Move the dogs out the door - Outdoor Marketplace

Shooting Industry, Feb, 2003 by Carolee Boyles

Now that you've identified the products that aren't selling well, what do you do?

"When we have something that doesn't sell well, most of the time we try to include it more heavily in our advertising," Podnar said. "We don't kill the price on it. That accomplishes nothing. But we advertise it heavily with a traditional sales price."

Poor-performing products can also be used to enhance the value of other items. For instance, if you have a gun-cleaning product that hasn't sold, include it as part of each new gun you sell.

"The reason this is so effective is the retailer is able to use an item that's exceeded its floor life to accelerate the sale of other full-margin items," said Brill. "This accelerates cash flow. When you add to the customer's perception that he is getting an exceptional value, you have a very successful promotion."

Another type of promotion that works well is to offer a sale on a large block of inventory from a single manufacturer.

"One of the big advantages of this type of promotional sales is in many cases the manufacturer or distributor will help you advertise your inventory through co-op programs," Brill said. "This helps the retailer reduce the cost of moving his inventory."

Timed discounts are also very effective in moving poor-selling inventory. Begin by running a discount of 20 percent off the retail price for the first week or so of the sale. At the end of that first period, reduce the remaining inventory by an additional [0 to 15 percent.

"This form of discounting allows the store owner to recycle merchandise without offering deep discounts," Brill said. "He can also evaluate ways to enhance other sales using the recycled inventory."

Another way to move dogs off the shelf is closeouts. The decision to hold a closeout sale is a drastic step, but it does create quick cash flow and unloads inventory that just will not sell any other way.