Make Industry Benchmarks and Best Practices Work for You

Don’t wait until a season is done to do this review. By looking at early results, you may find a problem that needs to be fixed, rather than waiting for a postmortem.

Margins. These should be at least 54 percent (52 percent for a business-to-business cataloger), and any gain in margin is a gain to your bottom line. Work with vendors for better pricing to ensure you’re reaching the margins you need. Don’t set your retail above market simply as a way to increase your gross margin percentage. Why? Because you put dollars in the bank, not percentages.