50% recycled paper to 100% recycled paper for the copier machine. We contacted our local stationery supplier and asked for 100% ERA (Environmentally Responsible Approach) paper. They said

Some ideas are so simple; you wonder why you haven’t thought of them. Mates Meats is one of our local butchers, Alison and Debby have come up with a great idea. An “Order while you shop” form that is handed to their customers. You hand this in to them when you arrive at the Shopping

By John Stanley Don’t tell me consumers don’t have time to go shopping; they have all the time in the world. You just have to make sure that the time is spent in your store. The key is to split the couple up before they go shopping, it can make a huge difference. Research carried

33 Secrets for Driving Your Business to the next level Andy Buyting ISBN 978-0-978429-0-9 This is my type of book. I may be a bit biased though. I have known Andy for a number of years and was his consultant in developing his retail business, Green Village. As the title suggests this book has 33

Easter is literally around the corner and retailers should now have their promotions in full swing. Eden Gardens in Sydney have a great promotion at the entrance to their store to remind the consumer. My local supermarket has Easter Holiday Fun and provides children with information on how to colour eggs and cook Bunny Bikkies.