Fashion retail is not for the faint of heart, and even the business owner running an operation like a well-oiled machine can find it hard to keep his or head above water in this increasingly competitive arena.
We at UCS Technology Services (UCS TS) know this because we’ve spent more than two decades serving South African retailers in this dog-eat-dog environment, and learning from the ongoing evolution of the industry.
Narrow margins, the increasing intensity of competition and the advent of ecommerce have all meant that brick and mortar retailers have had to up their games. The bar has been raised, and the average retailer has to, at the very least, run a seamlessly smooth operation to have any realistic expectation of success.
This means making the right decisions, informed by accurate data and implemented at all levels of operation.
Unfortunately, many retailers find that a handful of common problems upend their attempts at perfection.
Among these, are:
- Overbuying Stock
With profit margins often balancing on a fine edge, the needless waste of already limited resources can end up being a death sentence for the modern fashion retailer. That’s why you need adaptable buying plans in place, to ensure that only stock that is moving is being replenished.
To make a meaningful impact, these plans must be informed by accurate, up-to-date data, and they must be executed timeously to ensure that new, relevant products are stocked to match the buying trends of your customers.
Don’t waste your budget on unprofitable stock when retail solutions like those provided by UCS TS’ Dolfin system provide the reporting capacity to keep you informed of every facet of your stock’s movement.
- Uncompetitive Pricing Strategies
Competitive and accurate pricing is of paramount importance in running a clothing retail operation that effectively maintains a competitive footing against the big chain retailers.
An effective pricing strategy is based on the in-store performance of products, as well as their market price and availability. It is key to effecting not only increased sales but in ensuring that those sales lead to increased profits.
An intimate understanding of a product’s full path from stock to sales is intrinsic to determining the accurate pricing and even the profitability or viability of a line of products.
Market conditions, consumer demands, supplier costs, seasonal trends and more, all need to be taken into consideration when pricing items for optimal turnover.
Powerful and informative Business Information Services can put you in touch with unseen workings of your business, providing myriad applications, reports and solutions to help keep the modern retail operation firmly in the black.
- Stock Loss and Theft
It’s a simple thing, but a regular untracked loss of stock is a profit leak that has to be plugged.
In order to plug the leak though, you first have to know it exists.
If you’re not engaging in regular and accurate stock takes, then you won’t have an up-to-date record of your inventory. Ongoing theft or flawed procedures that lead to the loss of stock will go on unchecked, eating into your bottom line and disrupting your ability to serve your customers.
With powerful PoS systems and fashion retail management solutions, the process of stock take can be an ongoing, automated process, with the movement of products being recorded as it happens.
Contact UCS Technology Services
UCS Technology Services serves the South African retail environment with solutions and services that are informed by our more than 20 years of experience catering to the industry. We are the preferred local provider of PoS systems, and our Business Intelligence division works hard, using the input from our clients today to develop innovative solutions for tomorrow.
Contact us for your fashion retail management requirements and PoS solutions.
