At one time or another, as a retailer you will most likely have to liquidate your aged inventory.
This happens to even the best retailers.
Regardless of whether you purchased too much or your customers are just not that interested in a particular item, having too much stock can create a number of challenges.
For example, it ties up capital you could use to buy inventory that could turn quickly and generate more revenue and profit.
It also takes up valuable space that could be used to feature more saleable and profitable products.
Old unwanted inventory can also hurt the image of your store.
The good news is that there are a number of ways that you can recoup some of the expense and liquidate surplus at the same time.
Here at Silverman Consulting, our specialty is helping retailers manage their store closings and liquidate their remaining aged inventory.
If you are looking for retail store closing sales consultants in Canada, look no further.
Whether you’re looking to liquidate stock because of a retirement sales event or because you’re just sick of looking at your old stuff, here are some tried and true methods you should consider trying.
Bundle Your Merchandise
It’s time to get creative in order to move your surplus merchandise.
One way of doing this is to bundle the items that you need move with your items that are currently moving.
It has to make sense though.
For example, if you own a pet store, bundle your slow moving cat treat with a popular cat food for people to try.
It wouldn’t make sense to bundle your cat food with a dog treat because your customer that owns a cat would not necessarily own a dog.
You know that customer owns a cat and so bundling any cat related surplus items is a safe way to go.
At the same time, it wouldn’t make sense to bundle a man’s watch with a woman’s necklace if you’re liquidating a jewellery store, or to bundle diet food with chocolate bars, or… well, you get the picture.
Remember to advertise the bundle and draw attention to it, both in store and externally.
Rearrange Your Store’s Layout
Another great strategy to try is to rearrange your store’s layout.
This could be a complete change or could be as minor as putting the aged inventory on multiple racks throughout the store in order to catch your buyer’s eye a number of times.
Remember to include your aged inventory in your featured display and maybe adjust it to draw your customer’s eyes.
This is a great way not only to help liquidate aged inventory, but also keeps your store interesting and invigorating for your returning customers.
Hold A Liquidation Sale
Another strategy to try is holding a liquidation sale to liquidate your aged inventory.
You can consider offering significant discounts in order to attract customers to your slow moving product.
The goal should be that your discount is enough that it catches your customer’s attention.
At this stage profit is not the priority, but rather turning this dead inventory into cash.
That way, you can buy inventory more likely to sell and resell, generating more revenue and profit for your business.
If you go this route, plan to advertise the sale widely and plan at a time you know you can prepare for the event, while attracting the traffic to your store.
The goal is to get your old stock moving, and if that helps you move other inventory at the same time, it’s a win win.
Consider Selling Online
Consider looking into selling your merchandise online if you haven’t started already.
This is because online sales can boost your bottom line.
This may take a considerable time commitment to set up, but once operating it can be a significant boon to your business.
This may also help for liquidating your aged and surplus inventory.
And, you can even consider adding bundles online as well to help move it along.
Online selling can also increase your local exposure and may get you on the radar of local customers who then become returning, in-store customers, and possibly those from outside your area.
Just Give It Away
Finally, if your aged and excess inventory is really not moving, its value has been depleted, and it is taking up precious inventory space, consider giving it away.
With some items there may be residual or salvage values.
In the jewellery business, for example, you can scrap and melt gold and silver items and get immediate cash.
You could try advertising a free gift as well.
For example, you could offer a gift with every purchase of a certain amount.
This would also incentivize your customers to purchase more, because who doesn’t like a free gift?
This is especially effective if your customer was already planning on purchasing a couple of items, because it’s not too difficult to up sell them a little to get the free gift.
Another option to consider is that you could also donate it to charity.
If you do some research you can sometimes find local charities that may be able to take items and provide you with a tax receipt for your donations.
Contact Silverman Consulting Today
Led by a strong team of consultants, with many years of retail experience, many of whom are former store owner operators themselves, Silverman’s Canada store closing retail consultants are experienced in inventory management, sales, marketing and operational management of retail stores.
We specialize in first analyzing your store and your inventory, then working with you to create a business strategy that will get you the greatest returns.
This works through a custom-built retail event plan.
Then we pair a consultant to work with you during your sale event to execute that plan.
If you’re having challenges or just need a professional approach to revamping your business, reach out to Silverman Consulting & Retail Services today to get on track to realizing your financial goals.
Silverman Consulting & Retail Services229 Yonge St suite 400,
Toronto, ON M5B 1N9, Canada
1 (888) 955-1069