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From The Director - Every contact we have with a customer influences whether or not they'll come back. We have to be great every time or we'll lose them.-Kevin Stirtz
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Although September was slower than expected, October has arrived and sales are beginning to take off. Looking back at the history of Once Upon A Child sales, October has been the biggest month in Once Upon A Child for over 15 consecutive years and this year we expect it to be no different. Although a soft month like we had in September can be disappointing, it is imperative that we do not let it affect our buys in October and November as we need fresh product coming in to support our sales. October, over the years has ranged anywhere from 11.9% to 13.9% of our yearly sales. Now is the time we have prepared for all year!
As we do each month, it is important to look at what we do to ensure we continue to stay focused on our primary objectives for the year 1.) Improve Customer Count 2.) Improve Inventory Management 3.) Improve Customer Experience. I wanted to look at how we can focus on each of those three priorities over the next month.
Improve Customer Count: Driving new and existing customers into our stores in imperative in October as it historically is the largest sales month of the year, and retail everywhere is fighting to share our customer base.
- Constant Contact: Minimum of 3-4 should be sent in October - this is our heaviest traffic time so stay in communication!
- Facebook: Minimum 3-4 posts per day
- Bulk of posts should be in store posts (product that recently was bought)
- Establish, daily, who will be taking the pictures - make this a part of the opening teams schedule and post pictures throughout the day
- Use basic backgrounds and remember to include sizes and retail
Improve Inventory Management: Totes, totes and more totes!
- Daily Replenishment: A person or team should be assigned to get totes to the floor daily. If 100 units sell from the floor then there is room for 100 fresh pieces of apparel on the floor.
- Review your back stock logs - take the total number of apparel totes remaining to get out and divide by the number of days left to get those items out
- Remember: All apparel totes need to be to the floor by 11/1/2016 in order to have selling time on the floor before the next clearance cycle. Anything purchased prior to 11/1/2016 goes to clearance at this time.
- Creating Space: When reviewing your back stock logs ensure you are giving more space to areas where you have more totes left to get out.
- Shift your racks to condense sizes where there is limited inventory left to get out
- If you believe you can not get the remainder of your totes to the floor this season contact your FOM to ensure that you work through a plan to get them all out and to avoid carrying product over.
Improve Customer Experience:
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Buy Counter: Short and stuck to buy times are key at this time for a few reasons - the seller wants to feel appreciated and that it's convenient to sell to your store, and we want them to do a trade!
- Coordinator - this person needs to set the pace every day. Make sure they are staffed for success and that everyone plan has a back up plan (who will cover a spot in the case of a call offs?)
- Accountability - ensure each staff is working at the tempo your store demands
- Sales Counter: Each register needs to be fully stocked with everything an associate may need to check out a customer - staplers have staples, tape dispenser has tape, and register tape is near by.
- Assign a register person - this likely is a tagger/hanger, but ensure that your buy team is not the team checking people out too as this will pull people away from their buy and the team will miss their buy time goal
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Sara & Kevin Allan - Abbotsford, BC
YTD Sales +30% YTD Buys + 25% CC + 20%
Check out the great results franchisees Sara and Kevin Allan are seeing in their Abbotsford, BC store!
Sara and Kevin are committed to growing their business by providing a positive and engaging experience for their customers.
Not only are they active with Traditional and Digital marketing, they have committed to being active in the "mom" community and hosting a princess story time in their store. As you can see from their pictures, it certainly is a hit with all the little princesses in their community.
Q&A with the Sara and Kevin Allan from Abbotsford, BC
Q - What do you feel is contributing to your recent and ongoing success?
A - "We feel that our sales growth is the result of focusing on customer service, keeping a very organized store, a relaxed return policy and monitoring Winmark Remote reports to understand when and what to transition on the floor. Above all else, customer service is definitely our number one priority starting with a team hello to acknowledge every customer that walks in the door."
Q - What are you doing to market your store?
A - "
We boost a lot of posts on both Facebook and Instagram. I also run targeted Facebook campaigns on both Facebook and Instagram as well as Facebook's display network. An example would be a branded back to school, fall or dress wear campaign. We utilize constant contacts and in-store signage as well. I did run a back to school and fall campaign on a local Christian radio station that turned out to be very beneficial this year.
I would say that our number one marketing tool is understanding our local market and how to effectively create very specific targeted audiences for boosted posts and campaigns."
Congratulations to Sara, Kevin, and the Abbotsford team on their outstanding performance!
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Numbers  |
| U.S. Top 5 | Canadian Top 5 | Top 5 YTD % Increase |
| 1) | 20344 | Minney | $1,554,205
| | 2) | 20663 | Henderson | $1,319,983 | | 3) | 20116 |
Fodness-Hughes-
VanRegenmorter
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| $1,306,933 | | 4) | 20652 | Yanda | $1,289,171 | 5)
| 20555 | Henderson | $1,284,447 |
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| 1) | 20256 | Wright | $1,080,714
| | 2) | 20622 | Eccles | $1,062,159 | | 3) | 20310 | LeBlanc | $1,008,217 | | 4) | 20675 | Henderson | $978,654 | 5)
| 20670 | Redpath-Moormann | $930,349 |
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| 1) | 20872 | Branch | 39.7%
| | 2) | 20917 | Rogala | 39.1% | | 3) | 20544 | Vera | 34.9% | | 4) | 20713 | Money | 32.5% | 5)
| 20888 | MacDonald
| 31.1% |
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From The Operations Desk
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The 4th quarter is here! A busy time of year on so many levels. A key deadline is November 1st - the "drop dead" date when all Fall / Winter product needs to be on the floor. The traffic counts are strong due to the seasonal shopping patterns, but also - this ensures this product has the minimum amount of time on the floor to sell in advance of the next Clearance Season. If you are having issues in your store - contact your FOM a.s.a.p. to work some possible solutions or strategies to best maximize your sales and profits.
Your teams have been running full tilt now since the beginning of August - recognize this and let them know you appreciate their hard work. Make sure they understand the objective - a good experience for both selling and buying customers. With these busy days upon us - it's easy to want to take short cuts with communication so step back and listen your teams engage with customers. Yes, it's busy - but there is never a reason to forget the basic mechanics of what we do and how important each of these customers are.
There's been a lot of concern about buys - Do they really equal sales? The answer is yes though not always in perfect alignment in any given month. A lot of variables can impact things such as sections not kept full...or maybe the polar opposite - they are so packed they are un-shoppable. When evaluating buys - make sure you have the whole picture. Look at not only the comparison of buys at cost, but also the number of buys and the avg. units and payout. For stores on Winmark Remote this is easily seen on the Store Performance Dashboard report. In the following example (a 2 week period) - the overall buys are up a whopping 24%, but look at the average units - up almost 4 units per and meanwhile the numbers of sellers is down by 10. Having fewer customers coming in to sell is a problem contributing to what is a 7% decline in sales for this store. It may not be the only factor, but it's something to be considered. For 6.8 stores you need the Buyer Report Card found under Under Reports > Buy Reports > Buyer Report Card. You will need to run it for it for both years to do the comparison.
The lesson here is to understand what you are really working with here and what is behind the numbers. If you are having issues partner your FOM in on the issue and work through things so you are making smart operational and marketing decisions.
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02 Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown
07 Begin promoting Holiday Dress Wear Event
10 Thanksgiving (Canada)
11 Yom Kippur Begins at sundown
17 Markdown Halloween costumes to 50% off
22 Holiday Dress Wear Event
31 Halloween
31 In-Season - Pull 08 product for 50% off
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01 Begin using white attachers
04 Remind Sunday staff clocks change Sunday morning
06 Daylight Savings Time ends
11 Veteran' Day (US) Remembrance Day (Canada)
24 Thanksgiving
25 Black Friday Event
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03 Clearance Blow Out (CBO) 50/60/70% off
02 Remaining clearance 50% off
17 Remaining clearance moves to 60% off
24 Remaining clearance moves to 70% off
24 Hanukkah begins at sundown
24 Christmas Eve
25 Christmas
26 Kwanzaa begins
26 Boxing Day (Canada)
31 10 for $10 Weekend Event
31 New Year's Eve
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Walker, MI - Judy and Tab Bradford
Newmarket, ON - Tiffany and Larry Carr
Elizabethtown, KY - Crystal Garrison
I just wanted to take a moment to brag about your employee, I was just in the store this evening with my two year old and my newborn. I stopped in to get my little one a winter jacket and found an amazing deal on Onesies. My newborn is currently being breast fed and she was due for a feeding so I asked the lady at the front counter if there was anywhere I could feed her. She was quick to accommodate a dressing room for me to feed my daughter. I was so appreciative and I wanted to brag on her. I didn't catch her name, but she's a slim lady with redish hair and bob cut and extremely sweet and also the shorter girl with black hair crawling under the door to unlock it as the keys were with another customer. I just wanted you to know how much I really appreciated both of them for going out their way. I will definitely be returning to your shop - I've never been treated with that much respect while in a public place and my daughter needing to be fed. Thank you guys so much!
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Hello, I visited today and was quite disappointed when I realized that some of the clothes I brought (in season and new with tags) were not even looked through. I had them folded and in an order that was obvious it was moved to the side and not actually gone through. Two of the other customers there today said they felt the same way about their items. One customer said the manager was not in and that the employees were probably not working as hard as they should be. I don't expect anything, I would just like for the store manager to be a little more choosy with whom they employee and to let the current employees know that customers are aware of their actions and it's disappointing.
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Concord, NC - Dan McConnell
2016 Best of Concord Award in Baby Gear and Furniture by the Best Businesses of Concord Award Program
Hoover, AL - Jim Baghdadi
In their first year of operation they were recognized by Hoover Magazine as Best Children's Store.
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Million Dollar Achievement
August
Kim & Geoff Schmidt & Erin Schmidt - Fairfield, NJ
Karen Wright - Hamilton, ON
September
Denise & James Palin - Littleton, CO
Suzanne & Greg Simpson - Ocoee, FL
Dennis Blum - Westerville, OH
Brian Gaer - Wethersfield, CT
Alison Adam - Calgary, AB (South)
Ben & Jamie Brinn and Leslie Flynn
Tab & Judy Bradford - Wyoming, MI
Dawn & Ron Rehbein - Maple Grove, MN
John LeBlanc - Barrie, ON
Dave & Christina Dunlop - Winnipeg West, MB
Kimberly Hellums - Katy, TX
Karen Wright - Burlington, ON
Laila Ruzika & Shereef Hammad - Edison, NJ
Pam Morris - Williston, VT
Brian Gaer - Milford, CT
Becky Finger & Kate Paynter - Huber Heights, OH
Kathy & Daryl Hackworth - Fort Wayne, IN
Kim Burtner - Indianapolis, IN (Lakewood)
Becky Finger & Kate Paynter - Cincinnati, OH (Colerain)
Marnie McKnight - Bloomington, IN
Tony & Julie Finical - Baton Rouge, LA
Scott & Tara Dyer - St. Peters, MO
Elaine Krieger - Orland Park, IL
Todd Valmassei - Canton, OH
Marnie McKnight - Terre Haute, IN
Shorty and Allison Hayes - Amarillo, TX
$1.5 Million Achievement
SeptemberStacy Fodness, Lacey Hughes & Jamie VanRegenmorter - Sioux Falls, SD
October
Joe and Tammy Henderson - Surfside, SC
Marty & Kery Yanda - Oklahoma City, OK (South)
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We are now 345 stores strong! |
Congratulations to Karen and Carl Wilburn on opening their third Once Upon A Child Store! Universal City, TX Grand Opening on 9/15/16
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Congratulations to Susan and Nate King - Tracy, CA Grand Opening on 9/22/16
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Congratulations to Constance Love - Tupelo, MS Grand Opening on 9/22/16
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Congratulations to Aimee Carpenter - Hattiesburg, MS Grand Opening on 9/22/16
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Advertising & Marketing
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Using Facebook to Promote Your Events
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 With the Holiday Dresswear Event, Black Friday Event and Clearance Events all coming up in 4th Quarter, you should be thinking about getting more customers into your stores. Creating and promoting an event post on Facebook is a great way to bring awareness and increase participation for your in-store event. When an event shows up on a person's timeline, they have the option of clicking to show if they are attending or interested in the event. The event will continue to pop up in their timeline and often times their friends' timelines until the date of the event. When creating your event: - Use a strong and descriptive title
- Include the date and time of the event
- Bullet point the event description
- Use strong, eye-catching imagery
Use the Ads Manager to promote your event: - Promote 1-2 weeks out from the event
- Choose an audience of Fans, Friends of Fans and Interest Targeting
- Budget $35-$50 per week to promote
Keep adding more details to your event as you get closer to the actual date and encourage Fans to share the event with their friends. Your estimated reach should be 1K - 5K impressions per week, although results will vary by market. Pin the event to the top of your page so it's the first thing that visitors see.
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It's that time of year where stores should be firming up their marketing plan for 2017. Here's a couple of things to look at:
- Traditional Media - TV (cable and/or network) and Radio
- Choose 1 station with good coverage
- Use to promote events or peak selling periods if it isn't affordable for an on-going presence
- Focus on our target audience of 25-59 year old moms
- Digital - Paid Search , Display/Remarketing Ads and Pandora Radio
- This may be the largest portion of your budget
- Maintain an on-going presence with search and display
- Consider Pandora as an alternate radio station to supplement or replace traditional radio
- Social Media - Facebook and Instagram - This is where your customer is!
- Hire a service to manage your Facebook strategy and ad
- Allocate at least $200/month in ad spend to promote post, likes and events
- Website and Email Marketing
- You can easily manage both of these platforms on your own but if you'd rather not, budget in paying someone to do it for you
Work with your media buyer and/or digital agency to prepare your annual plan. The marketing department will gladly review your plan with you and offer suggestions.
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Conference is quickly approaching and if you're interested in a marketing one-on-one appointment, now is the time to schedule! The following are some topics we can cover:
- Hootsuite - Learn how to schedule and post branded content from the content library and curated content from suggestions.
- Facebook - Get an evaluation of your page and learn how to use event posts to drive customers to your store.
- Website - We'll check out your site and teach you how to keep your site updated and looking good in less than 30 minutes a month. (Hint - if you are paying someone to manage your website you can give yourself a $300/mo raise!)
- Marketing Plan- We can review your plan to make sure you are getting the most benefit from your marketing spend.
One-on-one meetings will he held on Sunday, January 22, during the Trade Show. To reserve a space, contact Aimee Zweber or your Field Operations Manager.
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October Options
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November Options
| New - We Have Halloween Costumes
New - Halloween Costumes 50% Off
New - Holiday Dresswear Event
New - Holiday Dresswear Event Reminder New - Thanksgiving (Canada)
New - Fall Stock Up
| New - We Want Your Toys (August)
New - Thanksgiving (US - Template loaded in Sept.)
New - Black Friday
New - Shop Local (Small Business Saturday)
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Human Resources |
 New Hire Paperwork & Recordkeeping Requirements
Business owners are subject to extensive employee record keeping requirements when hiring and managing employees. It can be time consuming and overwhelming to keep track of what forms to use, what to keep, where to keep them, and for how long. In the following article and link to a webcast by ADP, employers asked their most common questions.
You will learn:
Do I have to complete new hire paperwork again when I rehire an employee? What about seasonal employees?
We have several employees who never filled out new hire paperwork. Should we go back and have them fill it out now?
My company is very small, do these recordkeeping responsibilities apply to me?
I am considering switching to electronic record retention. What are the benefits?
Are there certain records I should keep in paper form as a backup?
Should garnishment orders be kept separate from an employee's personnel file? ...and more!
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Share Our Success Reward!
Now that you've all received and posted the new Multi-Brand Share Our Success window cling and counter items, remember the Share Our Success referral fees available to you. Any outside candidate you refer to Winmark who ultimately opens a Play It Again Sports, Plato's Closet, Once Upon A Child, Style Encore or Music Go Round store earns you a reward of $2,500.
Over 95% of our new franchise candidates are the result of being customers of the store. If your customers have interest in any Winmark brand, give us their name and collect the cash when they open their store! Don't leave potential referral dollars on the table! Open Territories All open and available territories are listed by brand on www.winmarkfranchises.com. If you have an interest in knowing what's available in your area for your brand or any other, please take a look. |
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