Who said "You can't teach an old dog new tricks?"

 

Well in my case, they"re wrong.

 

Maybe some of this I've heard before & in some cases maybe I've heard more than once, but for whatever reason, maybe this time I heard it louder & clearer than before & it stuck...

 

1) Pricing -- I know that Paul has been preaching 9's for a hundred years but I was one of those from the old school & used convenience pricing.

 

A lot of our prices came out to the even dollar, or at least in 25 cent increments. That way we didn't have to monkey with those pennies, nickels & dimes.. We were known as the store where prices most always came out even monies.

 

But you know what??? More & more & more people are now using plastic, & pennies, nickels & dimes are no longer a nuisance (AND) with some higher pricing comes higher profits.

 

It may not seem like much but pennies, nickels & dimes all add up & every little bit helps, especially these days.

 

2) Old Product(s) -- Beer & liquor I don't have much trouble with beer and liquor but not wines.

 

I have now taken a number of wines (some old & some new) & priced them all at $7.99. But if they buy 3, they get a 4th bottle "FREE".

 

Why is it that the word "FREE" really works wonders?

 

Customers who came in for 1 or 2 bottles of wine are now walking out with 4 & some are leaving with as many as 8, all because of that magic word "FREE".

 

I use the $7.99 price because the program I use with the Total Register system allows me to discount $2.00 in increments of 4 which amounts to 4 x $2.00 or $8.00 which amounts to 1 free.

 

By the way, we had a record day of wine sales the day before Thanksgiving.

 

3) Beer of the month -- I have always tried to price my case beers at 25% GP "BUT" now I have taken the Miller Lite & priced it at $17.99 (about 18% GP).

 

I now have a beer that is comparably priced with most of the other stores in the area (even the Fargo-Moorhead stores).. Those of you who have seen the beer prices in the Fargo-Moorhead area, you know what I am talking about.

 

Why did I chose Miller Lite? Because they were the distributor in this area who did not raise their pricing to us & I wanted to show my appreciation.

 

4) Bullet Reports -- I made a written report to the City Council informing them of the activities at the store for the past month. That way they are aware of what I am doing & what is going on at the store.

 

These are just a few of the things discussed at the Regional Meetings but this is what I have been working on since the Meetings & believe me, they are working.

 

Which goes to prove -- "You can teach an old dog new tricks."

 

My next project -- To start using inventory cycle counts.

 

I hope everybody has a very happy & successful Holiday Season

 

Bob Leslie

Pelican Rapids Liquor Manager

MMBA Director

JIM HAMMERAND, Northfield News Staff Writer

Alcohol buyers are putting their money where it will have the best value, according to some city sales figures.

Shoppers are still spending at Northfield's municipal liquor store downtown. Stephen DeLong, who runs the city's alcohol operation, said he's seen a trend toward value-oriented shopping for the past five years that intensified as stocks dropped and jobs evaporated.

"When it first hit, there was a certain sympathy where people didn't want to be ostentatious with their purchases," DeLong said.

But he said it's difficult to figure out exactly what goes through a shopper's mind at checkout. Sales are up by about 7 percent through the end of October compared to the same period in 2009, DeLong said. That growth is likely coming at the expense of bars and restaurants, where service and ambiance drives up the cost of drinking.

The average transaction has held steady over the year but is trending up. At $22.22 in November, it was about $1.40 more than the same time last year.

Premium brands are holding strong, but some bottom shelf brands of liquor and beer seem to be growing in popularity. That's possibly at the expense of mid-range brands, the regular consumers of which may be trading down.

Sales of Busch Light in 24-can cases, for example, were down about 10 percent through October. One step below, 24-can cases of Natural Light sold that much more often through the same period.

Consumers are also shopping with per unit prices in mind, buying in larger volumes to save in the long run. Boxed wines, which cost as much as a fourth less by volume than bottles of the same product, are selling briskly, DeLong said.

And wine drinkers are less willing to trade down, DeLong said, but will try different brands from different countries to get the best price.

"In wine, people are less brand conscious because they can try anything," DeLong said. "As long as the price is right and it tastes good and is a good value, it'll sell here."

Other liquor store employees in northern Rice County have anecdotally reported changes in purchasing habits, but hard data is difficult to come by. A Gallup poll conducted in June shows that Americans are drinking at the same rates as they did a year before and for about the entire decade. Even that study noted that it's difficult to figure out how consumers' alcohol spending changes in tough economies.

Mike Cords, an area manager with Paustis Wine Co. of Plymouth, was pricing wines in the Northfield store Tuesday afternoon. He said thrifty consumers are recognizing the value - based both on quality and exchange rates - of South American wines.

"People are definitely looking for more bang for their buck," Cords said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

An MMBA member recently asked if a customer could bring a bottle of alcohol into their establishment.

 

The answer is yes.

 

 

A licensed retailer of alcoholic beverages may prohibit any person from bringing into the licensed premises any container of alcoholic beverages, or from consuming from such a container on the licensed premises, without the licensee's permission.