By Moe Lastfogel Director of Sales and Marketing for The Retail Observer The way many of you do business today is because of a young man by the name of Richard Sears who started his empire in 1886 as a railway station agent who stumbled on a shipment of unwanted watches... the rest is history (www.searsarchives.com/history). Why do I bring up the “BIG COMPETITION”? Because the story of Sears is about to come to its conclusion as more and more stores are closing across the country. According to recent reports, almost 109 locations between Sears and Kmart will be closing this year alone. But it's not only Sears and Kmart: Staples, Office Max, RadioShack and JC Penny are also shutting down many of their locations. Are you ready? With these “Big Boys” jumping out of the pool, it's time to take off your floaters and start swimming. Many of our readers have already jumped into the deep end and are benefiting from the new opportunities for growth. For those of you who haven’t, it's time to take action NOW. After speaking with the management of several buying groups, I found out that they all have plans and programs to help you with this new wave of business. I urge you to take advantage of these programs— see what retailers have been selling in your area and compare that with what you are currently selling to figure out what categories and products you should be adding to your inventory. Get on your swimsuits, folks, and jump on in—the temperature is just right! Happy Retailing, Moe Lastfogel [email protected]
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By Eliana Barriga Publisher and Managing Editor for The Retail Observer Why do we have such a hard time dealing with change? Well, it’s simply human nature. Change knocks us off balance and sends a signal to our brain to start adjusting. Sometimes these adjustments feel uncomfortable; especially if major changes occur over long periods of time. And since our brain expects things to stay the same, we’ve come to the belief that change isn't good. However, look all around you... right now. Things are moving and changing everywhere. We live in a world of change. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus coined it perfectly, “The only constant in life is change.” So what if we started looking at things differently? What if we lived in a constant state of understanding that things will and do change, and begin to trust that we can and will adjust as we need to? So, instead of looking at change as stressful and doing everything possible to avoid it (you know who you are), if we begin to look at change as part of our day-to-day lives and embrace it, we eventually may even get to the point where we look forward to it. I’ve got some great news for you! Science tells us that we can do just that! We can reprogram our brain and belief systems so that the adjustments that change brings no longer cause us stress. So, next time you’re faced with change that you feel is stressful, embrace it and ask, “How can we adjust and benefit from this change?” instead of, “How can we maintain what we have and keep things the same?” Until next time, Eliana Barriga [email protected] |
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December 2021
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