Get Powerful Insights With the 2020 Cost of Doing Business Study

There are only days left to contribute your operation’s financial data to the annual Cost of Doing Business Study. Learn more about the study and submit your data before July 15.

Tracking each aspect of your business’s performance is more important than ever for high performance retailers. As each day brings new obstacles for you and your team to overcome, understanding where your business has been—and where it’s going—gives you the competitive advantage in your community.

For more than a century, home improvement leaders have counted on the Cost of Doing Business Study for unparalleled insight into their operations. The annual report helps operators identify trouble spots and quick wins to run more streamlined, efficient home improvement operations.

“With this study, retailers can determine where they stand compared to typical and high-profit peers,” says Dave Gowan, vice president of finance and business services for the North American Retail Hardware Association. “This information gives you a head start to make quick adjustments.”

Gowan explains how you can use the study to improve your business.

“With the study, retailers can determine where they stand compared to typical and high-profit peers. This information gives you head start to make quick adjustments.”

Personalize the Study 

Retailers across the U.S. rely on the Cost of Doing Business Study to help them understand their businesses better, establish new performance standards and illustrate their place in the industry to people outside it.

Analyze Your Performance
“It’s amazing to see the number of companies with multiple stores that have truly been successful and around for generations still participate in the study,” Gowan says. “They still want to benchmark their performance. They’re always questioning how they can get better.”

Set New Goals
By participating, you get a free copy of the Cost of Doing Business Study. Along with those results comes a What-If Scenario tool. You can adjust your operation’s performance to see how minor changes in certain metrics can yield results across your business.

Confirm Your Position
“Every time you borrow money, you’re educating the lender about your business,” Gowan says. “They don’t understand your business like you do. Having an in-depth tool like the Cost of Doing Business Study offers a representation of the industry to a bank or financial institution.”

Prepare for the Future
“The Cost of Doing Business Study helps you stay agile,” Gowan says. “The study lets you make strategic decisions to better position your business for the years ahead.”

Make Your Mark
Submit your data for the 2020 Cost of Doing Business Study now through July 15. Visit nrha.org/codb to discover the many options you have to safely and securely share your data to strengthen the independent channel and illustrate a powerful baseline for your business.