It may be surprising to find out that smaller retail stores and boutiques actually have a tougher time doing inventory than big department stores. This is generally because boutiques try to inventory everything at once with only one or two employees working on it. Department stores categorize everything, creating smaller and smaller categories, and then put one person in charge of a tiny section of the store. The employees are not overwhelmed and generally give an accurate count of the section that they are responsible for.

Boutiques and smaller retail stores should take the big department stores’ advice to heart. Delegate the responsibility by dividing your store into different categories and subcategories. Hire an inventory specialist team if you don’t have the employees or the time to do it right.

If you are having your employees take responsibility for each section, offer a reward for accuracy. If you have managers and supervisors, you may want to have them go in behind the lower level employee and double check. If you warn the first person that their count will be checked, they are less likely to make mistakes.

Consider doing your inventory counts outside of your regular business hours so that there aren’t customers there to distract the counters. This will also keep your boutique or retail store looking nice and neat when you’re making that all-important first impression on your customers. You may need to motivate the employees to show up when it is normally their time off. Many companies make inventory count participation mandatory.

You can make it mandatory, but you may risk losing employees that have other obligations, other jobs, college classes, or trips that were planned in advance. Instead, consider offering rewards, like bonus money for participating. Play music, order pizza, and make it fun. You could give people with accurate counts longer breaks or lunches during business hours, or even a deeper discount on their next purchase.

Make sure that everyone has equal responsibilities. People that finish first should help you get the store back in order. Have them straighten the clothing racks so that the store is ready for opening time. A messy clothing rack or window display can make a bad impression and negatively impact the effort that was put forth to accomplish this task outside of your business hours.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of clothing racks including garment racks. Find a high quality clothing rack or garment rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

However, hiring retail engineers may not be within the budget of most boutiques. Running a boutique can be time consuming and require experience on many different levels. So, you may need to hire someone to help you keep everything straight and consult you on the retail processes that you are encountering. You may find it worthwhile to contact a retail engineer firm that offers consulting.

Going through a professional service can help you to focus on key areas of production, branding, advertising, marketing, and product placement that you haven’t considered before. Essentially, they’ve already thought of all those little things that you may not have run into yet. It would be proactive to get some advice and maybe a checklist of things that need to be handled.

If your operation is small, you can learn how to handle different elements of the business on your own. Some things you will need to know up front, but others can be learned on an “as needed” basis. Start with the basics of your business. Categorize and keep track of your plans on the computer or in separate files so that you have accurate documentation of each area’s details.

For example, you may have a spreadsheet or document detailing your plans. Expenditures, effectiveness, reasoning and execution of plans for branding, product placement, advertising, promotion, store image, and target market may be a good place to start. By keeping files like this, you can always go in, review what your plan was, assess what is working and what is not, and make changes. Keeping track of your thoughts and goals will help you to stay focused on developing your brand image and executing the plans to make it successful.

Executing your plan will affect every aspect of your store. You will be branding yourself with every little decision that you make. Ask yourself if what you are about to do is conducive to achieving your goals before you make decisions. Your boutique’s artwork has an impact on people’s impression of you and ultimately their decision to buy. The brands that you carry say a lot about what people can expect to find in your boutique. Even a garment rack, hanger or lighting scheme can make a lasting impression. Garment racks of poor quality instantly give people the impression that you are cheap or that you don’t care about your image. Quite the opposite of what boutiques in particular are known for.

Be careful with each decision that you make. Keep track of everything and make every move a purposeful and well thought out one. Consider hiring a retail engineer consultant if you feel that you are not able to make knowledgeable decisions when it comes to effectively running your boutique.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of garment racks including clothing racks. Find a high quality garment rack or clothing rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

Boutique owners are under great pressure to offer these exclusive customers a unique product. They have to constantly update their offerings to keep the interest of these whimsical shoppers. Finding new and exciting products to offer can be a lot of fun, but it certainly isn’t the only aspect of the business. Boutique owners often find themselves becoming their own shop fitters, creating interesting and effective displays, one right after another.

The displays inside of a boutique need to work with the theme. You can use lighting to spotlight areas of interest in your boutique. Think outside the box. Use things that aren’t normally used for displays while you arrange your inventory. Your garment racks can help you here.

There are clothing racks designed specifically for boutiques. They don’t hold as many items at once, helping you keep that exclusive feel in your store. You don’t want it to look like there are many items available like the one you’re promoting, even if you have boxes full of inventory in storage. People are willing to pay more for items that they think will not always be available. They want to feel like they made a rare find. They want to be the one that discovered this unique item.

Arranging your boutique to encourage people to feel this way is essential. There is a difference in an exclusive offer and something looking sold out. No one wants to get excited about an item only to find that you don’t have their size. Make sure that the garment racks that you do have are fully stocked. This is why boutique racks are so effective. They don’t have a lot on them, but they do look full.

Customers will want to know more details about boutique offerings than they will about run-of-the-mill retail store brands. Make sure that you and your staff are well trained on product knowledge. This is the number one complaint when it comes to customer service. People want to know about the product they are investing in. Boutique shoppers are especially keen on details.

Keep your unique customers happy. Invest in a boutique garment rack. Your clothing racks can be a great asset when it comes to controlling how customers feel. Work on presentation, inventory, and customer service skills to make your boutique a success.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of garment racks including clothing racks. Find a high quality clothing rack or garment rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

Communication is the most important skill that a manager can possess. Communicating with customers, employees, other managers, and owners is essential to running a retail store or boutique. Make sure that you are always working on your listening skills. It’s a great way to earn respect, soak up useful knowledge, and diffuse tense situations.

People like to know that they’ve been heard. If someone comes to you with an idea of how to better run the business, you should listen. It doesn’t matter if it’s the lowest employee on the totem pole, you still need to listen and give the employee the attention that they deserve. After all, they are the ones on the front line, dealing with customers and store problems directly. You can learn a lot from someone who is in that position.

Listening to customers is also a valuable practice. If there is a problem and a customer is irate, then you need to pay attention. Don’t quickly try to fix the problem. Make sure that they have had their say. Many times, if you just listen, the customer gets their gripe off their chest and will calm down. Identify with their concern by being understanding, sympathetic and empathetic before you start rattling off solutions. Make sure that their feelings are validated and you’ll go far in dealing with irate customers.

Besides making employees and customers happy, managers also have to make sure that the business itself is running smoothly. This requires some thought and planning. Think one to two months into the future. Create goals for employees and for yourself. Promotions need to be well thought out before you implement them. You can’t just slap a sale sign on a garment rack and be done.

Think about what your customers will see and feel when they walk into the store. Are they excited about the products that they see? If not, you will need to update your retail displays and arrange things in a way that make them more interesting and exciting. Advertise your sales before you have them and be prepared for the extra shoppers. You will need extra inventory, possibly extra staff, and your clothing racksneed to be kept full.

Being a good manager requires extra work on yourself, not just your store, so commit yourself to research and implementation. You’ll see a difference in no time.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of garment racks including clothing racks. Find a high quality garment rack or clothing rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

The first thing to consider is the atmosphere of the store. With the right tone, customers and employees will stay on the calm side. Avoid harsh lights and loud or repetitive music. Keeping things on a quiet and organized level will improve everyone’s outlook. Keep your clothing racks and displays orderly and fully stocked. Make an hourly round and check to make sure that things look nice and neat. Disarray can lead to agitation for both the customer and the worker.

Make sure that employees are equipped with the tools that they need to quickly help customers. A computer system that keeps track of inventory is a real time saver. If a customer is looking for an item that isn’t out on your garment rack, then you and your employees should be able to quickly tell the customer if you have it in stock or not. It may not be possible to keep the clothing racks fully stocked if space is limited or certain products are selling out quickly. Preempt the customer’s frustration by letting them know that there are many items in storage that will not fit on the clothing racks. This will put them in the right frame of mind so that they are willing to ask for help when they need it.

Give your employees a refresher course in customer service. Keep your mouth shut for as long as possible and let upset customers say their peace. They need to be given the opportunity to fully explain a problem to calm down and feel like you are actually concerned. Once you have listened, try to empathize with the customer’s situation. Let them know that you understand what they mean and then offer an apology and a way to make things right.

If there are confrontations, use the experience as an opportunity to teach other employees how to deal with the situation. You can’t prepare them for everything that could possibly happen. But, if you can give them examples, get their input, and then tell them how you would like the situation handled, then each problem that arises will turn into a valuable lesson for the entire staff. Try to have a quick team meeting before or after each shift, or during a time of day when no customers are around.

Keep a system going that keeps your store or boutique in order. Customers and employees function on a more positive level in a positive atmosphere. If a clothing rack is a mess, then customers don’t want to deal with digging through it. If the clothing racks and displays are out of order, then customers get the impression that the staff is too busy to help them. Little things around the store can help to keep the atmosphere light and inviting. Keep the garment rack straight, a smile on your face, be understanding, and you can help your employees and customers to stay in the Christmas spirit.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of garment racks including clothing racks. Find a high quality garment rack or clothing rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

The first thing to do is to check your displays and get the interior of your store ready. Does everything look like it normally does? Are there exciting finds around every corner? Make sure that things are kept interesting. If people who have seen your store come in to shop for the holidays, they will probably be put off if everything looks like it always had. It gives the impression that you don’t have anything new, that you can’t sell what you have, or that you don’t have any good holiday deals, because everything looks the same as before. A negative shopping experience like that can keep a customer from ever coming back.

So what does make customers turn into repeat customers? Well, a lot of things, but one in particular is excitement. Do customers get excited and curious when they see your store? They should always be interested in seeing what is new. We’re not just talking about merchandise here. The displays can be as much of a draw as what you sell. If they are always changing and showing your merchandise in a new light, then customers will notice things that they didn’t notice before. This technique allows you to show the same merchandise over and over without customers having a clue. They will think that you always have new inventory even if you’re trying to clearance out old items.

For example, take that display table of solid long sleeved t-shirts. They look great all stacked neatly under the spotlight, colors popping, and textures beckoning, but after a while the display looks stale. Someone that has come in before will not be interested in seeing the same old thing again. So, you have to move things around. Take those shirts and move them to a garment rack and put them on some interesting hangers. Wooden hangers with your logo imprinted make even simple clothing like solid t-shirts look more unique and alluring.

Another option is to move the shirts to mannequin displays. clothing racks are very useful, but they don’t make an item pop like a mannequin does. Using mannequins is very effective because customers can see what clothing looks like when worn. Besides that, you can make it seem interesting by layering it or pairing items that normally wouldn’t go together.

Using a mannequin or a garment rack to make clothing displays look fresh is a great way to keep your store ready to win over customers this holiday season. Use your imagination and your store will look great!

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of clothing racks including garment racks. Find a high quality garment rack or clothing rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

1. You are going to need some extra help. If you can manage to keep a big crowd happy, then you will turn a lot of curious first time shoppers into long-term customers. You should probably hire some seasonal help.

2. Stock enough inventory to get through the busy season. If you’re having trouble securing credit to get what you need, consider having online sales and pass out rain tickets to customers looking for something that you ran out of.

3. Keep your clothing racks stocked. Don’t let things run too low without consolidating them. It gives the impression that you are not restocking for some reason, like you’re not going to carry that product anymore because you weren’t happy with it. Have employees restock the shelves and garment racks about every hour or as you notice them running low.

4. Keep the store tidy. No one wants to dig through a pile of clothes or sift through giant stacks looking for their size. Keep stacks folded nice and stacked in order from the biggest size on the bottom to the largest size on the top.

5. Clearly display what you have for sale. Using mannequins is a great idea. It shows customers what you have to offer and they can see it from far away. They can see what the garments look like when worn and also which accessories you recommend wearing with the garments. This is especially helpful in a boutique where the clothing is often custom made and people shopping may not realize what it would look like on. If they couldn’t figure it out, they would have to try it on. If the store is crowded or if they’re tired of shopping, they’re not going to bother. Mannequins also help to keep people from unfolding piles of clothes to check out certain garments.

6. Avoid shoplifting problems this holiday season by positioning your clothing racks so that your employees can easily keep an eye on them. Don’t pack them so full that you can’t see through to the other side. Keep circular racks near the register and don’t put a garment rack too near a wall or other fixture. Use spotlighting and consistent customer service to keep shoplifters from getting comfortable.

7. Get into the holiday spirit and keep a happy attitude. Customers will feed off of your mood, so be careful about showing how busy you are on the outside. Be patient, helpful and available to customers. Use these tips and your boutique Christmas could be your best yet.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of garment racks including clothing racks. Find a high quality garment rack or clothing rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

Just about anything can brand your image. From the color and brightness of your light bulbs to the string on your price tags, little details can help customers remember you. You’re not only trying to get people to remember you, but you want them to create a strong impression of your store and brand. You need to plan an attack on the senses that will delight, encourage, fascinate, inspire, and build trust in your shoppers.

The first impression is so important. The window displays, signage, lighting and mood are so important. Think about how you want your customers to feel. Lighting and display designs can induce excitement, relaxation, intrigue, you name it. You really have to decipher how your target audience will respond.

If your shoppers are more likely to make purchases when they are relaxed, then that can have a big impact on your store’s appearance. You will want smaller garment racks with forward facing clothing. Rummaging through a cram-packed clothing rack is no one’s idea of a relaxing experience. You’ll need lower lighting with soft spotlights and lit showcases to draw attention to certain areas without creating a harsh feeling. Colors are important, too. Muted colors, black and dark colors draw light away from the eye and can create a soothing visual while making your merchandise pop into the foreground of the shopper’s mind.

It is important to develop a theme that is congruent with your marketing plan. Don’t diverge from the theme so that the feeling shopper’s get in your store can become part of how they feel when they shop or talk to their friends about you. When they put on clothing or use accessories that they bought in your store, the feeling that they got when they shopped there should return. This is how you create a strong bond with customers. They’ll be subconsciously drawn back to that feeling, time and time again.

Make sure that your clothing racks are always in order. Whether you are running a fast-paced sale or soothing customers into their comfort zones, cleanliness, neatness and ease of shopping experience are always important. Shoppers can become frustrated with a tightly packed or disorderly garment rack. Make sure that sizes are clearly marked and your clothing racks are spaced out properly. When you make the impression that you want, it will be associated with your brand from then on.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of garment racks including clothing racks. Find a high quality garment rack or clothing rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

First you need to categorize your items. Many boutiques have a “disorderly order” appeal. Everything seems to be mixed up, but in a pleasant way that keeps interest from one part of the store to another. You don’t have to give up this eclectic feel to keep things where they go.

Divide the store into sections however you see fit. You can have something descriptive, such as the black section, the flowered section, the kid’s section or the shoes section. Use whatever makes sense for your store. Then you need to come up with a system to keep each section in order.

Here’s what we mean. Let’s use the example of a casual summer section. This area contains sun hats, lightweight dresses, beach towels, shorts, flip-flops and summer accessories, such as jewelry and sunglasses. Make a check list for this section and title it “Casual Summer” or whatever you see fit. On the check list, name each thing that you want organized.

A lot of times, you can use the same basic pattern for each section. You probably want to put the smallest items in the front where they can be easily seen. So, in the casual summer section, you may have a table or bookshelves displaying your jewelry and sunglasses. In another section, the small items may be socks, ties, or hair accessories.

You don’t want your small items to take the entire spotlight, but you do want them near the front because these are generally the lower priced items that will draw customers closer to look at them. This keeps the customers moving through the store so that they don’t ignore entire departments. So, very near the small items, you need to have a featured display.

Your featured display will be one that serves some purpose. It can be your highest priced items, your new inventory, or even just something that you feel helps to communicate your store image. Mannequins are extremely effective here. You want to draw attention to the merchandise and display it in a way that makes the customer feel a certain way.

Keep your garment racks and clothing racks clear enough that they are easy to look through. Use dividers or markers that make finding a size simple. A garment rack should never be crowded. Clothing racks that are crammed tight, damage clothes and turn customers away.

Go through your check list a few times a day and make sure that everything is in order. By keeping your displays neat and your garment racks neat, you will be able to see if something is out of place. This technique not only keeps things organized, but holds the customer’s interest in your store.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of garment racks including clothing racks Find a high quality garment rack or clothing rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.