- The United States Footwear market is a USD 25 Billion market including over 1500 wholesales and 30,000 retail outlets. Nonetheless, the retail section is extremely focused and the biggest 50 chains account for over 80 % of profits.
- In the UK the footwear industry is approximately GBP 6.1 Billion, however account for just 6 % of the total consumer spending– the most affordable proportion in history.
The above data certainly provide an indication of the difficulties that a small and medium footwear merchant deals with in today’s hard economic conditions.
Quickly altering fashion trends, an extremely expense sensitive consumer, stiff competitors from department store with well appointed shoe divisions; discount shoe establishments and outlets, as well as basic merchandise discounters such as Wal-Mart, exert extra pressure on the footwear seller to continue to be competitive.
Trade policies aside, retailers heavily count on imports from Far East at incredibly competitive costs. Not only is the logistics of delivery critical, it is similarly crucial to source the right mix of design, size and color. Ability to collate, evaluate and act on consumer purchasing patterns, sales trends and changes in fashion industry are imperative to do well in the footwear industry.
A Footwear Retailer is confronted with the difficulty to:
- Keep in touch with the fashion business– making sure that the stores have the right mix of designs, colors and sizes.
- Manage inventory levels very carefully and judiciously.
- Periodically run advertisings & projects to enhance footfall and reduction slow moving items.
- Remain closer to the consumer and analyze his purchasing patterns and sales trends.
Such a balance needs an integrated business management solution that allows versatility to accommodate the diverse & special needs of Footwear Retailers. A system that flawlessly integrates all business processes from the POS at store to the planners at the Head Office reducing the total cost of operations, simplifying expansion and making it possible for the Footwear Seller preserve his unique proposal and positioning.
Summary
For Footwear retailers it has become imperative to keep up with the dynamic market trends and changing needs of consumers and new product collections to meet customer demand. It is therefore critical to have a unified set of data that the global team has access to, whether they are in management, merchandising, sourcing, operations, sales or supply.
RMS Consulting is a team of experienced technical and business professionals whose single aim is to deliver the world’s best retail management systems. We understand the needs and deliver cloud-based, multi-channel retail management system that brings together POS, eCommerce, CRM and marketing, merchandising and order management, financials, and warehouse management into a single centrally managed solution. RMS Consulting serves client inside North America specifically USA and Canada while physically serving clients in the cities of Seattle, Toronto, Buffalo, Ottawa, Monreal, London, Kitchener, Windsor, Detroit. Feel free to contact us or Drop us a note for any help or assistance.
Drop Us A Note
[gravityform id=”2″ name=”Drop us a Note” title=”false” description=”false” ajax=”true”]
