Online Resources for Women and Minority Business Owners

Posted on July 17, 2014 by bermanevansretail
Although these observations by the National Women’s Business Council refer specifically to female business owners, they are equally applicable to minority business owners:
“Like all entrepreneurs, women business owners face many challenges in making their entrepreneurship dreams a reality.  Some of the challenges faced by women may be specific to women, due to the historical and cultural context within which they do their work.  Women have the challenge of confronting and overcoming the historical barriers of being kept out of business and capital markets until the late 1980s.  Even today, women’s access to information (or lack thereof) about financing strategies and opportunities may be limited due to a lack of access to the social networks where many key decision makers and capital players make deals.  A lack of information about financing a business may result in more women raising lower levels of capital or pursuing only debt financing, which can limit their growth potential. ”
Click the image to read more from the NWBC.
 

 
With the above in mind, Tom Shaw (a Visible Systems Specialist for Magnatag) has published an excellent series of links to resources for women and minority business owners. Shaw provides links to 45 resources!! Click here to access Shaw’s “Women and Minority-Owned Business Resources.”

 

Posted in Career Useful Information, Careers in Retailing, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 8: Putting It All Together | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

How Strong Is the U.S. Economy for Retailers?

Posted on July 16, 2014 by bermanevansretail
There have been many conflicting reports about the state of U.S. retailing. Some experts are rather pessimistic, while others are more optimistic.
Count Mr. Steven Keith Platt, Director and Research Fellow at the Platt Retail Institute, among the latter:
“The U.S. consumer is alive and well. They are responding to pent up demand for new cars and fixing up their homes, as well as continuing to improve their balance sheets. These expenditures are taking precedence over purchases at general merchandise stores. This is a short-term trend that will soon reverse itself as consumers revert to spending on other discretionary items.”
Click the image to read read Platt’s thoughtful, data-packed article on “What Store Traffic Is Not Telling You About the Health of the U.S. Consumer.”

 

 

Posted in Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Rocky Seas for Wal-Mart

Posted on July 15, 2014 by bermanevansretail
Although Wal-Mart is still by far the world’s largest retailer, it has faced some stormy seas in recent years. U.S. store sales are stagnant. Earnings have been tight. Competition from dollar stores and from online retailers has taken its toll. Etc., etc.
As Shelly Banjo reports for the Wall Street Journal:
“With the price gap shrinking between Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and its competitors, the retailing giant faces the double sorrow of sluggish sales and traffic. In May, the company reported its fifth straight quarter of negative U.S. sales, excluding newly opened or closed stores, and its sixth straight quarter of dwindling traffic. Wal-Mart’s return on investment dropped to 17% in the year ended Jan. 31, down from 20% seven years ago. The weak results led to the lowest levels of bonuses to executives in several years.”
“The discounter is also dogged by allegations of bribery overseas, and continues to face regulatory challenges from its nonunionized workforce. It has stumbled in country after country in its attempts to expand overseas, even as it remains a dominant retailing force in countries like Mexico and Canada.”
“Some of the retailer’s initiatives — from new store formats to a shift in some pricing models — don’t much resemble the old Wal-Mart, where bigger stores were touted as better, and prices were ‘always low.’ This year, for the first time in its history, Wal-Mart will open more smaller grocery and convenience-type stores than supercenters. At 10,000 to 40,000 square feet, its Wal-Mart Express and Neighborhood Market concepts are a fraction of the size of a 200,000-square-foot superstore. Stores now double as pickup stations for shoppers to collect televisions, bicycles and other items purchased online.”
Click the image to read more of Banjo’s story.

 

 

Posted in Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 4: Store Location Planning, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Part 8: Putting It All Together | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments