SPRING INTO SUMMER Before the back-to-school rush, there are still summer sales to be made! Summer intensives offer the chance to not just stock the leotards, shoes, tights and tools dancers need, but to educate customers and make their lives easier with targeted inventory and packing checklists. Read how storeowner Vicky Lambert is doing just … More »
Optimism and High-Tech at NRF’s Annual Show Over the last year, there was lots of doom-and-gloom talk of a retail apocalypse, with predictions that brick-and-mortars would be crushed by online sellers, particularly Amazon. But holiday sales went surprisingly well, increasing during November and December by 5.5 percent over the same period in 2016—the largest year-over-year … More »
Performance-Readiness Is Not Just for Dancers With spring on the horizon, dance studios are rehearsing and readying their students for recital season, and ballroom dancers may be prepping for their own competitions. But dancers aren’t the only ones who want to be performance-ready. You’ll be making sure your store has all the right stock to … More »
The New Retail Sales Associate Job “The role [now] is less about folding sweaters than it is about selling them, and retailers are looking more and more for people to come into the role with the skills to sell…In turn, higher-caliber workers are looking for more than a paycheck—they want to advance their education. They … More »
Who’s Tried a Morning Huddle? Football players aren’t the only ones who can benefit from a pregame huddle to strategize and motivate. Many managers also call a morning huddle to get the day off to a good start. It’s a quick stand-up meeting—never lasting more than 10 or 15 minutes and ending 5 minutes before … More »
Small and Strong, That’s You Amazon and its battle with Walmart and other big-box and chain retailers dominates retailing news these days. How can small retailers hope to compete? By going with their considerable strengths, concluded a recent online discussion among members of RetailWire’s Brain Trust, a group of retail analysts, business academics, CEOs, marketers … More »
Halloween Marketing Tips Dance stores with large costume departments will be actively marketing around this holiday. But every store can use the occasion to draw attention and traffic. Here are a few marketing ideas from Square. Dress up the store. How about black and orange tutus or outfits in the window? Or a row of … More »
Make Holiday Sales Sparkle The holiday season may not be the biggest one for dance retailers, but it can still give an important boost to the bottom line. With people in the mood to buy, it’s a chance to pull in new customers—even nondancers— and boost the spending of existing customers. So how do you … More »
When Dance Teachers Come to Shop Dance teachers are at the very core of every local dance store’s success—not just as influencers of young students and where they shop, but as shoppers themselves. For fresh ideas on tempting products to stock for them, see the practical and fun pieces in our fashion section. And read … More »
Ready, Set? In a few weeks, crowds of customers will be heading your way—looking to outfit themselves for a new year of dance. With your orders mostly in, you may now be taking advantage of slower summer days to prep the store for your busiest season and fine-tune your stock and displays. DRN is here … More »
