Retail SOP

Who Pays When Operating Expenses Increase?

Expense escalations are relevant when the landlord is paying a base level of expenses and when the tenant is paying expenses. With a typical gross lease, the landlord pays all expenses and the tenant pays expenses in excess of a base level. (Gross leases are atypical for retail.) The base level is typically the operating expenses for the year the lease is signed. The “expense escalations”, would be expenses in excess of this base level which the tenant is responsible for paying.
Caps on Increases?

Some leases also provide a cap on increases in expenses. To provide more certainty for the tenant’s cost of occupancy, the tenant may request that property tax increases do not exceed 5% in any year. Property tax increases can be enormous in some states. For example, initial property tax assessments in Texas for retail buildings have increased by 20% to 100% for many retail building owners. In many cases, these large initial assessments have been successfully reduced to a level much closer to the prior year’s value.
Cap Example

However, the property tax assessment process can be arbitrary at times. If the property taxes did increase by 20% or 100%, the landlord would be responsible for the increase in excess of 5% for the example given. There are also sometimes expense escalation caps for utilities, insurance, total expenses and other items.
Co-tenancy Termination Clause

A co-tenancy clause for retail defines a tenant’s right to terminate the lease if another tenant ceases operations. For example, consider a grocery anchored neighborhood shopping center. Let’s assume Kroger’s, a nationally known grocery retailer, is the anchor. Bob’s dry cleaner store decides to lease space in the center because it believes the Kroger versus will draw all a large volume of traffic. There’s an agreement to pay rent commensurate with the traffic which should be generated by Kroger. However, five years after the center is built Kroger decides to “go dark”.
Can You Terminate the Lease?

In other words, it ceases operations at this location. A co-tenancy clause would provide Bob an option to terminate his lease. There will typically be a defined period for terminating the lease based upon the co-tenancy clause.
Eminent Domain

Eminent domain is the right of government to take private property. Historically, eminent domain was limited to taking private property for public purposes. However, the US Supreme Court expanded eminent domain to include taking private property for private uses. In most cases, property owners are compensated for “takings” through eminent domain.
Eminent Domain Issues

Issues related to leasing retail space include who retains compensation for a leasehold estate, what happens if eminent domain takes an amount of parking which makes operation of the Senate set retail center impractical and are there any rent abatements during construction related to a partial taking of the retail center.
Leasehold Estate

A leasehold estate is a tenant’s interest in real estate obtained through a lease. A leasehold estate becomes meaningful when contract rent is substantially lower than market rent. Having the right to use retail space for a payment well below market rent has value. In the event of a complete taking up (when the government takes the entire retail center) the lease needs to address proceeds of the tenant’s leasehold estate. Do they belong to the tenant or to the landlord?
Partial Taking

In any “partial taking”, the government only takes a portion of the retail center. This may or may not include any portion of the building. For the sake of discussion, let’s assume a retail center with 10,000 ft. and 50 parking spaces. The 50 parking spaces are in two rows of 25. One row is along the street and one row is along the front of the building. The current amount of parking is just barely adequate. The condemnation will “take” the 25 parking spaces along the street. This leaves the property with only 25 parking spaces, or about half of what is necessary. The lease needs to define the rights and responsibilities of both the tenant and the landlord in event of a partial taking.
Pay Rent During Road Construction?

Consider addressing the payment of rent during road construction related to eminent domain. Most leases are silent on this point. In many cases, the loss of business due to construction is not compensated. The landlord must pay his expenses and mortgage payment during construction. The tenant’s sales often decline precipitously during construction. There is no easy answer to equitably address this issue.

The Market Research and Consulting division of OConnor & Associates provides information necessary to make decision to commercial real estate professionals. Occupancy and Rental Data, ownership and management information are routinely gathered for four major land uses multifamily, office, retail and industrial. This information allows investors to compare competitive properties, facilitate business decisions and track market and submarket performance.

Display your expertise and professionalism by showing the customer that you care about them and the pets and supplies that you sell.

Customer Service:

All employees are the face of a business and are key to molding a customers initial impression.

Keep an eye out for customers who look confused or are in need of help. Being proactive will show customers you are ready and willing to serve them.
Make your customers feel welcome. Smile and greet them when they come in. Ask them questions and make them feel included in other conversations you may be having with fellow staff or other customers.
Listen to your customers. Ask them questions and listen to what they have to say. Hone in on their needs and wants and convey your desire to help them make the best decision possible when picking out a product or pet.
Customer service doesnt stop when a customer has left the store. Follow up with a customer by sending them a thank you note after a purchase, calling to see if the new product or bird they purchased is working out, or remembering their last purchase when they make a repeat visit.

Bird Education:

All employees should be properly educated on the different products you carry and the birds that the products benefit. They should also be knowledgeable on the birds that are at your store. Customers see you as an expert. Make sure you are one to keep their business.

Employees should know the following key information about birds: origin, growth rate, eventual size, age, gender, environmental needs, diet, and behavior.
Be as informative as possible when answering a customers questions. Direct them to other resources (books, tip sheets, websites, etc.) to help aid them in their education.
It is alright to let a customer know you dont know the answer to a question, but still provide them with assistance by following up with a co-worker or another reliable resource.
Layout:

Make sure your store is well organized and easy to navigate.

Signage:

oProper aisle signage will help keep customers in the store longer and will help them navigate through your aisles.
oProper shelf and product signs will catch your customers eyes and will keep them informed on your products.
oMake sure your signage is neat and easy to read as well as fresh and bold.

Displays:

oDisplay related products by each other to remind customers of items they may have missed and suggest variations amongst a product family.
oPut the items that are in high-demand and are fast-moving in your best display areas. This suggests to customers that you have the products that they are looking for.
oBe sure to take advantage of the display space at the checkout by placing last minute purchase products like toys, treats, and gift items there.
oChange out your displays every week or two to give your store a fresh look and let your customers know you are on top of your game.

Cleanliness:

A customer may not remember a clean store, but they will most certainly remember a dirty one! Keep your store clean and organized to ensure return customers.

Make sure your aisles are clear of clutter, your products are in the proper places on the shelves, and your pricing stickers and signage is up-to-date.
Pay special attention to floors, countertops, and other areas that are most frequently seen by customers.
Remove damaged items and return misplaced items to their proper place.
Dusty products indicate that product is old and unwanted. Keep your products and shelves dust free.
Keep your displays and shelves fully stocked and well organized. Have employs monitor this throughout the day depending on your stores busyness.
If you have birds (as well as other animals) in your store, their cleanliness and health will tell a lot about your store to your customers. Be sure to keep your animals healthy and well groomed and their cages and toys disinfected and clean.
A customer does not want to see or purchase an unhealthy bird. Observe each bird daily and record its state of health and any changes in behavior. Changes may be the first (and sometimes only) clue that a bird is sick or unhealthy.
Trash cans, whether containing a soda can or animal excrement should be out of site and smelling distance to your customers and should be emptied often to maintain a cleanly, healthy store.
Keep an eye on animals that are out of their cages (especially if you allow the public to bring in their pets) and be sure to clean and sanitize as needed.

As a retailer you are a problem-solver for your customers. You know about new products, new discoveries in the world of avian health, food and equipment. You are the expert! Exhibit it.

You had a great idea when you decided to open a home-based Internet retail business. You became a power seller, as people in the online retail business world call you. Your goal is to move tons of merchandise through Web auction sites and classifieds services without ever leaving the comfort of your home office. Drop shipping gives you the opportunity to accomplish your dreams and more. The sky is the limit if you know how to get your business off the ground.

Drop shipping can launch your business into successful orbit, but it isnt rocket science. With this unique way of doing business, you enlist the services of a wholesale merchandise company. The wholesale company takes care of the stockpiling and storing of your product. It even covers the shipping and handling charges when one of your customers orders an item.

This means you dont have to rent thousands of square feet to warehouse your inventory, and youre free from the liability that comes with direct delivery to your customers. Your only expenses are the membership fee of your particular wholesaler, along with the fees and percentages you lose to advertising and auctioning online. If you play your cards right with these fees, you can build yourself a very cost-effectiveand most importantly, profitablehome-based business.

Experienced online retailers have learned the tricks of the trade to do just that. Here are the key secrets that they, your competitors, dont want you to know. These three tips will stack the deck in your favor, helping you to grow your clientele while avoiding the pitfalls of doing ecommerce.

Get sold on your wholesaler. Nowadays, wholesalers are a dime a dozen, so dont settle on the first one that comes your way. Let wholesalers compete for your business, instead of the other way around. Many companies may offer specials to new prospective retailers. They may waive the minimum order requirements, credit check, and prepayments if you sign up with them. Top-notch wholesalers could also offer international delivery or special net payment options. Avoid high expenses at the get-go by taking advantage of such specials, and turn a profit a lot quicker.

Sniff out whole-scammers. For every honest wholesaler looking to build a successful relationship with you, theres a crook out there looking to do nothing but build his bank account at your expense. Avoid any wholesaler, for instance, who demands you pay an advance fee before you sign up with them. Be wary of wholesalers who claim to have thousands of items in their selection. These might not be wholesalers at all, but middlemen who are trying to bluff you. Instead of actually stocking these thousands of products, they actually buy them from a wholesaler, or another middleman, and resell them to you at a jacked up price, thereby cutting into your profits.

Get wired to the Web wisely. You now have a trusted Wholesaler and outstanding products to move, but so do thousands of other Internet retailers. How can you stand out to attract customers and save money doing so? One way to make a mark online is to design and write your own ads for your products. Many wholesalers provide complimentary stock product photos and descriptions that you can use in your online ads and classifieds. Then again, they provide the same thing to all their retailers. Most retailers use them. So you shouldnt.

Retail sector is blooming and turning complicated as well. A retail business has many types of data which needs to arranged and represented in the manner that decisions can be taken accurately. Journals, ledgers, cash flow statements, profit and loss tracking, and many other books of accounts are maintained by retailers and retail dashboards represent all data in a simple manner so that the executives and top management can easily take timely decisions. Latest retail dashboards are technology-driven and provide a clear operational focus about performance of retail business.

POS analysis help in identifying the best performers by showing sales trends for each region. It reduces costs, increases profits and motivates staff as well. It gives a snapshot of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and guides the executives in making crucial decisions about the company. Retail software providers bring essential information and data about a companys performance in a report format. Charts, tables, gauges, and maps are used in a single report, providing all the critical details so that decisions can be taken quickly. All the data represented can be drill down to any level including its source.

Retail software providers offer a competitive edge to every manufacturer and retailer from small to midsized to large companies over their competing firms. Managing a retail business has never been an easy task and with the increase in its size and operations, complexities of managing data also increase. Selection of right dashboard and right data access can make a significant difference in profits of a firm.

eSENSE Retail is an eminent retail software providers and has been helping various small and large firms in their retail data management from many years. The eSENSE Retail solution is aimed at increasing profits, reducing costs and improving efficiencies across the entire organization. They provide retailers and manufacturers powerful online dashboards which leverage 852 EDI which help them to forecast and manage trends. High level executives will clearly identify areas which require action and the ones which require follow up for sustainable profit growth. For more details, please browse through www.esenseretail.com.

Today’s digital-age generation wants more clarity, better quality and high performance from any product that they buy and Teac Hi Fi systems is no exception.

Digital technology has peaked like never before and newer and recent of inventions make it possible to get an advanced version of the current electronic gadgets with thorough research and development. Teac Hi Fi systems is the fruit of these efforts.

How Does It Improve Quality?

Teac Hi Fi systems use digital transmission to enhance sound quality. Interference is completely eliminated which enables the user to receive a much higher quality of audio entertainment.

Leading retail stores know how to combine various media and technology to give the user the power to enjoy these electronic gadgets. Today Teac Hi Fi systems come with a host of other applications which allows the user to listen to this excellent sound quality using various means.

Excellent sound and acoustics combine to gives the user an option to listen to his favourite songs and shows through CDs, USB memory cards and many other optional add-ons.

New Age Retailers

New Age retail stores combine the latest in technology whether sound or picture and bring out the very best of what the electronic media has to offer. Whether the customer wants good quality audio or video, the retailers have an idea of how to enhance their pleasure. They know which technology will go well with which gadgets and instruments.

Retail stores house the latest in technology like LG LCD Plasma TV and Sony LCD TV. These are available in the newer versions. The 42 Plasma TV can be viewed with a variety of options and add on features that bring out the best sound and picture quality.

There is no end to the number of applications that can increase customer satisfaction whether it is due to the excellent quality and other incidentals or the price or discounts that are offered.

Along with their ‘bang-on’ tips and pointers they allow customers to know which type of electronics will suit them best.

They offer their services at unbelievable prices that can tempt even the most sceptical customer. With their years of experience and hands-on approach they are the best people to go to in times of crisis. When the customer is getting superb customer service along with great deals on the current Teac Hi Fi systems there is no loser in this transaction.

With retailers leading the entertainment goods industry and actually letting the manufacturers of these products establish themselves many a times they allow the producers to know which item will work in the market and which won’t. The entertainment goods industry has been bombarded with the latest in technologies and advanced versions of present electronic media. It is the retail industry which allows end users to enjoy this abundance whether it is the Teac Hi Fi systems in the audio category or the LCD versions in the video category.