Increase Gross Margin

Spring 2016

Increase Gross Margin - Keep it Personal

We continue our series on active selling with a look at how to get your team on board

In the last issue, we looked at what exactly active selling is, the pros and cons, and what products it can work best on. When it comes to encouraging your team members to engage in active selling, it’s not quite as straightforward as ‘go sell”: colleagues need to be engaged and ‘buy in’ to a culture change. Product is just one part of the package. People is the second part. So how do you engage your employees to not only increase sales but also keep it personal?

What your customers want

Value, Product range and knowledge are three of the key drivers that consumers look for when making a purchase in independent health food stores.

Value Keep it comparable with competitors. A good mix of both value & premium products with promotional activity.

Winter 2015

Active selling

Richard Huxley looks at active selling: how to boost your sales without alienating your customers

Ok, so ‘up selling’ french fries or asking customers to 'go large’ with their meal is the complete opposite of the products we sell in our health-driven stores, but it is possibly the very best example of active selling in the market today. In fact, it’s part and parcel of what they do. I don't think I even need to mention the name of the company, do I?

And whilst it can be extremely profitable, if executed correctly, often across the retail industry I consistently see very poor examples of active selling – scripted, robotic and impersonal are the three words I would use to describe the majority of active/ up selling I have observed. However, if done correctly it can be very beneficial to your business both in terms of profitability and sales growth.

Autumn 2015

Four steps to increase your store's profits

Dennis Reid – Chairman of RPS Global, specialists in improving and sustaining retail performance – discusses how a step-by-step approach can help you make your store more profitable.

All owners want to provide their customers with a great product, an in-store experience that customers enjoy and to achieve the profitability that provides the lifestyle the owner wants. When we conduct research to identify best practice within the natural health sectors, we always ask: ‘what do you believe is the key thing you need to do to improve the performance of your business?’ The most common answer is: “we just need more customers”.

Summer 2015

Four easy ways to maximise your store's profits

Freelance retail consultant and social media advisor Richard Huxley explains how some small changes can make a big difference to your profit margins. We all love working in our stores (we do, right?), and we love interacting with our customers on a daily basis but more importantly, we love – and need – profitability in our business in order to be able to continue what we do.

We all love working in our stores (we do, right?), and we love interacting with our customers on a daily basis but more importantly, we love – and need – profitability in our business in order to be able to continue what we do. Here are just a few ideas about improving profitability in your store.

Winter 2013

Retail Fraud – Fight the Good Fight

Former police officer Michael Pettitt warns health food retailers to be on their mettle in the face of shop fraud by their own staff.

Summer 2013

The Supplier's Market Game - Understanding our supply chain

Spring 2013

Understanding The Margin Maze - How margins vary within the natural products marketplace

Read other Increase Gross Margin Articles here: 2012