It’s preseason buying time again. Time to buy for spring and summer of 2011. What are people going want to buy next year? That is the question we are asking ourselves. What are you going to buy next year? Do you know already?

In order to answer that question you are going to make some assumptions, observe the market, look for emerging trends and review your sales history.  This will take place while you examine what your vendors are offering for next year.  Then put together a product selection that gives you the best chance to make your sales and profit goals.

Assumptions

The basic assumptions are that people will still be enjoying the outdoors next year. They will still camp, hike, backpack, kayak, climb, and have fun. Because these outdoor activities have been growing this year, you can make another assumption that they will continue to grow next year. Will you increase your sales budgets to account for this?

The next assumption is that the economy will still be weak (in my opinion). So, be cautious in your purchases. Don’t overload on the early preseason items and hedge your bets with later backup orders that you can cancel. This will keep your inventory levels appropriate to the sales goals. You can react to a downturn and yet still get the product that you need.

Observe the Market and Look for Emerging Trends

The big not-so-secret here is listening to your customers. What are they asking for now and what are they saying about their future plans? Then dive into the magazine rack and listen to what is emerging there. Follow this up by participating in outdoor events, talking to industry leaders and getting outdoors.

Putting the Picture Together

Now you should have enough information to put together your sales and profit picture. Pick out the vendors whose products have sold the best at full retail. These will be your profit leaders. Start with these products. Talk to the vendor to get the best discount and terms you can. Make sure that you don’t overload yourself to get the discount. It is better to spread the deliveries out so you can pay for the goods and take advantage of those discounts.

Take your next best sellers and do the same thing with them. The idea is to have a good selection of the best selling items, which you buy at a decent discount, and that will appeal to most of your customers. After that you can add the more unusual, the emerging products and any other items that will add spice to your main selection. Treat these gently. You don’t want too many, just a few for your special customers.

Most seasons are like popcorn popping. It starts with just a few and then as the heat hits a peak the popcorn is popping like crazy. You want to plan your deliveries on the front side of the season so that they will peak just before the peak demand of the season. People want to see the product before they make the purchase. But, when they are ready, you had better be too.

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