Posts Tagged ‘ company growth ’

Trend 7: 3 Things Aftermarket Retail Stores Need to Stay Ahead of the Curve

October 23, 2012
Trend 7: 3 Things Aftermarket Retail Stores Need to Stay Ahead of the Curve

There’s a lot of competition in the automotive aftermarket—retail stores have to compete with online prices and specialty parts catalogs, and the seemingly endless selection that both provide. So what advantages do retail stores have that can keep them ahead of the competition? 1). Customer service: When customers enter an automotive parts store, they aren’t just looking for a part, many need help. Parts stores have an advantage over non-retail entities in the fact that their employees can actively provide help in a personal environment. Employees are able to explain benefits of certain products, ask open-ended questions about the...

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Trend 15: How to Grow Sales With New Products From the SEMA Show

October 15, 2012
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Welcome back to the Hedges & Company blog, here is Trend 15, how to grow your sales with new products. We’re introducing a new term for some of our readers, the New Product Ratio (NPR). The specialty auto parts industry thrives on new products and innovation. For retailers, warehouse distributors (WDs), manufacturers, and automobile dealers selling aftermarket products, new products are one of the best opportunities to grow sales in 2013. They create excitement among consumers and for brick and mortar retailers they help drive store traffic. For online marketers, new products increase organic search web traffic and bring...

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Stages of Growth in a Company and ‘Growing Pains’

October 15, 2010
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As a business grows, it goes through major, distinct phases of growth. These phases have unique characteristics and challenges and require some strategic planning. Recognizing these characteristics (even better, preparing for them) will help you manage your business through these challenges, or “growing pains.” Stage One: $1 million (manufacturer) or $2 million (distributor) The first stage typically hits when your business reaches around $1 million in sales for a manufacturer, or $2 million in sales for distribution. Your business is building momentum, but you’re overworked and need additional help. You’ve been adding employees and now need to face the...

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How A Price Increase/Decrease Affects Gross Profit vs. Unit Sales

October 15, 2010
sales-chart

(Note: if you just need to calculate gross margin or mark up, scroll down.) If you want to increase gross margin with a price increase, you should know how gross profit is calculated and assuming a drop in unit sales, how many unit sales are needed to maintain the same gross profit. On the other hand if you’re considering a sale you should know how many additional unit sales are needed to maintain the same gross profit. You need to know how total unit sales can drop (for a price increase) or need to increase (for a price decrease)...

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