In today’s WSJ, Vanessa O'Connel writes about Macy’s CEO’s admission that its national strategy was flawed.
With January same store sales down over 7% that would seem to be an understatement.
Management’s response: fire 2,500 people and consolidate back office operations. No mention of reductions in management compensation…
It is axiomatic in retail marketing that “all sales are local”. Ignoring that fundamental precept of retailing, Macy’s CEO Terry Lundren cut back on local ads and poured tens of millions of dollars into “splashy national TV ads.”
Brick and mortar retailing requires
· Weekly sales circulars to bring the regular customer in more frequently,
· Regular sales promotions in newspapers and on local radio.
· TV can work on top of this base but given TV production costs is often not cost effective for local features.
If affordable after funding priority local efforts such as these, a relatively small continuity base in cheap daytime cable television could support a branding effort. I’d prefer local outdoor around each store location: billboards, mall posters, etc.
Note: Please credit clairegeordio for the photo above.
