Like covid wasn’t bad enough to destroy our independent retail businesses over the last two years, the administration continues bad policy that has been devastating to our industry. I get it, covid came and it was scary – but then we started to understand more about the virus and especially saw that the lock downs and masking was only adding to the problems. But that didn’t stop our government and health “experts” from doubling down and enforcing even more restrictions over the last two years. I am not a conspiracy theorist – I am realistic and react on how these regulations have been killing our businesses.

So we got past covid and those of us still standing have had the last year getting pounded by inflation, supply chain issues and higher production costs. This did not just happen because of the Ukraine/Russia conflict, although that has intensified the problems. From Jan 22 we have suffered through deliberate policy to inflict higher prices and shortages. We have shot ourselves in the foot, ON PURPOSE. You cannot close down oil pipelines without a penalty. I am all for alternative energies but any idiot knows that you do not shut down your electric box until you have the windmill hooked up! This is simple. With increased oil and utility pricing our small businesses have had issues keeping up.

Zoom ahead to today where we are seeing rampant inflation. This is effecting everyone and especially small businesses whose margins have shrunken dramatically. Is there an answer to these problems? Of course there is but we have people in charge who are purposefully leading us in the wrong direction. I am not a political person – I am an entrepreneur. I need my business to survive so my family can survive. Small businesses have long been the backbone of our country – and I am afraid that our backs are breaking and no one in power is caring!

I have been in the fixtureand installation business for over a decade and one thing I hear often from clients is that union carpentry crews are expensive. There are many cities who require workers on a job site to be union members and there are several reasons for that, some political, some safety-wise.

Unlike their non-union counterparts, Union carpenters must serve a rather long period of apprenticing in the field before they qualify as a full service journeyman. This thorough training ensures that all crew members have the highest level of quality and professionalism for every project. This training allows crews to work quickly, accurately and safely at all times. Many clients who have used union crews discover that while the rates are higher, the projects run more seamlessly and efficiently, often saving money in the long run.

For over 130 years the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, with over half a million members has been a leader in training, educating and representing the future generations of construction professionals. There is no group more committed to building relationships than a union carpenter.

With hourly costs easily ranging beyond one hundred dollars an hour in most major cities, it is important to know how you can minimize your costs when you are employing union carpenters. I tell my clients that their preparation before the project is very important. Making sure that the trucks are on time, the fixtures or millwork is properly made and pre-assembled in their shop before it gets to the job site are two important factors in budgeting for a crew.

One of the most unique programs in the industry is our company’s special SHIFT RATE pricing. We save our clients thousands of dollars by sending our union carpentry crew to their projects anywhere in the USA and billing a simple net hourly rate! Our crew then works under our clients own supervision effecting a productive and cost controlled project. Rather than “guess-timating” a fixed price, which is often incorrect and inflated, Store Force provides one net hourly rate with no “fat”and no contingencies.

My goal as national Union Sales Director for Store Force is to present the bestand most practical options for our clients needing union carpentry and union installations around the country. Many of our clients are open-shop companies who partner with us to accommodate their union projects.

Please call on me any time for more information, rates, or to learn more about our union shift rate pricing.

I can be reached at: 1-631-672-3150, unioninstallers@gmail.com, www.unioninstallers.com.

YES I know that traditional retail stores have been having a hard time over the last several years as shoppers buying patterns have been changing. While we have seen many consumers, especially the younger crowd increase their spending online, the fact is that traditional retailers still win when it comes to ringing up sales. However, the chipping away at the retailers does take a toll and many stores have been working around the clock for ways to combat the changes.

WELL, here is one of the craziest things and customers who stroll in will see tailors altering suits, stylists giving fashion tips and will be offered some wine or fresh squeezed juice while they wait for a manicure. All sounds like a wonderful spa-like experience, right? What the shoppers won’t be able to do is buy clothes that they can take home with them!

THIS is Nordstrom’s new tactic for a struggling business. They want to cut costs while keeping their shoppers interested so they are opening a store that will be like a page from an e-commerce website. The concept: Little or no merchandise will be stocked at the store! Come, pick out a lovely dress, place your order

MY goodness, don’t they realize that the problems online apparel sellers had,and still have, is that customers want to try on the clothes first. Having a retail store with no merchandise is like the Emperor wearing no clothes. They want you to come in, browse around some catalog pictures and mannequins, spend your money and wait for the mailman to bring your goods. Sounds an awful lot like online shopping but with more work as you have to drive to the store, park and complete the transaction in person. I am devoting a good portion of our news column to this today because apparently the big influential retailers think this is the way to go. Wal-Mart is eyeing the idea of stores with no inventory as well and may be considering this for their future expansion. While it certainly streamlines things at the stores and massively cuts overhead it create absolutely no shopping experience for consumers and I have to say it looks like it will be a disaster all around.

BUT what do we small retailers know? Wal-Mart spent $310 million this summer to buy Bonobos, a “guideshop” pioneer. Stores filled with showroom pieces and samples you can order. They’ll be delivered to you later. Thanks for coming in to shop! Many of these companies are publicly heldand Wall Street is not exactly embracing this type of unit. Perhaps that’s why Nordstrom was looking to take themselves private recently. Who knows, but what I do know is that this seems like a completely ridiculous idea. Maybe our small stores will do well by being so unique that someone can actually come in, buy something and take it home with them! Who’d have thought there’s hope after all.

The giants like Amazon, Target, Walmart and Costco have many competitive advantages over small click and mortarand e-commerce businesses that makes it very difficult to compete on identical products. Competing with these giants is addressed in many articles over the last years but as astute small business-people see with many big brandands jumping onto the Amazon bandwagon, the prospect of beating Amazon is just not realistic.

The fact is that these large retailers have a real competitive advantage over smaller ones. Amazon is both a retailer as well as a marketplace which allows someone to buy from a third-party retailer on their website. It turns out that many of these third-party vendors sell for pennies in profits. How could you compete with that, any WHY would you?

The only success that I can see in competing with Amazon is to try to sell something different than what they sell so you’re just not competing with them. That is a mantra that is pushed often by writers and at merchandise shows, but the reality is WHAT could you sell that is not available on Amazon?

Maybe a custom product or hand made product would work, but that is not practical for many of us mainstream retailers. Some retailers have taken to selling merchandise on a subscription box basis –and that works for some merchandise but really not the answer a retailer like myself wants to see.

The sad news is that all of the writers and speakers that I have readand listened to over the recent years stress finding unique merchandise (good luck with that!) And at the recent ASD Marketweek show there was a speaker who caught my attention when he said Amazon was killing our small retailers – but then went on to say that we can fight them by giving better customer service to our shoppers. Really?! This is the sort of dribble that permeates our industry that does no service to anyone who has been active for more than a month or two! You’re not going to combat Amazon with better in-store service, especially since you’re going to be on an uphill battle even getting the shopper into your store.

I hope that maybe our readers have some tips to share that have helped them combat the giantsand will share there here for our fellow retailers. There is no simple answer to our survival but I do know it’s not customer service or offering a latte to shoppers at our stores.

This article brought to you by Retailers Forum Magazine, a monthly wholesale merchandise magazine servicing the industry since 1981 with no-nonsense articles and information to this country’s retailers.

WHILE the 2016 holiday sales season was profitable for many independent retail stores, it was not as promising for some of the major chain stores who have announced below average earnings. The post holiday numbers are inand the retail industry as a whole had the largest increase in sales in the last five years. Consumers opened their walletsand made a record amount of purchases, but much of the retail money was spent online. The droves of shoppers did eventually turn up at the retail chains but they were driven by heavy discounts.

PROMOTIONS are great for shoppers but not so much for the store owners. While many small retailers held their own, the large chains felt the brunt of the challenges.

MACY’S has announced that it will be closing about 100 stores in 2017, which is roughly 15% of their locations. Along with those closings comes job losses which are expected to be as many as 10,000 workers nationwide. Sears has also announced the closure of many of their stores as well which will also result in many layoffs.

AMERICANS were in the mood to spend – just not at traditional stores. Independent retailers were quick to realize this and improving their online presence to make sure they prosper for the new year. The challenge that all retailers have in this changing environment is to better define their place in the market and create experiences both on and away from the shoppers computer keyboards. Stores will need to become more of a destination or entertain customers in order to prosper. The retail store is not dead, but the retail store of the past is. It’s a far cry from the days of unlocking the front door and letting the line of shoppers inside!

Retailers in California are feeling the sting of increased shoplifting throughout the state as the government powers that be changed the laws when it comes to penalties for the CRIME of shoplifting. Turns out that the new rules say that anything stolen that is less than $950 keeps the crime a misdemeanor.-and likely means that the thieves face no pursuit and no punishment.

It is already being reported by many larger retailers in the state that shoplifting is up around 15 percent already since voters in the state approved Proposition 47 and ended the possibility of charging shoplifters with a felony and potential prison sentence.

The recent ballot also lowered penalties for forgery, fraud, petty theftand drug possession. WHO was doing the voting? Criminals!! What civic minded person would agree to the ridiculous changes in the law?

Retailers are saying that while they are installing more security camerasand watching shoppers more carefully it’s just not worth pursuing the shoplifters since the laws no longer protect the store owners and are favoring the criminals.