Tales Of A Fourth Generation Textile Executive: December & January Sales Slowdown?

Do you believe that February is already here?  Time sure is flying by and personally I am happy to be putting December/January behind me. December is typically a slow month for receiving new orders and shipping orders as a lot of stores take inventory or just slow down in general for the holidays.  January, however, is typically when shops start ordering for the year ahead and things start to pick up again with the optimism of a new year.

This January unfortunately wasn’t as strong as hoped for our companies.  I have heard of more shops closing and we have received more cancellations of orders than normal.  Moreover, I have heard from many other suppliers, quilt shops owners, sales reps and retailers that they too have seen a slowdown in this time frame.  So, what gives?

I can definitely come up with some potential explanations for this slowdown, here are a few:  

It could be that consumers bought a lot of fabric towards the end of the year when it was on sale during the holidays.  Now their stashes are full and their needs are down…for the time being, but this too will pass….hopefully.  I do recall that something like this did occur in previous years.

It could be that the weather is keeping people from going to stores. We folks on the East coast recently got hit with an enormous snowstorm and many other locals have seen all sorts of wicked winter weather.

It could be the economy.  For those of us that follow the stock market or read the business section of the newspaper, how could you miss the pain that has been seen in the stock market since the beginning of the new year?  Are we headed for a recession?

 
I really can’t say for sure what the cause is, but I can make some suggestions on how to deal with the slowdown.  For me, on the corporate level, we will probably order a little less back up stock for future lines.  We may consider reducing the number of lines that we show from each company.  We will work on coming up with some promotions that benefit our customers and encourage them and their customers to buy our fabrics.  If we see a more protracted slowdown, we may even have to take more severe actions like firing staff or making more cuts to certain expenses.  I can tell you that we won’t be sitting around watching business drop precipitously without taking action.  You can’t be afraid to make changes to survive in the business world.  I know that we survived in business for 85 years because we tackled problems head on and didn’t just try to sweep them under the rug.  You should not be afraid to do the same.

For quilt shops and retailers selling fabric, I could offer some suggestions on how to deal with a slowdown, but for sure you the owners know better than I do:  

One suggestion would be to have some sort of event in your shop to create traffic.  Get the word out and come up with an event that people will want to attend.  “If you build it, they will come.”  

Another suggestion would be to use social media to inform people what is going on at your shop.  Make sure to entice people to come visit by advertising a variety of different fabrics and products so as to appeal to as many demographics as possible.  

Alternative suggestions are to cut down business hours or decrease staff.  

When business gets tough, it is time to hunker down and make some tough decisions.  Don’t be afraid to do what you need to do to survive. Unfortunately, the cause of this slowdown may be out of everyone’s control and we all need to hang in there as long as possible in hopes of a brighter future.

All that being said, good luck.  If you can think of anything that I can do to help you, please feel free to contact me.  Aside from that, I would love to hear your ideas on how to survive and/or why you think this slowdown is occurring….if you are actually feeling it.  As for consumers, I would like to hear about your current shopping habits and if they have changed or not and why?

Until Next Week,

Hopefully No Slowdown Scott