If you can't stand the heat....

So the "Achieving Merchandising Excellence in Fashion Retail" conference came and went.

There was some interesting content which I may comment on once I have had a chance to digest it. I missed the end though because I just couldn't stand to stay in the room any longer. This had nothing to do with the content or the company.

The room at the Cafe Royale was so cramped that we were jammed in with shoulders touching the people next to us and the air conditioning, on a moderately warm late September day, simply couldn't cope.

It takes a lot for me to walk away from something interesting that I have paid good money to attend, but this venue was just the pits.

I was really starting to feel decidedly uncomfortable by about 3 p.m. so I made for an early train.

Let's hope Drapers choose a better venue if they run another of these, or they certainly won't get any repeat business from me.

Ah the poor dears!

On the one hand:

"The British Retail Consortium (“BRC”) has argued that, in a time of rising property costs and falling retail sales, landlords should abandon the traditional requirement for rents to be paid three months in advance in favour of rents being paid monthly and in arrears. The campaign is intended to improve struggling retailers’ cash flow and bring property more in line with ‘standard business practice’.

On the other I get this from a client:

"Dear Sir ,

"I am writing to inform you that our payment terms will change to 60 days. This will bring BadCo in line with the the terms used by the majority of businesses in the retail sector"

The words "Have", "Cake", "Eat" and "It" it spring to mind ;-)

Perhaps I should write back telling them that my response times have gone from immediate to next day for those clients who don't pay on time according to our mutually agreed terms.

Obviously I won't, but I shall be adding one month's worth our standard late payment penalty of 2% per month to all invoices (just to keep in line with standard consultancy industry practice you understand) .

They will then have the option to pay according to our mutually agreed terms and not pay the penalty. Time is money after all.

Maybe I'd feel different if they had thought to discuss this rather than just telling me, (but I doubt it).

The £17 Million squeeze?

According to Retail Week "Debenhams has written to a number of suppliers demanding a 2 per cent cut in the price the department store pays for goods. Bhs, Arcadia and Marks & Spencer have all made similar moves to get better terms from suppliers."

That probably equates to a full 1 percent hike in Gross Margin if they can achieve it which on sales of £1.7 billion would equate to £17 million if it was successful across the board!

So have Debenhams buyers been being ludicrously generous to these suppliers in the past? I find that hard to believe, but if not and the previous deals were fair to both sides, then you have to ask if this is a viable long term strategy. as it relies on the suppliers still being around to deliver the stock doesn't it ;-)

Of course you might argue that in the face of constant retail price deflation they are just sharing out the pain.

You have to wonder how long we can expect to see men's trousers being sold for less than £5 though.

Merchandising gets some attention

For the first time for a long while the UK is having a conference dedicated to Merchandising and Merchandise Planning - Achieving Merchandising Excellence in Fashion Retail.

It is taking place on Thursday September 28th 2006 in London.

It promises to be interesting - if I get time I'll post some comments here.

At the same time there seems to be an increase in interest in planning solutions all of a sudden. These things tend to be cyclical - I recall that a few years ago Merchandise Planning was on the agenda at every conference here, but of late it seems to have slipped off the radar a bit. Last time I saw a similar increase in interest it co-incided with a downturn as things got toughter. Hold on to your hats!