It's your choice: Nimble or slow?
Ray Allegrezza, Editor in Chief -- Furniture Today, January 28, 2007
Let me say what many of you probably have been thinking over the past few weeks: So far, 2007 hasn't exactly set the world on fire, especially in retail sales. And since I'm not mincing words, let me add that most recent reports are not calling for a turnaround until mid year.
The National Retail Federation, for example, just issued a mixed-bag prediction, saying that retail sales this year will increase 4.8%. That's the good news.
In the next breath, the NRF's chief economist, Rosalind Wells, warned that the ongoing housing slowdown likely would take a toll on sales of building materials, electronics, appliances and — you guessed it — furniture.
Meanwhile, UBS Securities headlined its just-issued report on residential furniture this way: "2007 Outlook: Off To A Bleak Start."
The company based that headline on a cyclical slowdown at retail, weakness across all retail markets, the housing slowdown, an accelerated transition to Asian-sourced goods and an ongoing string of bankruptcies.
No matter what the predictions, you have two choices: Sit back, read the news and do nothing, or get up and do everything in your power to make news by bucking the trend and growing your business.
Like it or not, you woke up this morning in a brave new world. But here's the good news: So did your competitors.
In the old days, when the world was not quite as brave, or the rules were not quite as new, the battle was often between the big and the little. Today, in an arena where change is the only constant, more often than not the battle is between the nimble and the slow.
To my mind, this means that retailers, regardless of size, need to focus on having what the consumer wants, how she wants it and when she wants it. The days of winning by offering good furniture at competitive prices delivered in three to four weeks are over.
Today, it's all about speed to market, which means your back room and logistics operations had better run with the precision of a top-of-the-line BMW.
While 2007 may have limped out of the gate, you don't have to. Lace up your running shoes, look toward the finish line and hit it hard!
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It’s your choice: Nimble or slow?
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