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Retailers try new survival
strategies for 2010
 By Jayne O'Donnell, USA
TODAY
NEW YORK - The
recession pushed shoppers to pick necessities
over discretionary items, discounts over luxury.
But retailers hope to shift such behavioral
changes further in coming months, affecting what
consumers will buy, pay and experience at
stores.
"Retailers are
following through on their strategy to get their
houses in order during the recession so they are
positioned to be strong players as the recession
ends," says Dan Butler, vice president of retail
operations for the National Retail Federation,
which held its annual conference here this
month. "Whether it's technology, product
assortment or sustainability, they're asking
themselves, 'How can we be smarter about meeting
the needs of our customers quickly?'
"
The NRF said today
it expects retail sales to rise 2.5% in 2010, up
sharply from a 2.5% sales decline in
2009.
Increasing sales
often means responding to what consumers want,
such as reasonable prices. But many times, the
changes are designed to ensure retailers'
survival, such as when they reduce inventory so
they don't have to resort to deep discounting.
Sometimes it does both: Macy's strategy of
offering customers different merchandise around
the country allowed the company to downsize its
corporate headquarters.
Such changes will
continue in 2010; here are four ways shopping
will be different:
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BCS ProSoft
Alliance
BCS ProSoft announced
today that it has formed a strategic alliance
with Advanced Retail Management Systems (ARMS)
of Littleton, Colorado. BCS/ProSoft,
Inc. is a leading, full service provider of
business management technology solutions
specializing in Sage Software accounting
solutions for small and medium sized businesses
throughout North America with offices in San
Antonio, Denver, and Houston. The
alliance between BCS ProSoft and ARMS means that
their mutual customers will be able to take
advantage of an integrated accounting,
inventory, and point of sale system, with BCS
ProSoft providing Sage accounting software and
its related services and ARMS providing the
software and services for the inventory and POS
applications.
"We have been looking
for a company that we could partner with to
provide the expertise our clients need for their
Point of Sale operations," commented Clark
Haley, CEO of BCS ProSoft. "In order for us to
recommend another software sales/consulting
firm, we have to feel confident that our
customers will get the same level of service
that BCS ProSoft is known for and we are
confident that ARMS is that company. ARMS has
been providing retail software and related
services to the industry for over 20 years and
they have an excellent reputation in the
business."
BCS ProSoft announced
January 4, 2010 that it has opened Software
Training Centers in it's Denver and Houston
offices in addition to it's current San Antonio
training center. To view ProSofts' Q1 2010
training schedule and to register for
classes, click here. For more information, go to
www.bcsprosoft.com or call (800) 882-6705.
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Tech Tips
Disable prompting for
information on each line item added to a
PO:
Each time a line is added to a
Purchase Request a dialog window appears with
Other Information in the title bar.
Solution: Clear the "Prompt for line
information" check box on the "Pos" tab of the
Purchasing Control (Setup/ Purchasing/
Control).
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Meet Our
Staff
Stacey Ryan -
Account Manager
Stacey is in her
12th year with Advanced Retail Management
Systems. She handles the majority of ARMS'
Retail Pro accounts. She has a BA in
Psychology and a paralegal certificate.
Stacey has found a fulfilling career at ARMS as
an Account Manager applying these studies to her
daily interactions with clients from Software
Assurance renewal to PCI Compliancy and
everything in between.
Stacey moved to
Colorado from Ohio in 1996. She and her
husband Terry are the proud parents of Jack, 5,
and Bryn, 2. In her spare time she enjoys
being with her family whether they are hiking,
skiing and or enjoying a nice mountain
drive. Colorado's 300+ days of sunshine is
just one of many reasons that Stacey calls
Colorado home.
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Understand the problem to reignite
spark for your business
By Rhonda Abrams, USA
TODAY
Feeling like you don't want to
go to work and you own the business? It happens
to all of us; there are times when we'd rather
not have to make decisions, pay the bills,
handle a difficult customer, or deal with a
problem employee. Even when everything is going
well, there are some days you'd just rather stay
in bed or go to the beach.
You are the spark plug for your
business. When the sparks don't seem to ignite,
you've got to do something about it.
If you're an employee of a
big company, you may be able to go through the
motions of looking busy for some time without it
mattering much. But if you run your own business
or manage a team, you can't afford to stay
unmotivated long.
If you have employees, they
look to you as a source of energy and
inspiration. When you are positive and engaged,
they're more likely to be positive and engaged.
Even when you work alone, if you're unmotivated,
your work suffers, your clients feel neglected,
and your income can plummet.
No, you've got to find a
way to be the spark plug to reignite your energy
and optimism - even when you feel like pulling
the covers over your head.
Part of the solution lies
in understanding the problem - and it's not
always the same problem. We lose momentum for
different reasons at different times. If you're
dispirited after losing a big sale or having a
project fail, you might be able to cast off your
dejection by going to a seminar and getting
exposed to new ideas. But if you're unmotivated
because you're incredibly overworked, the last
thing you need is a day away from the office.
Continue
Reading:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/abrams/2010-01-15-reignite-your-business_N.htm
Source: USA
Today
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Announcing our New Referral
Program
Tell another retail store that is
looking for a Point of Sale system about
Advanced Retail Management Systems. When
you refer a retailer to us that participates in
a 1 hour web presentation for Retail Pro,
CounterPoint or Microsoft RMS, we will send you
$100 - it's that simple!
Register
your referral today. Call Susie Carmen
today at (303) 738-1800 Ext 357
or E-mail her at susie.carmen@armsys.com
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Small Business Owners to
Shoppers: Stay Put
By DIANA
RANSOM
The "buy local"
movement is popular among small-business owners,
but does it really work?
Over the
last year, many concerned shoppers and business
owners banded together to form support groups
and shopping coalitions aimed bolstering local
businesses and educating shoppers about the
plight of small-business owners.
The Slow Money
Alliance, the brainchild of longtime venture
capitalist Woody Tasch, aims to persuade at
least a million Americans to support the
creation of grassroots, nonprofit seed funds to
shore up local economies and businesses.
Separately, the 3/50 Project -- an initiative
launched last March by Cinda Baxter, a retail
consultant and professional speaker --
encourages shoppers to spend $50 in each of
their three favorite local bricks-and-mortar
stores over the holidays.
 Getty Images
"Business owners regularly
pour money back into the community via
commercial property taxes, payroll taxes, sales
tax, and salaries," says Baxter. Similarly, "the
3/50 Project is about funneling revenue back
into local business," she says.
These initiatives are no doubt helping
some owners build sales, but the question is
whether those sales will stick. Since the
downturn began, many small shops have seen their
revenues and profits tumble, as penny-pinching
consumers flock to big-box discounters. Personal
appeals from business owners have managed to
recapture some of those shoppers, but many
consumers remain unconvinced.
Click Here to Continue
Reading
Source: The Wall
Street
Journal
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