Gourmet Business December 2014

The Home Stretch 

This is it! The critical fourth-quarter home stretch – time to bring home the sales and make this year a profitable one. I hope by the time you read this column, your holiday sales are off to a flying start, and you can see indications that they will exceed expectations.

If you are surprised at the early sales results after all the uncertainty this year, I am not, because the National Retail Federation (NRF) had predicted a stellar season. The NRF announced at the beginning of the quarter that it expected sales in November and December (excluding dining, autos and gas) to increase a healthy 4.1 percent. That’s higher than the 2013 actual increase of 3.1 percent, and I heard from a lot of retailers last year that their holiday sales were the best ever. Furthermore, holiday sales have grown an average of 2.9 percent over the past 10 years, which means we are due for an above-average holiday season all the way around. You would have to go back to 2011 to find a year when holiday sales increased more than 4 percent. Have a look at your sales for that year and see how you are measuring up. Now set a goal to beat that mark!

My only word of advice would be to highlight the value proposition for all of the products that you sell, and somehow relate them to the quality of life at home and the health of the family. Help the consumer to see value in every dollar they spend in your store, and you will win the battle for holiday cash.

The Gourmet Business team wishes you a successful holiday season, and we look forward to bringing you more vital business information in 2015.

David Spencer
Publisher, Gourmet Business 

President, HousewaresDirect, Inc. 

dspencer@gourmetbusiness.com