The merchandise trumps all

Sometimes you don't know what you've lost till it's gone. As the wheel of retailing rolls forward, we leave things in the past. Previous turns of the wheel opened up opportunities for sharp people to enter the territory left behind. When discounters moved upscale, dollar retailers sprung up. When shopping malls got gargantuan and congested, neighborhood centers popped up.

Retailing turning itself into a financial and logistics business opened an opportunity for real merchandisers to bring shoppers something many of them value and miss: excitement in the stores.

And what have we been doing for excitement in our stores? Door-buster sales, coupons for 10% off the already marked-down price, bigger and bigger signs trumpeting bigger and bigger markdowns, and maybe a wall of videos and blaring music. Are you excited? Are shoppers excited?

What many shoppers miss is the excitement generated by great merchandise. Merchandise they have to have. Merchandise they love. Merchandise for which they'll pay full price. Merchandise that's not available in all four of the mall's department stores and 18 of its 20 specialty stores. Merchandise that's displayed with the creativity that reflects its uniqueness and tare.

Merchandise that a merchandiser like former Bloomingdale's ceo Marvin Traub would run down to the unloading platform to see coming in. Merchandise that a retailer like Alan Questrom would drag you halfway across Rich's to see. And to feel. When was the last time you rubbed a garment against your cheek because the fabric was so sensuous?

When was the last time your salespeople stood around "oohing and aahing" at merchandise that was coming out to the floor. When was the last time customers called their best friends to tell them to get into your store before their size is gone?

For most stores, the last time was a long time ago. That creates an opportunity for stores run by real merchants who love the goods. Stores like Chico's FAS seized this opportunity but there's plenty of room for more stores whose magnet is the merchandise.

Great merchandisers won't put Wal-Mart or Home Depot out of business but they can build good businesses serving people who are so bored by the merchandise they see everywhere that the only reason they buy is to replace things that are worn out.

Finance is important. Logistics is very important. Merchandise is our reason for being. And our most neglected opportunity.

ERIK GORDON MARKETING PROFESSOR UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

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