Going out of business sale is difficult for retail store owners in several different ways. First, the owner must deal with the emotional attachment of closing the store. Also, since most retail store owners have never been involved in a going out of business total liquidation sale, they don’t have a clue on the best way to run it. Should they try it themselves or hire a profession to maximize the going out of business sale?
Some of the most common questions the store owner may have include:
1.How much should you mark down items?
Mark down too much and you lose a lot of money. Don’t mark down enough and have your quitting business stall and most liquidation companies can’t help you at this point.
2. How do you advertise this sale, especially the beginning of the sale?
The key is to generate traffic frenzy and sell the best items at the highest gross possible.
3. When do you tell employees and how do I keep them from leaving?
Long term employees are not going to be happy about losing their jobs. Yet, a retail store owner must realize that the employees will be looking for new jobs and may quit before the sale is over.
4. When do you start getting ready for the sale and how long will it take?
The store must be closed to take care of some items before the sale starts. Too many days close results in lost revenue and too short leads to a possible disaster in the going out of business sale.
5. What is the best way to sell fixtures and store equipment and supplies?
The return on most fixtures is poor. What are the best ways to make selling fixtures profitable without getting confused and selling the same fixture twice?
6. How many and what kind of signs do you need?
Even with fantastic advertising, it is common 20-25% of the traffic of the quitting business sale to come from eye catching window signs & banners.
7. What day should you start the sale?
Some days are better than others; however two days will definitely result in a more profitable start to a going out of business sale.
8. How long will it take to liquidate most of the inventory?
The key is to liquidate as quickly as possible while maximizing the return. This will also result in decrease payroll and rent costs.
9. Should you hire a consultant or liquidation company to run the sale?
A professional consultant or liquidation company can really help an owner to get through this difficult period. They have experience running this kind of sale and even after the expenses most store owners will be better off financially than doing it themselves.
A Going out of Business Sale is a new territory for most retail store owners. Their lack of experience could cost them many thousands of dollars running a going out of business total liquidation sale themselves. If the retail store owner has any doubt to their expertise in running a quitting business sale, a professional is highly recommended.
