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48 | thejewelrybook.com I recently spoke with James, an indus- try friend. He expressed dismay at what he was hearing from vendors at a couple of recent trade shows he'd attended. He was fed up with the echo-chamber of "buy the basics" and "replenish your fast sellers" and he wondered where the • t for new product resides in a world ob- sessed with "core?" Where does creativity and innovation sit in the current retail climate? Is there room, he wondered, for innovation, and for risk-taking in the evolving retail jewelry model? • e fact James found himself at a crossroads is, for me, an incredibly healthy sign of a growth mindset. His irritation at what he perceived to be a fundamental directional change in the industry can, paradoxically, be the best thing for his business. In Staying Sharp, Henry Emmons and David Alter wrote, "• e brain never loses its appetite for growth, and providing mental and physical challenges is an important way to satisfy the brain's hunger for continued growth." James didn't build his business by standing still. On the contrary, he has been creative and brave in evolving his own model and creating a new revenue stream by adding a new product category. • at, however, is a story for another day. In no uncertain terms, I told James that paying close attention to his data – particularly as it related to his best-sellers – and that using that information to obsessively replenish those goods would continue to be fundamental to his business success. However, doing so was not mutually exclusive to also having a clearly de• ned strategy for introducing new brands or products. Going to a trade show and engaging with your vendors about adding new products should be a function of a well- de• ned plan, with a speci• ed budget, and a clear set of principles. If you work with a mentor or a consultant, include them in the conversation to help develop your plan before the shows. Here are some tips that may also help: • Have a speci• c budget in mind in ad- vance. • is should be a percentage of your open-to-buy dollars, and it should NEVER come at the expense of replen- ishing your best selling (no matter how boring) products. • Understand who your target customer is in advance of bringing in new products. If the product doesn't naturally align with your current customer demographics, why are you bringing it in? • • ere are virtually no jewelry brands in our industry that drive customers in your door, so if the new brand or product doesn't align with the customer you currently have, why are you doing it? If your aim is to expand your customer base, excellent! How will this new target customer know you have this exciting new prod- uct or brand? Are you going to spend money to target them in the appropriate forums to create awareness? How much do you think that will cost and do you have a budget? If you are not planning on spending money to advertise the shiny "new penny," how will your new target customer know you have the product? Don't forget, even a well-maintained CRM system serves current and past clients only, not new target clients. Have you considered what the most important price points are for your new products? What price points in your cur- rent o- ering are not being covered well? Be very careful not to invite the unin- tended consequence of lowering your av- erage retail sale at a time when we are likely going to see declining foot tra‚ c. Ask yourself what you will do if the new brand doesn't work? In a worst- case scenario, would it lend itself to stripping away the brand accouterments and absorbing it into your generic cases for sell o- ? Will the new brand augment current brands, or will it replace them? Either is • ne as long as you know what your plan is going in. Again, be wary of lowering your average retail price as an unintend- ed consequence of having swapped one brand for another. Bringing in new products can be a shot in the arm for your customers and for your team, but the decision to do so should always be a result of a well-con- sidered assessment of your overall busi- ness model and never at the expense of the foundational products that keep your business ticking over every day. Happy Retailing! Peter Smith is a Consultant for domestic and international vendors looking to expand/gain a foothold in the US, and for retail jewelry stores looking to grow their business. He is currently conducting in-store sales trainings based on his most recent book, • e Sales Minute. He is also the author of Hiring Squirrels and Sell Something and a columnist for National Jeweler. He can be reached at eRetailSmiths@gmail.com or at (617) 308-1580. by Peter Smith Where Does Newness Fit in A Core Products World?

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