31 years
ng
Foru
ublis
hi
mP
1981-2013
SWAP MEET MAGAZINE Published by:
Forum Publishing Co.
383 East Main Street Centerport, NY 11721 Tel: 631/754-5000 Fax: 631/754-0630 forumpublishing@aol.com
www.SwapMeetMag.com SALES & MARKETING Gregory Brown Harry Makris Tom Richards Scott Savitt Marti Stevens OFFICE MANAGER Leah C PRODUCTION Myra Echevarria CREDIT DEPARTMENT Kristine Hines CIRCULATION
Discount Reading Svc.
LITERARY SALES Rachel Spearman COLOR PRODUCTION Anchor Imaging PRINTING Composing Room ART DIRECTION Gregory Stevens Marti Stevens
SWAP MEET is published monthly at $30/ year USA, $75/year foreign. Entire contents copyright ©2013 Forum Publishing. Publisher assumes no responsibility for contents herein. First and third class postage paid at Centerport, NY. Bulk mail paid at Shirley, NY and additional locations under private mail indicia.
SUMMER'S
here at last and and should prove to be an exceptionally good time for the “fun-in-the-sun” merchandise stores to cash in on their goods. Recreational equipment and supplies, summer clothing and accessories will all be strong categories this season. After a long and damp spring shoppers will be looking for a good shopping experience. WITH airline tickets sky rocketing over the summer, gas prices climbing as well, many consumers will be spending more time at home or staying local. The stay-cation is getting a lot of press and chances are your stores can be busy this summer. FOR those whose businesses are not fueled by the summer season, this is a great time to work on preparing your strategy for the upcoming holiday season. Being able to plan ahead rather than a week before the season kicks off enables you to prepare properly by purchasing the right amounts and scouring the marketplace for great items while negotiating even better pricing. SPEND your downtime looking for new merchandise and talking with your suppliers for pre-season discounts. An investment of time now will pay off well for you. IF your store gets very slow during the summer it’s a great time to either start adding some seasonal merchandise or running special clearance sales to attract bargain hunters and clear out your stale inventory. We have a jewelry store in town that runs a mega summer sale and then closes down, reopening in early September. The owner confided in me that they just can’t make their overhead during the summer months, and it’s cheaper to close down and take an extended vacation with his family. HERE at Forum Publishing we have continued to build the infra-structure that has made our trade magazines number one in the industry. We are in the midst of a major online expansion as well as an increased trade show schedule, now up to 54 shows this year! We wish you a Happy 4th of July and encourage you to remember all to celebrate and honor our brave service men and women.