Mumbai Indians snatch a life from the jaws of Death at the Bangalore Match !

The Mumbai Indians were some 51 for 5 chasing a total of 172 in this match, when Pollard and Ambati Rayudu started their onslaught.
Look at the “symbolic surrender” of the Mascot of the Royal Challengers Gayle ! at the Bangalore Airport Security Checkin on Tuesday night. Abject surrender of the match . It is not to say, the RCB did not fight valiantly to win the match. It is only that the MI teams determination to succeed was higher.

What are the lessons for we mere mortals at the Retail Store ?Many a times, the sales target seems unreachable ( 51 for 5 chasing a 172 ).
Many a times, the stars have not performed ( Sachin out at 0 )
Many a times, the responsibility will fall on a guy who has not done well before .( Rayadu was never their star, yet scored his highest runs here and helped MI to win this match.)
If we believe, that any situation is worth a fight, then there are good chances, that with determination, it is possible to win, even a hopeless  case like what the Mumbai Indians must have faced.

What are the lessons from the RCB point of view ?Many a times, the sales target seems very reachable ( with 172 on the board, 51/5 by the opposition, winning is just a matter of time )
Many a times, some one becomes the fall guy ( 2 overs and 34 runs in the 17 and 18th over changed the match completely ). You could lose a large and important order in the last stage of the “Sale”. How many times, have we faced this problem at the store, due to the inability of the inexperienced staff to close the sale ?
Many a times, when the situation can turn either way, and you can become a hero or a villan, some one has to take the responsibility. ( Gayle bowled the last over  and MI covered the required few runs)
Yet, when we saw the RCB team at the Bangalore airport just a few hours ago, none of this loss appears to be on their minds, and what mattered seemed to be to get to the next destination for the next match.
Wins and losses are part and parcel of every effort. You win some surprises, when everything was appearing lost and you lose something,  when you have every thing going for you.

The magic is the team spirit ! Every body contributes !

But there is always something to look forward to , and that is “TOMORROW is another day “.
Best of luck to whichever team wins this IPL 5 series, but each man and the few women in the teams would have learnt lessons that they will not forget in a hurry. And the fans, would have got their money’s worth of entertainment. But I wish we all learnt lessons even in the Cricketing Madness called IPL 5.

 

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Are tough days ahead in 2012-13 ?

Chains stores are beginning to feel the heat. After the Future group started closing unviable stores, it is now the turn of Aditya Birla Group to begin to close some 30 stores.

Store closing per se is not necessarily an ominous sign of bad things ahead. Decisions on store openings are made based on multiple factors and not all stores achieve targeted top line and bottom line numbers.

When the going is good, typically, companies tend to keep the "non performing store" going for some more time, because of the efforts, not to mention the costs that have already been sunk in. This is very similar to buying shares and hoping the share, which is currently below the purchase price will turnaround in the future.

But, once the going gets tough, then tough decision are made. And it looks like the tough decisions are being made and stores are being shut.

What does this indicate to the retailers?

The scenario that is unfolding in 12-13 is a tough year ahead , which for a new year just one day old is not a good thing at all. We have 363 days to go.

What can smaller retailers do ?

First take an inventory of the product range, inventory value, marketing spends, price off , etc. All the budgeting that has been done in the last few months for this year, might be worth a small but serious review. Afterall lot of thought has gone in and we should not scrap it at the first sign of difficulties.

Once you have identified potential "traps", begin to monitor these more closely. If possible, put a tracking mechanism for these . As a retailer, inventory is the first thing that can go out of control. Put a visual tracking system like a chart, which gives day to day inventory ( not sales ) value for you. It might take a few attempts to get it right first, but the impact will be substantial.

Once you have this inventory tracking system, begin to track it like your daily sales on your mobile or note book or whatever. Get your team into this monitoring mechanism as well.

Identify the A,B, C category products and first focus on the high cost low turn categories in your stores.

Look around for some software, which can help you with your analysis. It will be worth the effort.

Summary of Action plan :-

1. Quick Review of budgets
2. Identify areas of monitoring
3. Process to monitor - simple visual techniques - SMS/ Paper chart etc
4. Segregate inventory by ABC method, Costly and slow moving on priority.

5. Give and take feedback on action taken and share your experiences with us here.

RetailGurukul@gmail.com

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