How do you handle buyers’ territorial skirmishes?
Let’s say you have a number of buyers working for you. They each have one or more departments to buy for and may be buying products from the same …

I just spent last week at the Snowsports Industry trade show.  This is a national trade show for ski, snowboard, and snow related manufacturers and retailers.  We, as buyers, are here to meet with manufacturers …

In these pages we talk a lot about how important cash flow, gross margin, inventory turns and inventory control are.  The buyers in a small business have a great affect on all of those goals.  …

We are approaching the beginning of winter and in our business we have been in the process of planning next fall and winters business plan.  This brings forward many questions.  What is going to be …

Many small retail businesses focus their energies on creating a great customer experience. It is one of the ways that the small independent retailer creates a differentiation from the big box or mass merchant. Having …

Planning your labor costs
Having staff members who are skilled, knowledgeable and customer oriented can make your business sing. Controlling the costs related to their employment is a challenge that business owners face. There is the …