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3 Reasons to Purge Stagnant Inventory for the New Year

It is the simplest way to dramatically change your sales this year.

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THE NEW YEAR often means a reason to start fresh, turn over a new leaf and make some changes that will get us started on the path to success for the year ahead. Many will focus on their personal fitness, some on setting a budget to change their finances, others may focus on themselves by making more time for self-care. All of this reflection causes us to make a choice to put in the work, to complete the necessary steps toward a task in order to reap the reward of that change.

The most dramatic changes that I have seen happen for our members is when they reflect upon improvements to their frame inventory. You can improve your sales this year by purging those stagnant frames that have been languishing in your optical.

Those discontinueds look dumpy. Our Frame Turn data has shown that nearly half of independent opticals typically have 20% of their inventory taken up by brands that they have discontinued that just won’t sell. Why is it that we decide to discontinue a brand then still have those darn frames sitting around from a few years ago that just can’t seem to sell? The moment you get a patient into the optical who is ready to buy new eyewear you are going to work your hardest to get them into the most exciting frame that will be perfect for them. This eliminates going to the dismal discontinued frames that are sold with the disclaimers: “as is,” “no warranties,” or “closeout” because they leave a lackluster vibe. The result is that those darn discontinued frames are still looming around. Make a plan to get them out of there! Follow the QR code for a video of ideas to dump those discontinued frames.

Those brands that are not earning their keep. Now is the time to reflect upon the brands that you have invested in that are simply not selling. Maintaining a full, presentable inventory is important, but more important is making the time to understand if a brand is earning the investment you have made in it. The only way to know is by understanding your data. The ROI of each brand can be calculated by dividing the total number of frames sold this last year by the number of frame spots that you have reserved for that brand on the board. We have tools for our members that calculate this data for the office so team members can make quick decisions at a glance. The result is being able to identify the brands that are not earning their keep to allow for you to make room for those that have earned it!

Make room for the good stuff. One of the biggest challenges in opticals is that there is limited real estate. Not all of us can knock out a wall to make the optical bigger. But if you are able to purge the brands that are not earning their keep, it automatically makes room for you to reward the brands that are selling well by increasing their board space allotment. This will give your customers more selection and color options of the styles that sell great in your optical. Your sales reps will be elated to hear that their brand has earned more space in your optical. Or maybe it will give you an opportunity to bring on a new and exciting brand. Maybe a brand that is more rare, handmade, independent and has an amazing story with each style.

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The new year causes us to reflect on the changes we need to make. Choose the path of reviewing the selection you are offering in your frames, then weeding the optical of the dismal frames to make room for the exciting frames to flourish. It is the simplest way to dramatically change your sales this year.

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