Another great conference is in the books, as many of you voiced to us.
I had many individual conversations with facilities during the conference on dealing with vendors.
I seem to have this conversation a lot lately, and most of my conversations consist of dealing with pricing and promotions.
I know I talked about this during the 2015 Boot Camp.
As many of you also know, I touched on it at regional meetings as well.
I will reiterate what I have said time and time again, "We have great opportunities in Minnesota when it comes to purchasing and pricing.
As we say, "Beat your chest and demand price books from all your vendors!"
I don't study price books or hot sheets, but when a vendor says "we are the house for this product" I look up and figure out the best price.
Just because a vendor says they are "the house" doesn't mean they have the best price.
Believe me when I say, DO YOUR HOMEWORK!
Many times I have found better deals from vendors who are not the house on products.
There have been several times I did not order from a vendor because I didn't have their price book.
"How much time does this take me every month you ask?"
Maybe an hour per month tops!
You can become really good at it once you know the best deal.
In many cases I time my purchases this way....
I will know something is on a "hot sheet" every other month so I plan to order enough to get me through the next month.
Sometimes the "hot sheet" price is not so hot, but again do the homework to make that determination.
Those of you who say you only purchase from one supplier or two, let me say "you are missing the boat!"
As we say in this business, "opportunity is everything!"
At the regional meetings last fall I and many others talked about proprietary brands.
Selling proprietary brands is a money making opportunity and a big one!
In this instance your purchases are not just liquor or mix but wine as well.
All pricing is case one.
Our big box competitors, as you know, mark up these products at very high rates.
However the reward is great for us municipals!
We can markup and price the proprietary products any way we wish!
Planning for this takes time, since it can take up to six weeks to get some of these products delivered.
Everyone should give them a try!
Bottom line, everyone should be asking themselves these questions.:
How do you go from good to great, or do we have a GOOD gross profit or do you have a GREAT gross profit?
How much do you give back to your community in annual profits?
"Want it to look great?"
It all comes down on how you are ordering for your store.
Everyone should be able to say, "Look at how much we gave to our community last year!"
That is something to be proud of!
John Jacobi Isanti Liquor | 
