Keeping control of your stock

Keeping an eagle eye on your salon’s supplies may not be the most glamorous job, but it can make a real difference to your bottom line, writes Valerie Delforge You can tell straightaway when entering a salon whether the stock is well managed or not. Products and merchandise on show are a giveaway, but little things like how clean the testers are can also give you an insight into a business’s stock management. Overseeing the salon’s stock isn’t usually a salon manager’s favourite job, and with good reason. We don’t always use the amount of product we think we do; we can get into bad habits because we think, “I know my stock”; we overlook trends, or we panic buy because we are running out of something and we’re not making time to review stock in our daily routine. However, stock management is possibly the easiest, albeit tedious, operational task on your agenda. Being one of the highest costs in your outgoings after staff, stock purchases should be looked at with an eagle eye. This will not only help you reduce your costs, it will also allow you to invest in new trends without feeling the pinch on the purse. So where do we go wrong? Mistake 1: We don’t have a system in place A monthly stocktake is a necessity, both for retail and professional stock. You don’t have to do it all by yourself, but it will allow you to analyse your stock better and put a strategy in place. For example, you will be able to create marketing activities alongside the stock that is not shifting, such as a special offer, or a new treatment. If everything is accounted for – testers, products donated for raffle prizes and so on – your losses will be reduced, which is the only sign of effective stock management. Once you have a system in place, make sure it’s working. When was the last time you did a spot check? Mistake 2: We don’t get the team involved The team should know you are on it. If you don’t have a system in place for all members of staff to see, then all sorts of things can happen. Borrowing products, using retail for treatments when back-bar stock runs out, the list goes on. Start with implementing systems. You want to borrow something? Sign this form. You want to send out products for a raffle price? Write it on the sign-out form. Once your team is involved, they will start to understand the importance of the stock and planning ahead, and then they become the ones coming up with ideas that you never thought of before, because they work with it every day. The more involved they are in stock management, the more they understand your business. Mistake 3: We don’t what products are being used in the salon Not keeping an eye on how much professional product is being used in the salon is possibly the biggest mistake we can make. If the staff use too much of something, complacency sets in and before you know it you have to buy these products more often. When was the last time you checked how much they think they should use per treatment or style? What training do you have in place for product use? The professional products are often the ones that get misused and that is where the wastage happens. Be as strict with it as you are with the retail. Mistake 4: Too much marketing kills the message If we are having a bad month, we often tend to put as many offers out as possible in the hope the customer will buy something. The truth is that the clearer you are with your marketing, the more likely it is to work. It’s important to have some “impulse buy” stock next to the till so your clients end up buying little add-ons they hadn’t thought of – just like you do in supermarkets. It’s equally important to make sure that promotional offers are clearly advertised; it could be one for retail products and one for professional treatments, but no more than that. You could then have a display in another area with “product of the month” and some activity around it. Enter your salon and look at it from a customer’s point of view. Even better, ask your best friend to give you their insight. They are the most critical, which is always good for business. Mistake 5: We are not consistent Consistency is key to a successful operation and it’s no exception in stock management. Even if you are on holiday, the stocktake should be happening. No matter what, the system is always functioning. You should be analysing the results of the stocktake every month and have a clear idea about what you want to achieve with it. Perhaps you want to take out a brand, or maybe bring in a new one with no budget? What is the strategy and how is the stock shifting month by month for you to be able to afford to bring in a new brand? Be sure that every promotion is followed by a report; do we want to do it again next year? Which product or treatment was the most popular? Should I buy more in or am I happy to see it go? The bottom line is if you don’t make stock management a priority, the team will not either. Look into your system now and start with a stock take. Love your stock and your stock will love you back. Valerie Delforge has 25 years’ experience in the beauty industry. Recently joining Wahanda as the head of its Business Academy, she is keen to support the salon industry into achieving its best.www.wahanda.co.uk