You Can't Sell from an Empty Wagon

By John Malmo

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkno/local-wkno-915356.mp3

You Can't Sell from an Empty Wagon, by John Malmo

Memphis, TN – Few things are more important to a retailer than having fully-stocked shelves. No retailer in any category, of course, can carry everything. Some retailers differentiate within the category by style or price points. There's a fine, old men's store in town that boasts constantly of its shoe selection. And, indeed, it has a great selection to look at. But if you want to buy a pair in your size, it must be ordered. I could do that at home on the internet.

Every chain drug store carries about ninety percent the same stuff. For my glaucoma, I have been using a particular kind of eye drops for 25 years. So I don't have to keep going back every month, my prescription calls for a ninety-day supply.

"That's all we have," my pharmacist says. "Come back next week for the rest of your prescription." That, of course, defeats the purpose of a ninety-day prescription.

"It must be a big seller," I say. "Why don't you buy more of it than you do?"

"That's the problem," she says. "It's such a big seller that we're always out."

And that, of course, renders one speechless. Out-of-stock is unavoidable sometimes. Consistent out-of-stock is just bad management.

John Malmo is a Memphis marketing consultant with more than fifty years experience. He is former chairman of Archer Malmo Advertising and specializes today in helping small businesses grow. To reach Mr. Malmo - or to buy a copy of his book When on the Mountain There is no Tiger, Monkey Is King- go to http://www.johnmalmo.com.