Issue 14/08

USA - Notes from Andy Schofield

“Hats Off To You All” – Week 14 brought the much needed trade that we have all been waiting for and gave us the bumper week that was sorely needed - beating target by 114.4%

An excellent result – thank you for all of your extra efforts during this tough week.

The $500 Made to Measure Merchants promotion is now in full swing and I hope the POS that was sent out to you last week is proving to be a useful tool. This week we beat target by 106% so again a very good result – well done.

(Read on to see who did what on MM to help the team make target this week)

Ready Made also did much better this week and the 4th July reductions helped to “Spark” customer’s interests, with 115% above target and a whopping 126% of last year this is an excellent result.

Overall the team managed 115% of target which helps to offset some of the business we have lost recently. I know you are all trying to get that extra business in, don’t let up, let’s keep the momentum rolling.

(Read below about details of a competition to make some extra $$$$$ this week!)

So who did What & Where?

BOLLING AFB – As you have all no doubt seen on the branch ranking list, Richard pulled out all the stops at Bolling last week. Ensuring the store had the right stock, in the right location, properly merchandised and ticketed for the sale, the un-staffed branch made sales in excess of $6000 – An excellent result Richard… take a bow!

FORT BELVOIR – Very pleased to see this branch in the top three again guys. This week the branch was run by Steve and assisted by new comer Amanda. These two showed the customers “Who’s Boss” and also got in the “$15K CLUB” this week, with sales of $15,200. An excellent achievement, from a branch that is now heading in the right direction. Good job guys...

FORT BRAGG – Adelle continues to reap the benefits of her last Fashion Show. Pictured below with her models and some of the Exchange Management, Adelle managed to hit 137% Cumulative sales this week. This is two weeks in a row that Fort Bragg has been in the top three – Keep that ball rolling Adelle, I’ve never seen so many smiles from AAFES Management!!

Several other branches exceeded their targets last week who all deserve a mention: Nellis (123%), Fort Dix (110%), Fort Sam (108%), Buckley (102%) and another …. Paul’s other branch Fort Carson (100%).

Excellent results Ladies & Gentlemen. Two of these areas (Sam and Nellis) have seen extreme weather conditions this week. Nellis broke a record with the temps this week and hit 116 degrees. On the flip side, the Fort Sam area has seen yet more torrential rain fall to go with the 20 plus inches of rain they have already.

Top Tip

No Tips this week from any of the Managers???? Not even Paul! – I’ll put it down to the extra business that we did….. I’ll take that any day of the week!

Caption Competition

We had a few entries for last weeks Caption Competition, but the bottle goes to the winner: Richard Crockett

Richard sent in several captions, but the one that peaked the judge’s interest and humor went like this –

“Ewe Drive Me Crazy, I’ll be glad to see the back of Ewe!”

Well done Richard, Scottish humor wins out again!

Sales Competition - Week 15

As an added incentive this week we will be holding a sales competition for the weeks best percentage increase over target. The rules are very simple;

The highest percentage in actual sales over week 15 gets a gift card to the store of their choice in the value of $50.00

You can all see who is going to take the prize by watching the “Store Ranking” on Oasys – Who will it be this week??

Good luck & good weeks trading everyone... Andy.

Europe - Notes from John Collins

Week 14 was a great week on ready to wear achieving 117% of Target and 157% of last year, unfortunately made to measure was not so good as we only reached 62% of target and only 21% of last year, but we are running a different promotion than last year. We know this, but even so it is disappointing for us all.

Let us all see what we can do this week to try to make up for the week’s loss. On the cumulative for the month, as you can see on the flash sales on Team Talk we are 108% of target and 95% of last year. Keep up the good work.

	Week
	Actual	Target	% Tgt	% L/Y
Ready Made
002 Aafes - Europe	28,402	24,283	117.0	156.9
Made to Measure
002 Aafes - Europe	3,500	5,659	61.9	21.3
Area
020 John Collins	32,940	30,387	108.4	95.4

This may seem a little long and obvious but sometimes the obvious can go un-noticed. The old saying goes “You cannot see the forest for the trees”.

As this is the normal “quiet time” of the year with people moving back and forth between here and the US. It gives us all an opportunity to take stock and to look at “your shop”.

Is is the way it should be??

We have all done this over the years but every now and again, we can let it slip due to one thing or another.

Make yourselves a checklist.

Do the displays do you proud and would they attract you to buy?

Change your displays often, if you do not have a lot of suits, use the same suit but a different shirt and tie makes the display look different.

Does the shop have a clean look to it?

Have the suits and racks been dusted and cleaned properly? The back bays do not have dust balls on them, not only when you look at them but also when you move the display.

Do the light bulbs need changing?

Are your sale garments arranged together?

Are your garments colour co-ordinated?

Etc - Etc - Etc

Once you have done these tasks, take another look at your shop and you should notice a difference - if not then do it again. When it is the way you like it, then congratulate yourself and the rewards should be - more customers.

Ask yourselves honestly “Would I buy here?” and if the answer is “yes”, as a result of this, as we have very high standards when we go shopping ourselves, then our customers will also be attracted to shop with us. All it takes is a little time.

I would like thank you all for your hard work last week. It might not have worked this week but when seeds are planted and they are looked after, they will grow...

We all need to work together to succeed, good luck and good trading.

John Collins