H0,ME GENTER MERGHANT

Bill Fishman & Affiliates

'l 1650 lberia Place

San Diego, Ca. 92128 number of men in business attire passing a candidate location! Should we be counting pick-up trucks?

OPINIONS...1985

CoUpons. neUates end Otne

Customers are now complaining that coupons and rebates are no longer an incentive. It's lowered selling prices that they prefer in place of the hassle of mailing in completed forms. Your customer still compares shelf price not the redemption price.

Location! Location! Location!

For some, the three most important ingredients in successful retailing are still "Location! Location! Location!" The Sharper Image, the successful mail order company, is seeking retail locations to market their selection of "adult toys" to the affluent businessman. One of the criteria in their market research is to clock the

Don't Lose Your Position

Some dealers have unknowingly traded off their marketing position in their battle of the "Store Wars," In an effort to compete with price in their advertising, they now inventory inferior grades. This works as a short term promotion, but when the store or yard takes on the appearance of offering low-end merchandise, customers recognize the shift in market position. It's not what they want. Today's homeowner wants consistent quality at a competitive price, not shoddy goods at a low price.

It's going to take lots of merchandising skills to remain profitable in the second half of the 1980s. It's the decade of offpriced merchandise, but as Stanley Marcus, of Neiman Marcus, said, "lf you serve your customer with warmth and friendliness they'll come back. And if you

If You Don't Have It...Don't Advertise It!

When you or I, or your customers, shoP at K-Mart, Venture, Target, or any of the mass merchandisers, we anticipate no or little service and a line at the checkout counter. We've never really bel)n told to expect otherwise. On the other hand, in our industry, while dealers would never stoop to intentionally advertise merchandise they don't have in stock, some constantly promote services they can't deliver.

Advertising the existence of "knowledgeable salesmen" is the most disturbing falsehood customers talk about. If during peak selling hours the floor is covered by immature, untrained, part-time high school kids, who can't identify where the advertised items are displayed or inventoried, then the store signing and the institutional blocks in the ads should not read "Need help-look for our knowledgeable fellow in-"

Promote With Sty.lg

Ask your newspaper or printer if they can offer you an exclusive type face for your headlines and selling prices.

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