Weather vs Apparel Retailers
Weather affects retailers, and its impact is particularly felt by apparel retailers because the climate determines the wardrobe to a great extent. This recent article on Footwear News about the impact of weather on brands & retailers focuses on shoes, but clothes are equally challenging. Why? Because sometimes the summer heat lingers on, sometimes it gets cold faster, and often major weather events like a hurricane coming up the coast keep people from shopping.
When it’s unusually hot, people are not excited about trying on fall fashions with their layers and warmth. But if there is a cold snap, the demand for those same items is high. Apparel inventory has to walk a fine line between what folks know they will need next month and what they are looking for right now.
Integrate Flexibility Into Inventory
The challenges of buying, allocating, and replenishing stock effectively are simplified by using an integrated retail management solution. Professional software is designed to equip retailers with end-to-end functionality in features like these:
- advanced Point-of-Sale capability
- innovative planning and Open-to-Buy
- sophisticated allocation and replenishment
- individualized performance indicators
- detailed product analysis
- coordinate grouping functionality
The flexibility of having Open-to-Buy in the budget means an unusually rainy month doesn’t leave a store sold out of rainwear. The manager can easily see what is in demand and replenish the stock as needed. Sales patterns within a chain of stores can be analyzed and inventory shifted to the locations that need it. Poor sellers can be eliminated, popular ones can be replenished automatically, and cash flow is increased because the product assortment is right for the situation.
ChainDrive’s software for apparel retailers is flexible because it is designed for the unique challenges of retail. It can be customized for specific situations and is supported at the level one expects of high-end professionals. ChainDrive enables the apparel retailer to weather seasonal changes and win.