THE  

Keeping Our Finger On The Pulse Of The Retail Industry

Same-Store Sales Up 2.4%

Despite June being a heavy discount month, many retailers suffered disappointing sales at their stores. The International Council of Shopping Centers-UBS sales tally of 50 stores rose 2.4% in June, compared to a 3.0% gain in the year-ago period.

American consumers, uninspired by this season's fashions and flustered by high gas prices and the weak housing market, shopped cautiously last month, extending the despair of retailers who have struggled with a spending slowdown since February.

A new consumer spending survey released by the America's Research Group (ARG) indicated that many shoppers were both reducing their spending and postponing big ticket purchases. According to the survey, about 40% of 1,000 shoppers polled in early July said they reduced spending in June due to higher gas prices, while about 22% said they delayed a purchase of $599 or more.

Although the disappointments cut across many segments of the industry, apparel stores and department stores were hit the hardest. Chico’s FAS reported a 7.3% decline. Gap Inc.’s same-store sales fell 5%. Kohl’s Corp. said sales fell 4.9% in June, while analysts expected a 2.4% drop. J.C. Penney Co. same-store sales fell 1.5% in June but still beat analyst expectations.

Many discount chains fared surprisingly well in June. Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a 6% rise in same store sales. TJX Cos. said its same store sales climbed 5%, exceeding analysts’ expectations. In the high-end market, Nordstrom Inc. reported same-store sales rose 2%, beating expectations of a 1.1% gain.

Consumers look like they are holding back on discretionary purchases particularly in apparel," said Ken Perkins, president of RetailMetrics LLC, a research company in Swampscott, Massachusetts. He added that shoppers are "facing a long list of headwinds as they head into the rest of the summer."

Highlights from the NRF Loss Prevention Conference

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth… one lucky raffle winner went home with a 42” flat screen HDTV and another took home a portable GPS navigation system! 

Jared Goldsmith, Danielle Jacobs, Paul Garner & Bob Farina at the Hart booth
 

Next year, the NRF LP Conference will take place in Orlando, FL on June 23-25, 2008 - and Hart Systems will be there!  If you'd like more info on next year's event, please send an e-mail to sales@hartsystems.com  or call us at (800) 252-2818.

From the NRF... 
Who Attends:

All levels of retail professionals involved in protecting company assets attend this high profile, retail industry based conference, most notably Vice Presidents, Directors, and Managers of:

Inventory Control
Asset Protection
Fraud
Information Systems
Loss Prevention
Operations
Risk Management
Safety
Internal Audit
Finance
Security Management
Shortage Control
Special Investigation
Regional, District and Store Management

Big Boxes Aim to Speed Up Shopping

The average shopper at a Wal-Mart supercenter spends 21 minutes in the store but finds only seven of the 10 items on his or her shopping list.

As Wal-Mart Stores Inc. tries to boost flagging sales growth, one key is helping customers find and buy those eighth, ninth and 10th items before they rush off to their kid's soccer game. So the chain is attempting to make its sprawling stores easier to navigate. "We don't decide how long the people are in the store," Wal-Mart marketing chief Stephen Quinn explains. "What we decide is how easy it is for you within the 21 minutes you've allocated to get what you want."

Many of Wal-Mart's big-box brethren, from Home Depot to Best Buy, are also pursuing the goal of making their premises less overwhelming for shoppers. Like Wal-Mart, many are determined to eliminate lengthy checkouts, perhaps the biggest turnoff of all for harried customers.

Focusing on convenience represents a turning point for discount retailers. For years, they kept building bigger and bigger boxes, figuring the combination of low prices and huge assortment trumped other considerations. The result is that shoppers all too often spend much of their time trudging to find elusive items on their shopping list, and some give up without finding them.

At the same time, retailers with smaller-store formats are nipping at the heels of big-box retailers. Dollar stores have much less selection than a Wal-Mart or a Target, but their pricing is aggressive and customers can buy what they want in minutes.

Big-box retailers are using different tactics to make their boxes less intimidating. In a pilot program, electronics retailer Best Buy is employing "personal shopping assistants" in 60 stores who are knowledgeable about all merchandise in the store.  Their job is to individually serve time-starved customers making complicated purchases. 

Hardware chain Lowe’s installed "Need Help" buttons where shoppers often need to summon assistance.  The average response time: Less than one minute. Rival Home Depot tested the call buttons this year and is now installing them in its roughly 1,900 U.S. stores.

Checkout is crucial because Americans aren't patient shoppers.  Customers bristle at the wait times and often perceive the delays as longer than they actually were.  "Navigating jammed aisles and then waiting to check out for more than a few minutes isn't worth the price savings on just a few items," says Guilbert Brown, a college administrator, in Virginia.

Some big-box retailers are embracing the most controversial of checkout-line evolutions: self-checkout areas.  But Target Chief Executive Bob Ulrich eschews self-checkout as clumsy and confusing for shoppers. "I am convinced that one professional checker is as fast as four self-checkout machines."

What Constitutes Good (and Bad) Customer Service?

According to data compiled by BIGresearch exclusively for STORES, retail customers’ biggest complaints are ill-mannered and poorly trained sales associates, and also unfriendly store policies – particularly stricter returns policies.  Lenient policies instituted by some retailers have created a situation where consumers have come to expect a “no-questions-asked” approach to returns.  The climate has shifted, however, and retailers are not quite as easygoing about returns as they were a few years ago.  The study suggests shoppers are none too pleased with the change.

As for the elements of good customer service, here is how the most popular responses ranked:

Liz Claiborne, Dead at 78

Liz Claiborne, who revolutionized designing colorful, stylish and affordable sportswear for America's growing army of working women in the Seventies and Eighties, died June 26, 2007 at New York Presbyterian Hospital, of abdominal cancer, a condition she had been battling for 10 years.

Born in Brussels in 1929 to American parents, Ms. Claiborne moved with her family to New Orleans. Before graduating from high school, she went back to Brussels and then Nice, France, to study fine art and finally to pursue a career as a clothing designer.  Ms. Claiborne began working on Seventh Avenue in New York as a design assistant and a model and worked for several fashion houses.

Ms. Claiborne, along with her husband Arthur Otenberg, co-founded Liz Claiborne Inc., in 1976, and it became one of the most successful apparel companies in the world.  The fashion line she founded went from a one-brand business to a $5 billion firm with more than 40 labels in its portfolio, which besides Liz Claiborne, now includes Juicy Couture, Lucky Brand, Ellen Tracy, Sigrid Olsen, Dana Buchman, Kate Spade and Mexx.

Early on, Ms. Claiborne had a clear idea of the clothing she wanted to design.  In an interview with Women's Wear Daily last year, she said, "The concept was to dress the American working woman because I, as a working woman with a child, didn't want to spend hours shopping. Things should be easy. You don't have to dress in that little navy blue suit with a tie. I wanted to dress her in sportier clothes and colors."  Ms. Claiborne correctly anticipated a market for affordable, professional-looking clothes that women could wear to compete on an equal footing with men in corporate professions.

Ms. Claiborne became something of a role model, and her label an inspirational emblem.  She created a new foundation for a modern, working-woman’s wardrobe, which had begun, as the bland re-interpretation, of a man’s navy blue suit and tie.  Her creative expressions were made of colorful tailored separates that could be mixed with other pieces to create many outfits. As women made headway in corporate America, Ms. Claiborne expanded with office-friendly sportswear that conveyed a compelling blend of intelligence, strength and femininity. It eventually transcended the workplace, becoming a lifestyle brand. 

Ms. Claiborne was rarely seen without her signature red glasses and short hair. Following her retirement in 1989, she devoted herself to numerous charities.  She was also the first woman CEO and chairwoman of a Fortune 500 firm. In 1986, Ms. Claiborne was honored by the CFDA (Councils of Fashion Designers of America) for her distinction as an American designer, and in 2000, she received the CFDA's Humanitarian Award for the work she and Ortenberg have done through their foundation. In 1990, Ortenberg and Claiborne were inducted into the National Business Hall of Fame.

"In losing Liz Claiborne, we have not only lost the founder of our company, but an inspirational woman who revolutionized the fashion industry 30 years ago," said Bill McComb, CEO of Liz Claiborne, in a statement.  "Her commitment to style and design is ever present in our thinking and the way we work. We will remember Liz for her vision, her entrepreneurial spirit and her enduring compassion and generosity," he said.

Liz Claiborne was a dynamic woman and a true American fashion icon… and although her name and her work will live on, she will be missed.

Movers and Shakers

People You Know Who Are On The Go

This monthly installment to The Hart Monitor includes executive moves within the retail industry –

as reported in publications such as WWD, Hoover's, and various other sources.

The TJX Companies, Inc.

The TJX Companies has hired Nirmal Tripathy to be EVP and CFO. Tripathy, who had been President and COO at Macy's Florida, replaces Jeff Naylor, who is now SVP and Chief Administrative and Business Development Officer.

KB Toys, Inc.

Andy Bailen is now President and CEO at KB Toys. Greg Staley resigned.

Eddie Bauer Holdings, Inc.

Bath & Body Works’ Neil Fiske is the new CEO at Eddie Bauer.

Limited Brands, Inc.

President and COO Diane Neal is the new CEO at Limited Brands' Bath & Body Works unit. Neal replaces Neil Fiske, who left for the CEO spot at Eddie Bauer Holdings.  Also, Bill May was named COO at Victoria's Secret Stores.

Liz Claiborne, Inc.

Mike Scarpa is the new COO at Liz Claiborne, and Andrew Warren was hired as CFO. The company has reorganized and Jill Granoff was named EVP, Direct Brands.

Blockbuster, Inc.

Blockbuster Inc. has named James W. Keyes as its new Chief Executive. He replaces John Antioco.

Lane Bryant, Inc.

Charming Shoppe's appointed LuAnn Via as President of Lane Bryant.  Luann was previously from Catherine’s Plus Size stores.  Lorna Nagler resigned from the position.

The Talbots, Inc.

Trudy Sullivan is the new President and CEO at women's apparel retailer The Talbot's, resigning from Liz Claiborne for the opportunity.  She will succeed the retiring Arnold Zetcher, who will remain as Chairman until March.

Family Dollar Stores, Inc.

Kiley Rawlins was promoted to VP Investor Relations and Communications at Family Dollar Stores.

We hope you had a great Fourth of July holiday!

Provide Food on Inventory Day

It may sound like a trivial item, but providing food and beverages during your physical inventory has many positive benefits.  These include keeping your staff’s energy level up, reducing employee breaks and downtime, making the whole experience more “enjoyable”, adding to a team atmosphere, etc.

Consider this scenario: you have a physical inventory scheduled to begin at 6:00am - your managers and associates arrive at the store at 5:45am, and they’re not exactly bright-eyed.  However, you have fresh coffee and donuts waiting for them!  Suddenly, everyone is happier, feeling refreshed, and ready to pitch in with the task at hand.

For an evening inventory, a couple of pizza pies and bottles of sodas at the mid-point of the inventory has the same positive results and also keeps your staff from leaving the store and taking breaks.

Some food for thought:  When you order food, keep it simple.  Circulating around menus for people to choose from, and then figuring out who gets what, can be more of a headache than it’s worth.   Also, don’t schedule everyone to eat at once – divide the group into two or three smaller groups, and stagger their eating schedule.  This keeps the inventory process moving along, and prevents bottlenecks from developing.

HART SYSTEMS The Self-Inventory Experts 

To learn more about how we can help you achieve your physical inventory goals, please call us at 800-252-2818, click here -Tell Me More- to send an e-mail, or visit our website at http://www.hartsystems.com/.

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Hart Quote !!!

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.“

Henry Ford (1863-1947)

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