The first myth:  Stores that liquidate get a poor return.  Not true!  Good stores with full inventories are often profitable liquidations.  It’s not unusual for our Store Closing Sales to produce more than the owners advertised asking price when they were trying to sell it.

Sometimes a lot more! 

The second myth:  Don’t hire a liquidator.  Do it your self and save the money.  Wrong!

The right liquidator has a vast amount of liquidation experience and a proven successful sale plan.  Do your research and find the liquidator best qualified to manage your sale.  Naturally, we think that’s us! 

The third myth:  Let your inventory sell down before hiring a liquidator.  Wrong!

Sold down inventories are usually short of the A, or fast turning, desirable merchandise.  This is the merchandise that makes a profit on a liquidation sale, the merchandise that attracts customers to the store and keeps them coming back right down to the end of the sale.  Fast turning, profitable merchandise is in short supply and often sells out in the first few days of the sale.  Sold down inventories are more difficult to liquidate, they require more advertising expense, they take as much or more time to liquidate, drive up overhead and they get a lower percentage of return on inventory cost.  On top of that, we don’t work on a percentage of sales so you’re not saving anything on fees.   

The fourth myth:  Run a clearance sale before starting a Liquidation Sale.  Wrong!  A clearance sale with the same discounts and the same amount of advertising will only produce a small fraction of the volume Wingate Store Closing advertising will produce.  A clearance sale to reduce inventory at this time is only wasting advertising dollars and driving up overhead.   AND, it forces the liquidation sale to start with deeper discounts than otherwise necessary.  All good merchandise should be at full retail prior to the start of the sale.  We’ll take a minimal mark down on this merchandise.  Out of season and older merchandise should maintain the discount already on it.  We’ll evaluate it and suggest the best and most productive sale price.  

The fifth myth:  Liquidation Consultants aren’t reliable and often don’t know what they are doing.  Wrong again!  Our Consultants are thoroughly screened before we take them on.  They were store owners or store managers with at least ten years retail experience before being considered.  Several have over thirty years experience.  They are thoroughly trained in the art of store liquidation and are an apprentice to an experienced Consultant for on the job training before given an assignment.   We guarantee our Consultants!  If you don’t have confidence in him we’ll replace him.  Note: It has been so many years since I have had to replace a Consultant I can’t remember it.

When evaluating a store for liquidation value there are many characteristics and trends that must be considered.  The following are some of the most obvious.

1.  Type of store. Large ticket, long margin, high volume stores get a better return    

     than small ticket, short margin, low volume stores.

2.  Fully stocked stores get a higher percentage return than stores with sold down

      inventories.

3.   High volume stores get a higher percentage of return than low volume stores.

4.  Stores with current, well balanced inventories get a better return than stores with old, out

     of season merchandise or out of balance inventories.

5.  Large stores tend to get a higher percentage return than small stores.

6.  Long established stores get a better return than stores that have been in business a short time.

7.  Sales trends must be considered.  Down or up and how much.

8.  Store location and parking.

9.  Sales and discounts taken prior to the Liquidation Sale.

10.  Store image.

When making projections our Representatives consider all the above and many more store characteristics and trends.  Most of all they rely on our 96 years of experience.  The one unknown factor is the store owner’s willingness to cooperate and follow the sale plan.  Communication with the Consultant is essential.

For a FREE store evaluation call 1-888-480-SALE (7253).  We’ll make arrangements for one of our Representatives to make a CONFIDENTIAL, NO OBLIGATION evaluation of your store at your convenience.  Keep in mind, the evaluation does not include the sale of fixtures and equipment or the collection of accounts receivable should you have them.  Selling fixtures and equipment is part of our job and we are good at it, but what we get out of fixtures and the collection of accounts is a plus!

One was a man with four ski stores and $3,300,000 in inventory.  His question; “Could we liquidate the stores in four weeks and make a profit?  Oh, the company was put in Chapter 11 bankruptcy last fall and has just been placed in Chapter 7.”  

Why did he wait?  Why didn’t he call before the store was put in Chapter 11?  Had he called even a few months ago we could have put together a sale plan that might have saved his stores.  At worst we could have gotten him out of business debt-free, with a few hundred thousand in the bank, no bankruptcy and a clean credit record.

Free advertizing-It costs nothing to sign your store up and doesn’t take much time to develop.  E-mailing customers costs nothing and keeps customers up to date on current and upcoming discounts.

Instant access-You can promote anything in the store instantly and send it out to everyone linked to the store’s site.  Sending out a notice for a moonlight madness sale or early bird discount is a snap by sending a group invitation.

More store information-Along with any special store promotions, you can give customers pictures of merchandise, directions to the store, personal history about the store and its owners, anything that’s going to help you sell merchandise!

For those who don’t have a computer; it’s time to get on board and put the skill you have acquired to use with a powerful medium.  It’s now essential to use a computer and maximize your abilities!  This is the next evolution in advertising.  Don’t be the “Johnny come lately.”