Just yesterday I met with 7 different sales people. Three of them brought in new items they wanted to bring into my store. And at that, not just one or two but each had at least 5!

How do you decide what is worth bringing into your store? Package?  Price?  Vendor history?  Customer purchasing trends?

All of those things may be things you take into account when deciding what new to bring in. I know for my store it is a variety of different things.

 I have tried to teach my vendors to not bring in more than 3 new products at once. I do not want to hear their entire sales meeting from the Friday before. My time is valuable and so is theirs.

I have asked them to bring me the best products for my store. If they have been your sales person for any amount of time or pay attention to what your customers are buying they will know what new products may work.

After that, I have to consider the space in my store. My store, as is most of yours, does not have extra space just waiting for new products.  Often I may have to look at what products of theirs are not selling and figure out how to get rid of the old to bring in something new. If there is not a product of theirs in the section in which the new product would go and you have to "get rid of" someone else's product, then the stakes are higher .

The next thing I consider is how many cases are they asking me to buy? It is the sales person's job to sell as much as possible. If the deal seems way too much for your store, talk to them about a smaller quantity.

I recommend you never buy something just because your sales person says everyone else is bringing it in. Ask who is everyone else? Metro stores? Big box stores? Or other stores in your area.

I also consider if I have had requests for this product and if it in the prime of the selling season for that type of product, such as a new margarita or tea in July, and a new deep red wine in November.

Not only do cyclical inventories keep your products current, those inventories also can show you trends on what people are purchasing and what products need to go away.

Sometimes we make bad buying decisions and then the product needs to be sold at a discounted price. If that is the case, get it out of the store to make room for something else.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns the MMBA Board members are here to assist you.

Happy Purchasing.