Reducing Aged Inventory

by Jennifer Heebner, senior editor -- JCK Online, 4/1/2005 2:00:00 AM

While disposing of aged inventory can be a daunting task, Kathy Corey makes the job seem a lot easier. During the The JCK Show ~ Phoenix 2005, the vice president of merchandising for Day's Jewelers, Waterville, Maine, offered jewelers tips for managing aged inventory:

Prevent inventory from aging; talk to vendors about return privileges.
Order fewer items more often and consider just-in-time delivery.
Clean it, price it right, fix it, move it around the store, or move it to another store.
Remount or remanufacture the piece.
Show the piece differently.
Place signage next to the piece that tells a story about it.
Give the piece to a new employee to sell because it's new to that person.
Reward employees who sell it by way of a contest.
Donate it to charity and write it off, unless it's really ugly—it's a reflection of your store.
Sell branded products on eBay.
Melt down gold pieces—the price of the metal is high.
Host a Special Employee Purchase Day where employees may buy select items at reduced prices.
Create a bargain-basement section on your Web site and load dated merchandise into that area.
Mark it down as a last resort.