|
|
|
Planned markdown calculator Too many small businesses use a very simple plan in determining the margins of their merchandise. They simply look at the cost and then apply a multiplier factor to the cost to determine the selling price. As the merchandise ages, they begin to randomly take markdowns in an effort to get rid of the merchandise. If the buyer were to calculate the maintained gross margin when all of the merchandise has been sold, they would likely be surprised at what their margin was. The surprise may be how high of a margin they maintained as well as it could be a surprise as to how low it was; but either way, in most cases they are surprised. This calculator is created to resolve that. Sophisticated buyers do not settle for looking at their initial margin; they have a plan as to when, with how many on hand, and by how much to mark merchandise down. This is exactly how this calculator works. It allows you to plan for four markdowns over the season of an item. By determining how long the merchandise will be sold at full price, you will then decide when, how many, and by how much the merchandise will be discounted. Proceed with this calculation for up to four periods, and this calculator will tell you what your maintained margin will be for the entire season of the product. This is a much better way than just guessing as you go through the season, and it is likely that you will end the season with less of the inventory on hand, and with fewer markdowns. |
APRIL 2024
|
With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading Small Business Management Expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.
Small Business
"What's your score"? is the name of the April Small Business Advisory. This provides an introduction to our return on investment calculator. It is a great way to understand how well the investment you have in your small business is working for you.
Small Business
We believe Thursday, April 25 is an important annual celebration for small businesses. While the name of the celebration has varied over the years, the focus is for us to take kids to work with us.
This is important for the kids to see what it is we do. They definitely are not going to learn about it in school. Reading the April Small Business News you will see an example from community pharmacists that emphasizes it is up to us as small business owners to introduce kids to what we do.
While titled, "If not price", the April Article of the Month is asking the question about the focus of your small business in attracting and keeping customers.
If there is not something very special about your business, then the only attraction to your businessis that of a low price.
"The plan as you go business plan" is the April book of the month. The author is Tim Berry who has also created software on the same topic.
I do not agree with the concept of "fill in the blank" or "create the plan as you need it" because my experience has been that you do not have as strong as a connection and understanding to your business plan unless you do it yourself and you dedicate the time to create it.
