Seven Habits of Highly Effective Merchants

1.Indexing. HEMs (Highly Effective Merchants) use many different methods to measure merchandise success, including benchmarking (both by item and by classification); analysis of space versus number of items per classification; demand versus profitability; and margin analysis.

2.Source to a Plan. HEMs source great products based on sound merchandise plans. Have you ever put together a great catalog of products only to find you are over-assorted in one area, under-assorted in another, and your average retail is off? Lawson Gray says HEMs know how to create an assortment that will net the dollars targeted in their budgets.