Merchandising

Like it or loathe it, Federated Department Stores continues to rename its acquired department store chains with the Macy’s moniker across the country. And Margaret Getchell would be proud. Believed to be the first female retail executive, Getchell changed Macy’s from a fancy dry goods store into a department store with sales in 1870 totaling $1 million. She was quoted as saying back in 1866, “Never forget to astonish the customer.” And today, her statement is an integral part of Macy’s new marketing campaign and is prominent in all new store displays. Back then, Getchell achievement astonishment by addition. According to Macy’s brand history,

How do you know if your product development process is broken? One good way to assess it is to see if you are getting lots of “no” answers from your team when you suggest new products. As in “No, we can’t do that,” “No, we’ve never done that before,” “No, a custom version will take too long” or “No, we don’t have a vendor for that.” These could be signs and patterns that your process and/or people are stuck. An ideal process is full of yes answers; that is, the right kind of yes answers. Below you’ll find the steps to get your process

I’m often surprised by the answers I get from catalogers when I ask them, “What new products are you featuring?” They usually respond with a round of additional questions, such as “What do you mean by new?” or “How many new products are enough?” Often they’ll simply say, “New products never work for us.” But new product development should be the lifeblood of every multi-channel marketer. And if done correctly, it can be one of the most rewarding aspects of a merchant’s job. To get your product development program on the right track, consider the following: * Reinvigorate your product line all the time. Even if

How to use a warehouse assessment to improve customer service and decrease costs. Your warehouse this past holiday season was near capacity; you made it through the season, but it wasn’t pretty. The marketing plans for the new year and next holiday are up considerably. The executive committee of your multichannel company has made a decision that the company must meet the aggressive sales plan, and you have to find ways to stay in this facility for at least one more year. You have two months to come up with a new operational plan. What are you going to do? A key starting point

A cataloger’s job of presenting merchandise is second in importance only to selecting the right merchandise. Readers decide in seconds whether they’re going to continue to read about a product or move on. The amount of information readers comprehend “at a glance” isn’t limited by their brains; it’s only limited by what we put in front of them. Even those interested in a product will skip over it if they don’t understand it or they’re not “sold” on it. What and how you show product in your catalog makes all the difference in the world. The following list contains the most frequent

Onsite merchandising is the top initiative planned by 75 percent of e-commerce executives to improve site performance, according to the Annual Merchant Survey conducted by e-commerce consultancy The e-tailing group. Among other data revealed by the survey of 190 senior e-commerce executives: * 70 percent of e-commerce executives plan to add or improve onsite search to improve Web sales; down from 77 percent last year. * 64 percent plan to redesign or upgrade their sites; level with last year’s survey. * 60 percent plan to devote resources to content development; up from 53 percent last year. * 50 percent plan to overhaul the online

Regardless of organizational structure or size, catalogers who manufacture their own products are made up of multiple groups that must cooperate if the business is to be successful. Productivity is at stake when the two main players, those in management and production, are not working as one unit. Following are a few ways management and production teams can start working together to gain a competitive edge: * Obliterate false divisions. A recent client often used language that emphasized whether a particular employee was “union” or “company.” I worked diligently to get everyone using the same vocabulary: Everyone is now “WE.” Not only did they unlock the

While a great merchandiser has developed predictive instincts to guide her through planning her next great catalog, a smart merchandiser will supplement those instincts with a well-thought-out strategy, writes Katie Muldoon, author of “The Catalog Strategist’s Toolkit” (Racom Communications). Muldoon identifies some elements critical to any merchandiser’s strategy: * Have a game plan. “This means a written strategy based on known sales for the year before,” Muldoon writes. In combination with your circulation plan, this game plan will help you decide which product categories and price ranges should be increased, decreased or re-tested. * Get the right analysis. Many catalogers still don’t conduct enough

Reiman Publications uses both catalogs and magazines to expertly serve its loyal base of rural consumers. When the editors of Farm Wife News started producing T-shirts with slogans such as, “I’m proud to be a Farm Wife,” for their readers back in the early 1970s, they didn’t know that offshoot merchandise would launch a catalog business. A few years later, Country Store catalog was born, filling a niche in the rural marketplace. Ann Kaiser, managing editor of Taste of Home and editor of Country Woman magazine, was with the company 34 years ago when the catalog concept first was developed at Reiman Publications. She

Testing front covers is one of the easiest and most important tests catalogers can do. Front covers are the doorway into your catalog, so your cover must entice customers to open the door and step through into the wonderful world inside. Testing will help you learn what it takes to get your customers to open that door more often. “Copy destroys the graphic integrity of my cover design.” Magazine designers love a lot of copy on the front cover, but catalog designers hate it. “I’ve been designing catalogs for years. Trust me, I know what sells,” said Maurice, the catalog designer. “All those words