Oct. 22, 2009 (Business Wire) -- ExpertSource:

TOPIC:

If you see the perfect holiday gift, grab it. It might not be there when you come back. Many retailers are opting to keep inventories lean to handle lower consumer spending.

As highlighted in a recent Boston Globe article, reduced inventory is one of the ways merchants are managing the current retail climate.

Last year saw a need for deep discounts to move excess merchandise, leading to disappointing results.

“If I had to err, I’d rather have too little inventory than too much. You might miss opportunities, but the risk is getting stuck with huge quantities of product," said Steve Sadove, chief executive of Saks Fifth Avenue.

Nordstrom, an upscale department store chain, is highlighting their website to handle additional inventory.

“If a customer can’t find what she’s looking for in the store, we’re able to utilize our online inventory more fully to get her the merchandise she’s looking for," said Colin Johnson, a Nordstrom spokesman.

http://bizwire.pr/GBmWM

EXPERTS: ExpertSource can offer several highly qualified experts to comment on this story:

Dr. Bill Hardgrave, University of Arkansas

Dr. Bill Hardgrave holds the Edwin & Karlee Bradberry Chair in Information Systems in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, and serves as the Executive Director of the Information Technology Research Institute, which he established in 1999. He also founded and directs the RFID Research Center. Dr. Hardgrave has published several books and more than 75 articles primarily on the topic of software development and RFID. He has worked extensively on an assortment of RFID projects with companies from the retail, manufacturing, transportation, and information industries. His research efforts in this area include: data analytics, business case / ROI, and technology deployment. In the area of data analytics, Dr. Hardgrave’s team has been heavily involved in analyzing RFID-generated data. He is also conducting a series of business case projects that look at the efficiencies of RFID for various distribution and store processes, including, but not limited to, an extensive look at how RFID improves inventory accuracy. In 2008, RFID Journal tabbed Dr. Hardgrave as “one to watch” in 2009 for his impact on the field of RFID and in 2009, he received the Ted Williams Award from AIM Global as the most influential researcher in the field of RFID.

Marshal Cohen, The NPD Group

Marshal Cohen chief industry analyst of The NPD Group, Inc., is a nationally known expert on consumer behavior and the retail industry. He has followed retail trends for more than thirty years, at NPD as the head of leading fashion and apparel as well as major retailers. As part of his work at NPD, Marshal leads many top firms in long range and strategic planning sessions. He often utilizes motivational presentations to help launch corporate goals and kick-off meetings. Marshal’s second book, Buy Me! How to Get Customers to Choose Your Products and Ignore the Rest, is scheduled for publication in January 2010. In addition to his duties at NPD, Marshal is currently a guest professor at North Carolina State University, School of Textiles. There he is introducing students and faculty to techniques for analyzing and applying data. Recently, Marshal has been a guest lecturer at the Fashion Institute of Technology and at the Wharton School of Business.

Harry J. Friedman, The Friedman Group

Harry J. Friedman has been called, outrageous, revolutionary, inventive and invigorating, and one of retail's true visionaries. A former owner of several retail operations, his 25+ years of consulting with and learning from large and small retailers worldwide, has resulted in his developing the most widely used sales and management training systems in retail. Clients such as Cartier, Neiman Marcus, Godiva Chocolatier, Wynn Las Vegas, Ashley Furniture and thousands more worldwide have made Mr. Friedman the most sought-after retail consultant, speaker and trainer. His best selling book "No Thanks, I'm Just Looking!" is now in it's ninth printing, his articles have been published in industry publications over 500 times, and his store and sales management seminars, training products and services have been used to train well over 500,000 retailers around the world. Founder and CEO of The Friedman Group, with locations in 10 countries and growing, Mr. Friedman is known as retail's best resource for developing high performance retail stores. In addition, the media relies on his experience, wit and wisdom, and his dynamic, edgy, quote-a-minute observations and easy-going candor, for colorful and memorable interviews.

Research and Publications: Mr. Friedman is the author of retail's best selling "No Thanks, I'm Just Looking!" book, keynote speaker for hundreds of trade shows, manufacturers, retailers, trade associations and Fortune 500 company events. He is the creator of the most widely used retail-specific sales training system in the world, with a just-released updated program called Gold Star Selling!, as well as the Retail Book of Selling Games & Contests, Retail Policies Manual, Retail Productivity Series and more. His retail seminar series on store management has been attended by retailers representing over 100,000 stores and his Project Gold Star program has been called a blueprint for developing a sales and service driven retail organization. Not one to rest on his laurels, Mr. Friedman has delivered his message in over 40 countries and continues to research and test his comprehensive sales, customer service, management and operations systems on sales floors of all sizes and industries.

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