KMART CORP.
A SEASONED
PERFORMER
The venerable retailer's bid to recoup its fortunes includes a system that overhauls the management of highly profitable seasonal merchandise
BY MEGAN SANTOSUS
For retailers, the effective management of seasonal merchandise is a delicate proposition. The selling window is of limited duration and the goal is not to get caught with too much-or too little-inventory at the wrong point in the seasonal cycle.
Take Christmas items. If there were no tinsel or wrapping paper or spare tree lights on the shelves the week before Christmas, customers would head for the exits. But if, on Dec. 26, the shelves were still well-stocked with these items, that too would be egregious.
And, because of the shorter selling season, the profit margins are kept higher on seasonal items than on regular stock; so, when it comes to maximizing profits, the balancing act between supply and demand is all the more crucial.
If at first blush all that tinsel......
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Approximate Word Count: 19643
Approximate Pages: 76 (260 words per double-spaced page) |