Operations

Understanding your inventory is a critical component of your overall profitability, says North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA) training manager and editor Jesse Carleton. If retailers don’t have an accurate, up-to-date picture of the products on their shelves, Carleton says, …

Across the country, independent retailers are busy. Whether you’re refreshing yourself on the benefits of shopping local to share with your customers, benchmarking your business against typical and high-profit operations or crafting a succession plan for your retail operation, your …

Escaping news about Amazon and its infiltration of the retail sector is impossible. It’s even likely that you or the people closest to you buy often from them and are members of their subscription service. You may overhear customers in …

If your wholesaler offers a customer loyalty program, you’re likely a participant because you recognize the value of tracking customer purchases and collecting data. But there are opportunities to go beyond the traditional loyalty program to offer customers a truly …

Click the picture to download a PDF of this story. In the September issue of Hardware Retailing, retailers discussed how superior customer service differentiates their businesses from competitors. But it’s important to remember that there are many elements that go into providing …

Click the picture to download a PDF of this story. Do you know what your big-box competitors are up to? What are they good at? What don’t they do well? Regularly visiting other retail outlets should be part of your competitive strategy …

The retail industry is facing challenges, with large chain stores declaring bankruptcy or shopping malls shrinking. Amid all these changes and shifting consumer preferences, one type of retail outlet continues to grow and thrive—dollar store chains. Although independent hardware and …

Big-box stores, including Target and Kohl’s, are looking for new ways to compete for tens of thousands of seasonal workers, the Chicago Tribune reports. “A strong economy has retailers expecting a busy holiday shopping season, but with unemployment near historic lows, …