1 00:00:00,536 --> 00:00:04,516 I've had retailers join Stock Doctor who've been in business for 18 years. 2 00:00:04,545 --> 00:00:07,676 I've worked with people who've run successful stores for 10 3 00:00:07,676 --> 00:00:09,376 years, seven years, five years. 4 00:00:09,866 --> 00:00:10,856 These aren't beginners. 5 00:00:10,895 --> 00:00:13,665 These aren't people who don't know what they're doing, and yet 6 00:00:13,716 --> 00:00:17,336 almost every single one says the same thing after a few months. 7 00:00:17,975 --> 00:00:20,035 Welcome to the Resilient Retail Game Plan. 8 00:00:20,276 --> 00:00:23,616 I'm Catherine Erdly, and this podcast is here to share retail industry 9 00:00:23,616 --> 00:00:27,715 trends, insights, and best practices for you, the retailer who's serious 10 00:00:27,745 --> 00:00:29,745 about building something that lasts. 11 00:00:32,631 --> 00:00:37,171 So the thing many retailers I've worked with have said to me after a few months… 12 00:00:37,529 --> 00:00:41,426 I never knew that you could look at my business like this . and I find that 13 00:00:41,426 --> 00:00:45,106 really interesting, because it wasn't like they were ignoring their numbers. 14 00:00:45,126 --> 00:00:49,106 They were looking at Shopify, they were looking at their best sellers, 15 00:00:49,146 --> 00:00:50,816 and they were looking at sales. 16 00:00:50,846 --> 00:00:53,956 But what I really wanted to delve in today, and what it made me think about, 17 00:00:53,956 --> 00:00:58,296 was the difference between looking at your numbers and really understanding 18 00:00:58,306 --> 00:01:00,516 what the numbers are telling you. 19 00:01:00,546 --> 00:01:03,776 And that's what I wanted to do today, show you the difference between 20 00:01:04,026 --> 00:01:08,186 seeing the surface, and also then the kind of action that you can 21 00:01:08,186 --> 00:01:09,926 take from reading that information. 22 00:01:10,486 --> 00:01:14,536 So most retailers said reading the headlines, not the whole story. 23 00:01:14,726 --> 00:01:18,176 In fact, a lot of people tell me that, "You know, I, I'm all over my numbers. 24 00:01:18,176 --> 00:01:23,666 Every time I get a sale, my Shopify pings, or I get a notification." And I think 25 00:01:23,666 --> 00:01:28,816 that this is one of the, the ironies of modern-day retailing, is that we have 26 00:01:28,816 --> 00:01:32,826 this endless stream of data, but it's not the same thing as understanding what 27 00:01:32,826 --> 00:01:34,486 we actually want to be doing with that. 28 00:01:34,526 --> 00:01:36,826 So do you know your best sellers? 29 00:01:37,436 --> 00:01:40,486 Lots of people will answer yes, they're, they're aware of that. 30 00:01:40,496 --> 00:01:42,276 They see them going out all the time. 31 00:01:42,276 --> 00:01:45,056 They see … They know which ones they're reordering. 32 00:01:45,386 --> 00:01:49,756 But then I guess the next question would be is do you know whether they're selling 33 00:01:49,756 --> 00:01:53,636 quickly enough, whether you should be buying twice as many, whether the 34 00:01:53,636 --> 00:01:57,116 amount that you're buying is actually a help or a hindrance, if there's another 35 00:01:57,116 --> 00:02:00,996 color that you could be trying instead, or what the color patterns are in your 36 00:02:01,006 --> 00:02:06,536 business, whether one p- price point consistently wins, whether you're carrying 37 00:02:06,546 --> 00:02:10,336 twice as much stock as you actually need, or whether maybe one category 38 00:02:10,336 --> 00:02:14,906 or one type of product, maybe even one supplier, is funding the entire business. 39 00:02:15,136 --> 00:02:18,086 Maybe you've got an overdependence on one of your suppliers, and that's 40 00:02:18,096 --> 00:02:19,616 something that you need to address. 41 00:02:20,186 --> 00:02:23,516 These are all completely different questions, and these are all completely 42 00:02:23,516 --> 00:02:27,986 different ways of looking at your numbers as opposed to looking at the top level 43 00:02:29,516 --> 00:02:33,586 When I think about it, I would say that it's the difference between looking 44 00:02:33,586 --> 00:02:36,426 backwards versus making future decisions. 45 00:02:36,486 --> 00:02:41,036 So looking backwards at your numbers is almost a bit like looking at 46 00:02:41,076 --> 00:02:44,386 the rear view mirror, seeing the things that are going on behind you. 47 00:02:44,396 --> 00:02:48,266 Whereas with Stock Doctor, it's almost a little bit like the sat nav. 48 00:02:48,266 --> 00:02:51,046 We're looking at where that information should take you. 49 00:02:51,786 --> 00:02:56,816 So what sold last month is telling you what happened, but you're not paying, 50 00:02:56,986 --> 00:02:59,776 within Stock Doctor, you're not paying someone to tell you what happened. 51 00:03:00,076 --> 00:03:04,046 You're paying them to tell you what that means that you should do next. 52 00:03:04,456 --> 00:03:06,366 So we use data to make decisions. 53 00:03:06,386 --> 00:03:10,686 We say what should happen next as a result of this information. 54 00:03:10,716 --> 00:03:12,356 And that is the real difference. 55 00:03:12,696 --> 00:03:16,436 And that, I believe, is what is allowing us to see these fabulous results 56 00:03:16,436 --> 00:03:20,536 where people are getting 10% more sales on average with 10% less stock 57 00:03:20,766 --> 00:03:25,566 and adding 5,000 pounds of profit to their bottom line per 100K of revenue. 58 00:03:26,896 --> 00:03:29,266 So what do you need direction on? 59 00:03:29,266 --> 00:03:31,386 Well, there's so many different decisions if you break it 60 00:03:31,386 --> 00:03:32,746 down for every single product. 61 00:03:32,746 --> 00:03:35,746 You're thinking, "Do I need to buy more of this? Do I need to stop buying that? 62 00:03:35,786 --> 00:03:40,366 Do I need to clear this, not reorder that, move this, plan for Christmas now, 63 00:03:40,916 --> 00:03:45,276 or put actions in place which means that I won't be panic buying in September?" 64 00:03:45,276 --> 00:03:49,946 And that is where the value comes from in the Stock Doctor program. 65 00:03:50,246 --> 00:03:52,086 This is a white glove service. 66 00:03:52,096 --> 00:03:54,086 In other words, this is done for you. 67 00:03:54,086 --> 00:03:56,716 Someone is going to hold your hand all the way through this. 68 00:03:56,916 --> 00:03:58,336 They're going to run the numbers for you. 69 00:03:58,336 --> 00:04:00,006 They're going to explain it to you clearly. 70 00:04:00,236 --> 00:04:02,386 They're going to answer any questions that you have. 71 00:04:02,386 --> 00:04:06,436 They're going to help you make sure that your data is clean and tidy and 72 00:04:06,446 --> 00:04:10,396 in a really good state, ready for you to make really good decisions. 73 00:04:10,396 --> 00:04:15,776 They're going to give you their insight and their view based on years and 74 00:04:15,776 --> 00:04:18,226 years and years of the retail industry. 75 00:04:18,276 --> 00:04:23,776 And I think this is one of those things about the difference, uh, 76 00:04:23,816 --> 00:04:26,846 especially now that there are more and more tools available with AI. 77 00:04:26,856 --> 00:04:29,306 You can ask AI for input. 78 00:04:29,316 --> 00:04:31,406 You can ask it for what it thinks you should do. 79 00:04:31,436 --> 00:04:35,916 But the question of whether or not it's making a good suggestion, whether 80 00:04:35,916 --> 00:04:39,136 or not this is the right suggestion, is one that is hard to answer. 81 00:04:39,136 --> 00:04:42,976 And one of the ways that you get the answer is by having experience, and 82 00:04:42,976 --> 00:04:47,606 everyone who works in the Stock Doctor program has at least 15, if not closer 83 00:04:47,606 --> 00:04:52,266 to 20 or even 25 years of experience of running these numbers and looking at them. 84 00:04:53,336 --> 00:04:56,096 So what are we actually looking for in Stock Doctor? 85 00:04:56,106 --> 00:05:01,786 Well- When we're analyzing a business, we're looking for things like, is 86 00:05:01,786 --> 00:05:03,346 this stock turning too quickly? 87 00:05:03,366 --> 00:05:04,666 Is it turning too slowly? 88 00:05:04,966 --> 00:05:08,186 Within the stock, what product categories are driving it? 89 00:05:08,236 --> 00:05:09,866 What suppliers are driving it? 90 00:05:10,156 --> 00:05:11,986 Which ones are falling behind? 91 00:05:12,236 --> 00:05:15,166 Where have we got sales that are up on the year but you haven't 92 00:05:15,176 --> 00:05:16,506 backed that with more stock? 93 00:05:16,506 --> 00:05:19,036 So where are you missing opportunities to grow sales? 94 00:05:19,486 --> 00:05:20,976 Where is your cash trapped? 95 00:05:21,386 --> 00:05:23,296 Which categories deserve more investment? 96 00:05:23,306 --> 00:05:24,506 Which deserve less? 97 00:05:25,066 --> 00:05:29,756 Which margins are correct and which ones need to be reviewed? 98 00:05:30,046 --> 00:05:33,806 Where are you running out of your best sellers and that's causing you problems? 99 00:05:34,526 --> 00:05:35,266 What's seasonal? 100 00:05:35,266 --> 00:05:38,366 In other words, which products have a specific lifespan and 101 00:05:38,376 --> 00:05:40,096 which products are evergreen? 102 00:05:40,096 --> 00:05:42,736 Which ones are gonna be selling all the way around the year that 103 00:05:42,736 --> 00:05:46,666 you can really confidently build your marketing plans behind? 104 00:05:46,676 --> 00:05:49,396 And where have buying habits drifted? 105 00:05:49,696 --> 00:05:54,846 So where have items or suppliers or products that maybe were the 106 00:05:54,846 --> 00:05:58,626 mainstay of your sales previously, where have they continued to be the 107 00:05:58,626 --> 00:06:03,026 mainstay and where have they actually shifted and now something else is 108 00:06:03,026 --> 00:06:04,476 showing what I call green shoots? 109 00:06:04,486 --> 00:06:07,476 So areas, pockets of stock that are turning really fast. 110 00:06:08,176 --> 00:06:10,176 How much stock should you be holding? 111 00:06:10,676 --> 00:06:12,126 What should your plan be? 112 00:06:12,146 --> 00:06:16,006 What is your budget for the next few months in terms of stock? 113 00:06:16,016 --> 00:06:19,986 When do you need to bring it in to maximize your cash flow and to 114 00:06:19,986 --> 00:06:23,036 make sure that you're in the right position for your peak months? 115 00:06:23,856 --> 00:06:26,976 These are not questions that you can get from having a five-minute 116 00:06:26,976 --> 00:06:29,166 chat in, with Shopify Sidekick. 117 00:06:29,196 --> 00:06:34,696 These are all r- questions that require analysis and thought and allow you 118 00:06:34,696 --> 00:06:39,086 to really understand what the data is telling you and where it needs to go next. 119 00:06:39,826 --> 00:06:46,206 So in terms of what this allows us to do, we've got clients who have got sales which 120 00:06:46,206 --> 00:06:49,636 are up on the year with 40% less stock. 121 00:06:49,746 --> 00:06:55,436 So this is a huge Uh, this particular client, we were able to really identify 122 00:06:55,466 --> 00:06:59,916 low-hanging fruit, uh, stock that wasn't productive, work with them to reduce 123 00:06:59,916 --> 00:07:03,496 it, not in a brand-damaging way, but to really work through how much stock they 124 00:07:03,496 --> 00:07:07,036 should have, focus on the stock that they did need, and then that allowed 125 00:07:07,086 --> 00:07:11,826 them to, to sell, have sales slightly up on the year, but 40% less stock. 126 00:07:11,826 --> 00:07:14,896 If you think about that for a minute, that has a huge, huge 127 00:07:14,916 --> 00:07:16,446 impact on their cash flow. 128 00:07:17,086 --> 00:07:21,566 We've also seen businesses that have increased their sales by 20 or 30 percent 129 00:07:21,596 --> 00:07:25,466 and they've kept their stock level, their total stock level, but the stock that 130 00:07:25,466 --> 00:07:27,376 they have got is much more productive. 131 00:07:27,976 --> 00:07:31,036 We've generated, as I said, around 5,000 pounds on average 132 00:07:31,066 --> 00:07:33,166 per 100K of turnover for clients. 133 00:07:33,466 --> 00:07:36,566 We've seen businesses have their best sales year yet. 134 00:07:36,996 --> 00:07:41,676 We've helped businesses clear years of accumulated stock as well as get really 135 00:07:41,676 --> 00:07:43,906 clear on what their direction should be. 136 00:07:44,736 --> 00:07:47,196 It's not about just pure theory. 137 00:07:47,196 --> 00:07:51,946 It's about what happens when your stock starts working really much harder. 138 00:07:52,416 --> 00:07:55,666 I think one of the interesting things that I get asked about Stock Doctor is 139 00:07:55,666 --> 00:07:59,386 somebody asked me the other day, "Are you more into the numbers and the finances? 140 00:07:59,386 --> 00:08:02,766 Are you more into the product?" Or sometimes people will say to me, 141 00:08:02,766 --> 00:08:06,036 "Well, do I need a stock doctor or do I need an accountant?" And I think 142 00:08:06,036 --> 00:08:09,856 that the, the way that I explain it is by explaining a little bit about 143 00:08:09,856 --> 00:08:11,296 how it works in a big retailer. 144 00:08:11,486 --> 00:08:15,136 So in a big retailer, you have your finance team, you have a CFO, you 145 00:08:15,136 --> 00:08:18,666 have all of the people who are in charge of effectively the accounting 146 00:08:18,666 --> 00:08:23,236 functions, looking at the cash flow, looking at the tax burden, looking 147 00:08:23,236 --> 00:08:26,616 at the profitability of the entire business, looking at the costs. 148 00:08:27,026 --> 00:08:31,066 And then you have the merchandising team, which is part of the product teams. 149 00:08:31,496 --> 00:08:36,456 We are the people who manage the sales strategy, the profit margins, the stock 150 00:08:36,456 --> 00:08:41,550 management, as well as working with the buying team and the design team And my 151 00:08:41,550 --> 00:08:46,220 job when I worked in those big retailers was I would give the CFO the information 152 00:08:46,230 --> 00:08:47,490 about what our profit margins were. 153 00:08:47,570 --> 00:08:51,030 I would tell him what we were buying when, how much stock we were 154 00:08:51,030 --> 00:08:53,450 going to be bringing in so that he could then have a look at what 155 00:08:53,460 --> 00:08:54,750 that meant for the whole business. 156 00:08:55,050 --> 00:08:58,160 But then the other thing that I did was work with the buying team and 157 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:01,500 the design team, and I would give them my input based on numbers. 158 00:09:01,580 --> 00:09:05,650 So they would be looking at the direction of the business, the, the creative 159 00:09:05,650 --> 00:09:09,310 element, if you like, and I would give them advice and direction based 160 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:10,920 on what I could see from the numbers. 161 00:09:11,230 --> 00:09:13,600 And that's really the way it works with Stock Doctor. 162 00:09:13,950 --> 00:09:15,720 An accountant is really important. 163 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:20,050 I always say that a really good small business accountant is an important 164 00:09:20,390 --> 00:09:22,110 person for you to have in your business. 165 00:09:22,110 --> 00:09:23,700 It's a really important relationship. 166 00:09:23,930 --> 00:09:26,580 And if you don't have a great relationship with your accountant, 167 00:09:26,590 --> 00:09:29,060 then I would definitely recommend finding a different one. 168 00:09:29,070 --> 00:09:32,810 There are some really fantastic small business accountants, including my 169 00:09:32,810 --> 00:09:36,600 own, Kylie, at KFH Accounting, who's really good at working with small 170 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:38,310 businesses and small product businesses. 171 00:09:38,990 --> 00:09:42,500 And you want someone who is gonna be on your side, who is never gonna make you 172 00:09:42,500 --> 00:09:45,880 feel bad about asking questions, who's gonna make it really clear for you. 173 00:09:46,450 --> 00:09:51,800 But ultimately, accountants, they are there to keep you legal, to keep you 174 00:09:51,830 --> 00:09:54,546 out of trouble And that's their job. 175 00:09:54,576 --> 00:09:58,576 They are not there to advise, although most of them are not 176 00:09:58,676 --> 00:10:00,306 going to be advising you on trade. 177 00:10:00,346 --> 00:10:02,646 They're not going to be advising you on product direction. 178 00:10:02,906 --> 00:10:06,026 They're not necessarily even gonna be advising you on stock management, 179 00:10:06,036 --> 00:10:09,926 because one of the things about stock is that accountants will see it as 180 00:10:09,976 --> 00:10:14,696 an asset, whereas in Stock Doctor, we are always thinking about your cash 181 00:10:14,696 --> 00:10:18,626 flow specifically, and we're thinking about how to trade that stock and 182 00:10:18,626 --> 00:10:23,406 basically get the most out of that asset and try and get it turning faster. 183 00:10:23,866 --> 00:10:27,506 So Stock Doctor will be very much focused on the numbers. 184 00:10:27,506 --> 00:10:28,546 They are all numbers people. 185 00:10:28,546 --> 00:10:31,426 They will run all your analysis for you, but they're never going 186 00:10:31,436 --> 00:10:33,306 to be taking it in a vacuum though. 187 00:10:33,346 --> 00:10:36,456 They're very much about trading, about commercial trading, 188 00:10:36,466 --> 00:10:37,946 about making product decisions. 189 00:10:38,716 --> 00:10:41,186 They're there to help guide you in terms of what your stock should be, 190 00:10:41,436 --> 00:10:44,196 how much you should buy, and when you should buy it and bring it in. 191 00:10:44,996 --> 00:10:46,676 So who uses Stock Doctor? 192 00:10:46,676 --> 00:10:49,236 Well, people come to us for a variety of different reasons. 193 00:10:49,256 --> 00:10:53,966 As I said, it's typically established businesses, people who maybe have multiple 194 00:10:53,966 --> 00:10:56,246 stores, or maybe they have a single store. 195 00:10:56,296 --> 00:10:59,506 They are people who are perhaps looking to do new things in their 196 00:10:59,506 --> 00:11:04,006 businesses, like a pop-up or a new sales, uh, channel, and they want 197 00:11:04,016 --> 00:11:05,876 some help putting plans in place. 198 00:11:05,936 --> 00:11:09,536 Stock Doctors are really, really good at scenario planning, which means that 199 00:11:10,006 --> 00:11:14,456 they're great at creating forecasts and plans for scenarios that don't exist yet. 200 00:11:14,466 --> 00:11:17,296 So maybe you're moving to a new store, maybe you're going to do a 201 00:11:17,296 --> 00:11:20,386 pop-up or an event, and you really could use some help with working 202 00:11:20,386 --> 00:11:22,206 out how much stock you need to have. 203 00:11:22,386 --> 00:11:23,606 Stock Doctors are great at that. 204 00:11:23,866 --> 00:11:26,736 They're also really great if you don't have a lot of history, if you're fast 205 00:11:26,736 --> 00:11:30,616 growth, if you're somebody who's just started selling really well right out the 206 00:11:30,616 --> 00:11:34,006 gate and you're seeing really fast growth and you don't know how to plan for that. 207 00:11:34,006 --> 00:11:38,486 You don't know how to get enough stock in place to make sure that you have 208 00:11:38,566 --> 00:11:43,706 got what you need to do the sales potential They're really great at helping 209 00:11:43,706 --> 00:11:45,926 people navigate that sort of growth. 210 00:11:46,566 --> 00:11:50,576 They're also really great at working with people who just really feel like 211 00:11:50,576 --> 00:11:53,596 the business should be more profitable, who feel like that they're overstocked, 212 00:11:53,986 --> 00:11:57,366 and they've kind of run out of ideas of how to manage the stock themselves. 213 00:11:57,736 --> 00:12:01,566 They're great at walking in when you have got yourself into a tangle and 214 00:12:01,566 --> 00:12:04,236 you feel like you've got too much stock and you tried to fix it, but 215 00:12:04,236 --> 00:12:05,876 then you ran out of other things. 216 00:12:06,596 --> 00:12:08,126 Or maybe you're stuck in a plateau. 217 00:12:08,296 --> 00:12:12,096 Maybe you know that this business has got really great potential, but you're not 218 00:12:12,096 --> 00:12:15,646 really sure how to move it forward, and you want someone who's gonna come in and 219 00:12:15,646 --> 00:12:19,956 help you really understand if your stock is working hard enough, if it is doing 220 00:12:20,286 --> 00:12:24,236 what it should be doing, and how you can make it better and how you can improve it. 221 00:12:24,426 --> 00:12:29,256 It's also really great for people who have got to a position where they're feeling 222 00:12:29,476 --> 00:12:33,566 burnt out, uh, or maybe they just feel like there must be more to this, and they 223 00:12:33,566 --> 00:12:37,166 know that they're winging it, and they kind of have got to the end of everything 224 00:12:37,166 --> 00:12:40,266 that they can do f- without outside input. 225 00:12:40,266 --> 00:12:44,386 They want someone now who's an expert to come in to help them sort through it. 226 00:12:44,616 --> 00:12:47,556 So there's lots of different reasons why people come in to Stock 227 00:12:47,556 --> 00:12:50,146 Doctor, but the outcome is the same. 228 00:12:50,146 --> 00:12:51,636 We can help you look at your business. 229 00:12:51,656 --> 00:12:56,866 We can help you put in realistic plans, create an idea of what you need to do to 230 00:12:56,866 --> 00:13:00,536 move the business forward and make sure that your stock is moving as fast as it 231 00:13:00,536 --> 00:13:03,606 can and being as productive as possible. 232 00:13:04,476 --> 00:13:07,826 They want someone-- I would say the other thing that really unites Stock 233 00:13:07,826 --> 00:13:10,776 Doctor clients is that they know that this stuff is really important, and they 234 00:13:10,786 --> 00:13:14,676 just simply don't have time for it, so they want someone to come in to really 235 00:13:14,676 --> 00:13:18,966 hand-hold and to look after them, to run their numbers for them, and to present 236 00:13:18,966 --> 00:13:23,026 back to them each month so that they know clearly what it is that they need to do. 237 00:13:23,686 --> 00:13:27,896 I hope that today's episode has given you an idea of how Stock Doctors can help. 238 00:13:28,266 --> 00:13:30,936 The difference isn't between retailers who look at their 239 00:13:30,936 --> 00:13:32,466 numbers and retailers who don't. 240 00:13:32,486 --> 00:13:37,456 It's really between retailers who collect data and the retailers who know how to 241 00:13:37,456 --> 00:13:40,986 turn that data into better decisions, and that's what Stock Doctor does. 242 00:13:41,006 --> 00:13:41,966 It's a partnership. 243 00:13:42,186 --> 00:13:43,326 We're here to support you. 244 00:13:43,526 --> 00:13:47,226 We're here to really make sure that you get what you need out of the 245 00:13:47,226 --> 00:13:50,406 service and you get the information you need to move you forward. 246 00:13:50,656 --> 00:13:54,456 It's not about having access to magical reports or secret software, 247 00:13:55,016 --> 00:13:58,496 but it's because we've spent decades learning this stuff, learning what 248 00:13:58,546 --> 00:14:01,436 the numbers are actually trying to tell us and how to take action in a 249 00:14:01,436 --> 00:14:03,426 way that actually moves the needle. 250 00:14:04,246 --> 00:14:08,031 If you want to know more about our Stock Doctor service, head 251 00:14:08,031 --> 00:14:10,676 over to stockdoctor.net where you'll see testimonials, more 252 00:14:10,676 --> 00:14:14,656 information about how it works, as well as our latest availability. 253 00:14:14,936 --> 00:14:17,956 Why not like, follow, or subscribe the podcast if you've enjoyed this 254 00:14:17,956 --> 00:14:21,206 episode, and you'll be the first to know about each new episode when 255 00:14:21,206 --> 00:14:22,916 it comes out on Thursday morning. 256 00:14:22,976 --> 00:14:23,816 See you next week