Good warehouse sale management key to apparel industry
IN THE apparel businesses, ageing inventory has been a challenge for companies that need to manage margins.
Fashion products are usually launched by season – spring, summer, autumn or winter. Sales depend on factors such as price, design, quality, sales promoters, sales and marketing.
However, it is not easy for a collection to be sold out within a season. Some of the leftovers need to be cleared out through end-of-season sales or other campaigns.
One of the important activities to facilitate inventory clearance is a warehouse sale.
Warehouse sales can be big events for many fashion retailers. The organisation of a big sale will involve many functions including sales, logistics, human resources, information technology, accounting and finance, and marketing.
The marketing team will have to ensure that the sale has been organised in a way that can attract customers within a short time.
The following are key considerations for the marketing team to ensure the success of a sale.
• Timing: It is important for the organiser to ensure that the dates are properly selected by taking into account customer convenience, paydays, holidays and other occasions. The wrong timing can unexpectedly cause the failure of the whole sale.
• Concept: The marketing team should come up with an interesting theme that will draw the attention of customers. It can be related to a festive period or product highlight. Examples are Valentine’s, Christmas, New Year, cosmetics and watches.
• Merchandise arrangement: The proper assortment of merchandise is a key success factor for sales. Some events fail because the product offering is not attractive enough. There should be a good mix of ageing stock and full sizes for customers to choose from even though there are splits in patterns. Replenishment of stocks is also crucial. This requires close monitoring for complete product arrangement, ordering and timely warehouse and logistics support.
• Advertising and promotion. Effective advertising and promotions will determine the success of an event. Today it is inevitable to employ social networks as a tool to access target customers. It has proved to have a heavy impact on sales. A strong campaign together with special rewards and activities during the event can be very important.
A warehouse sale may result in losses on some aged products. However, this activity has to be done effectively to ensure a good inventory position that will determine the overall success of a fashion retailer.
It is important to make sure a warehouse sale is a successful event that can both contribute to overall performance and retain brand image properly.
Yanyong Thammatucharee is a senior vice president for finance and accounting at Central Marketing Group. He can be reached at [email protected].
