“We are proud to have won this award again,” said Dan Jablons, President of Retail Smart Guys.  “We are very focused on helping retailers plan their businesses better so that they recognize higher profits and superior cash flow.  This award validates that we are doing just that.”

This is not the first time that Retail Smart Guys has one this award.  They have won it 4 out of the last 5 years.  “We will never live down the one year we didn’t win” laughs Dave Leib, Mr. Jablons’ partner in the company.  “We win this award as often as we do because we are great listeners.  We listen to what our customers need, and we work extremely hard to ensure their needs are satisfied, their businesses grow, and their cash flow is improved.”

“Dan Jablons and Dave Leib are top performers, not just in sales, but most importantly in the implementation and successful guidance  they provide their clients utilizing the Management One process,” said Marc Weiss, Managing Director of Management One.   “As the founders of Retail Smart Guys they are motivated by their passion to create greater profits, peace of mind and growth to independent specialty retailers. This commitment to excellence is a big part of their success both in sales and client performance.”  Mr. Weiss and his partner Evan Wise, gave the award to Retail Smart Guys this past weekend.

“Of course, we still have more retailers that we want to work with,” said Jablons.  “Our focus on the west coast is San Diego and Orange Counties.  They have been hit hardest by the recession, and those retailers need our help.  Given the depth of experience that we have, and our passion for retail, we are the best ones to help these retailers and are approaching them now.”  Leib agrees with Jablons, but also said, “We are equally focused on New York City.  We have an excellent consultant based there, ready to help those retailers too!”

Jablons and Leib expect to win the award next year as well.  “We win this award because we stay focused on improvements at the retail level.  As long as we stay focused on our customers, we find that our customers have better businesses, and we win awards.  Everybody wins!” said Jablons.

For more information, www.retailsmartguys.com.

ABOUT RETAIL SMART GUYS

Retail Smart Guys is a consulting firm, specializing in assisting retail stores with their inventory planning and open to buy.  The firm was started by Dan Jablons, who has 30 years of experience working in and consulting with retail companies, from single-store mom-and-pop operations to major retail chains.  He has also worked extensively with point-of-sale systems, including Retail Pro, QuickBooks Point of Sale, and Microsoft Dynamics.  For more information, contact Retail Smart Guys at 818-720-2585 or visit www.retailsmartguys.com Retail Smart Guys is an affiliate of Management One, which provides planning and services for retailers around the country.

When: December 1, 2011

11:00 am EST, 8:00 am PST, 16:00 pm BST, 17:00 pm (CEST), 23:00 pm (SGT), 0:00 (JST)

Where: tweetchat.com (hashtag #biometricchat)

What: Tweet chat on retail technology

Topics: Using retail technology for inventory management, protecting customer data, capitalizing on mobile markets, reducing shrink

We are happy to welcome Dan Jablons (@danjab) from Retail Smart Guys as our guest for December’s #biometricchat on using technology in retail to:

– help better manage inventory

– protect customer data

– capitalize on the mobile market for the holidays and beyond

– lower shrink

An Ohio State grad, Dan has worked with retailers such as Walmart, Target, JC Penney, American Apparel, Betsey Johnson, Donna Karan, Jimmy Choo, Charles David, Diesel, Oakley, Tumi, Hollywood Bowl, and many others.  He has worked for a clothing manufacturer where he piloted vendor-managed inventory programs, a leading point-of-sale provider (where he installed systems and provided merchandising help to retailers large and small) and internet marketing (where he helped retailers establish a presence on the web.)

Dan will be discussing what technology retailers should be considering when developing strategies for: inventory management, mobile markets, protecting customer data from fraud and theft, and reducing shrink. We will ask Dan his thoughts on using biometric technology for employee identification at point of sale as a strategy to lower shrink and what other retail applications he sees biometrics working with in the future.

Just in case you are interested in participating but are new to Tweet chats, please read this post which outlines the instructions and procedures. We hope that you will join us for the discussion, and please spread the word among your colleagues and friends.

Do you have any questions that you would like to ask Dan? Please send them to: john@m2sys.com or come prepared with your questions, comments and feedback on Thursday, December the 1st!

RSG decided to add a new division specializing in recruiting to its suite of services after several clients reported that they “would do anything to find good salespeople.” Dan Jablons, president of Retail Smart Guys, said, “We are always looking for ways to help our customers’ businesses. Given all of our connections in the marketplace, this is a natural extension of what we do.”

Joining RSG as a recruiter is Lori Jablons, who has partnered with Dan on more than one occasion, helping him to fill key positions in other companies that where Dan has worked. “Lori has incredible intuition when it comes to people,” continued Jablons. “She has an extraordinary ability for spotting talent quickly and can get anyone to talk, which are both vital in recruiting.”

RSG plans to offer the service at low introductory rates to specialty retailers who need this service most of all. “Rarely can a specialty retailer afford to have a professional recruit for them. We’ve made sure any retailer can afford this.” In addition, RSG will put the candidates through their sales training program at no charge to either the candidate or the retailer. “We want them selling from the moment they walk onto the sales floor,” continued Jablons.

Though recruiting sales associates for specialty retailers will comprise the bulk of the clientele for RSG’s new division, RSG expects to help retailers staff higher-level positions as well, including store managers, district managers and creative personnel such as web designers.

For more information about recruitment services, contact Dan by phone at 818-720-2585 or email at dan@retailsmartguys.com.

He put up a sign on the highway, telling how good they were.
He stood by the side of the road and cried,
“Buy a hot dog, mister!”
And people bought.

He increased his meat and bun order,
and he bought a bigger stove to take care of his trade.
He got his son home from college to help him.

But then something happened.
His son said, “Father,
haven’t you been listening to the radio?
There’s a big depression going on.
The international situation is terrible,
and the domestic situation is even worse.”

Whereupon the father thought,
“Well, my son has gone to college.
He listens to the radio and reads
the newspapers, so he ought to know.”

So, the father cut down on the bun order,
took down his advertising signs,
and no longer bothered to stand
on the highway to sell hot dogs.

His hot dog sales fell almost overnight.
“You were right, son,” the father said to the boy.
“We are certainly in the middle of a Great Depression!”

I was sent this today, and as many of you know, I have been talking about this since the economy first ran into trouble in 2008. The more you listen to the media, the more you don’t just focus on your own business, the more you become a victim of this economy. Create your own future!!!

For those of you who are attending the Magic Show in Las Vegas, I am presenting a seminar that I think you will like. It’s called “What Happens in Vegas Stays In Vegas…Oh, Really?”

The seminar will cover how to get more market share, how to get more margin, and how to know what lines are really hot at the show.

The seminar will give you some great ideas that you can immediately use at Magic to help your business survive and thrive in the face of the upcoming uncertain economic climate.

Plus, you get a free breakfast! How about that!

The seminar is being given at 8:00 AM Tuesday at the Las Vegas Convention Center Room N220. That way, you can attend the seminar and then hit the show floor on time!

I hope to see you there!

Best,

Dan Jablons

Retail Smart Guys

www.retailsmartguys.com

dan@retailsmartguys.com

cell:818-720-2585

I read the article (link below) about the less expensive POS systems out there, and thought I’d share it with you.  Not sure that I agree with all of it, but I thought you might enjoy another perspective.

When choosing POS systems, I think reporting is KEY.  As such, I think the retailer needs to determine what reports he or she wants to see before going to any demos of any POS systems.  The vendors always show the reports that THEY like best, but that may or may not be what you need to effectively track your business.

Let me know your thoughts!  Here’s the article: http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/retail/point-of-sale-systems-for-small-business-5-affordable-solutions-1052411/

Best,

Dan Jablons
Retail Smart Guys
www.retailsmartguys.com
dan@retailsmartguys.com
Cell: 818-720-2585

“I feel I have to markdown everything in order to sell it”

“My sales volume is increasing, but I don’t have any cash!”

You have more month than you have money.

“How much is enough?”

Your inventory becomes wall paper. You see it every day; it does not change.

“I bought too many of those shorts.”

Your salary is sitting on the shelf instead in your bank account.

The accountant says you need to grow your business, but does not say how to do it.

Shall I go on? You get the point.

There are so many factors and conditions in a retail store that you cannot predict or control, such as consumer brand loyalty, the competition, and the economy. So, it becomes imperative that the store owner take control of the things that he can such as, excellent demand forecasting, measurement that help manage the business for profit and growth and investing your inventory dollars so you get the highest return on your investment. Here’s where I can help.

My name is Audrey Watson and I have been in the business of helping independent specialty retailers for many years. I am a consultant with Retail Smart Guys and we work with retailers like you to provide the analytical part of successful retailing. We take your data and turn it into the information you need to make better purchasing decisions, ensure a more positive cash flow and generate more profit.

When our customers begin working with us very often they learn things about their retail store they did not know, they have more useful information at their disposal which results in discovering opportunities  quickly so they can react fast to either capitalize on an emerging trend or by taking action to prevent a newly discovered problem from worsening.

What does all of this mean to you, the store owner? It means you will have help. It means you will have someone in your corner that is listening to you and helping you solve the problems you face day in and day out. It means you will have someone on your side who is as interested in your success as you are. And lastly, it means you will have a team who will provide YOU with information, advice and direction, which when acted upon, will get your retail store producing the results you have been hoping for.

Audrey Watson
Retail Smart Guys
702-556-9630
audrey@retailsmartguys.com
www.retailsmartguys.com

All of us who are part of Retail Smart Guys provide open to buy planning, sure.  But we also find that we have to help in other areas of the business, too.  As retail consultants who are in retail stores every day of our lives, we see the good, the bad, and the ugly in this business.  We see what works and what doesn’t.  We admire those who take the time to build out beautiful stores, who really establish solid connections with their customers, who understand how to make their inventory presentations exciting and fun.  I suppose this is true of many retail consultants around the world.

But one of the things that we’ve noticed recently, is that we provide one other thing that is perhaps one of our greatest values.  It’s that our customers can talk to us about their business, freely and openly, and get the help they need.  Let me clarify this a bit.

Many retailers certainly seek out advice from a number of sources, and most commonly from vendors.  Vendors certainly have a great view of the marketplace, and they too see a lot of what goes on in the retail space.  But in the end, the vendor’s solution to a retailer’s problems will be to buy their product.  It’s a little like that old saying, “To a carpenter, everything is solved with a hammer.” 

For us as consultants, the only thing we honestly care about is whether or not that retailer has made money, and if they are happy doing so.  In terms of product or vendor solution, we don’t “have a dog in the fight” (a new saying for me – but it basically means that it doesn’t matter to us which vendor the retailer buys, as long as it contributes positively to the store and makes the retailer money.)

The same can be said for nearly anything else in the store – marketing, employee relations, technology, finance.  We know a lot about each of these areas, so retailers can freely talk to us about it.  And, just as I wrote above, we don’t have a dog in the fight – we just want the retailer to do better, to win at the game of retail, and (dare I say it) have fun at the same time.

You could say that there are others that the retailer could talk to – spouses, friends, etc., and that is probably true.  However, unless these people are also in the retail business, they may not be as good a source of counseling and information as an impartial person who is deeply connected to the marketplace as we are.

That’s what makes consultants an important part of the mix for most retailers.  Someone they can REALLY talk to.  And to be honest, that’s what makes me the most proud of what we do.  We help people, who just happen to be retailers, become more successful.

Talk to us.  We’d love to hear from you.  I even put my cell phone number below so you can reach me anytime.

Dan Jablons
Retail Smart Guys
www.retailsmartguys.com
Email: dan@retailsmartguys.com
Cell: 818-720-2585