BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
This year’s NEC Cycle show is fast approaching and should be one of the best yet with over 300 exciting exhibitors. I will be presenting to retailers supporting them with ideas to increase sales and profits.
I’ll be focusing on the importance of store innovation to maximise your sales per square metre. The show will be offering lots of new exciting innovative products for business owners to consider, which, in itself, is exciting but requires a massive leap in faith as hard-earned cash needs to be handed over without any assurance it will turn into a profit!
There are four key points to consider in advance of visiting the show: planned financial stock holding for the autumn/winter, planned stock turn of a product (weeks’ stock cover), shop layout, and the point of sale material to make the product fly! Visiting the show with your own shop floor plan and a sales plan by category for the season will help you make good decisions at the show. You need new, innovative product to survive and grow; a shop laid out in an exciting customer-engaging fashion will drive sales.
Suppliers often have a vision of how they see the product been merchandised, so quiz them, take notes and pictures, and demand marketing material and any help at all they can offer.
Suppliers all want to sell you product, but they also want sustainable business. They want you to keep coming back for more, but in too many cases new product is not potentialised when it arrives at the store. Sometimes it’s not given appropriate prime space, strong “WOW visuals” marketing material, prime window space, professional pricing cards and a team passionately selling, armed with the required new product knowledge. There is no point bringing in new product if there has not been a structured team training session to set the whole team on fire with enthusiasm. Customers need to feel it! They need a reason to buy and a sales team can push a sale over the line if they are knowledgeable and passionate about a product. But I’m sad to say in too many cycle shops up and down the country, it’s too much of a take-it-or-leave it when it comes to customer engagement.
Suppliers often have a vision of how they see the product been merchandised, so quiz them, take notes and pictures, and demand marketing material and any help at all they can offer. Many suppliers will supply wonderful, exciting wall and free standing visuals/images to enhance and excite store customer experience – ask them for it!
I hope you all have an enjoyable and profitable visit to the Cycle Show.
If you would like Mark O’Dolan’s services to help your business grow, call 07951 022 907 or email mark@highstreetmetor.co.uk.
