How Do You Feel About LGI?

I would like to address your comments by answering some of the
questions you put forth. There are some important facts that
retailers should be aware of: Shouldn’t your POS be doing
this for you? Mine does- I would be curious to know which POS
system you are using. While many POS systems tell their users what
is selling in their own stores (based on their own data), I do not
believe any will give the type of information LGI reports.
LGI’s information is an aggregation of the over 7,000 retail
storefronts reporting data and is a combination of many POS
systems. Three differences to point out include: 1) LGI’s
info includes models you do not carry, as well as those you do
–oftentimes retailers do not carry all of the top models for
a given brand and LGI’s data points this out; 2) LGI’s
info is on brands you do not carry, as well as those you do –
oftentimes the most valuable information is when you are
considering or just starting out with a brand (prior to when you
pos system would provide input; 3) LGI’s info includes other
data that your system could not – for example, the service
benchmarks your availability at retail for a particular model as
opposed to the universe of retailers availability experience
– this enables a retailer to benchmark their reorder
practices against others – and most importantly, understand
whether they are being delivered an appropriate quantity of the top
sellers of the brands they carry. While your POS is invaluable in
telling you what is happening in your stores, LGI can provide you
market , brand and model level information that was never available
before. Why would this benefit me? What some independents in other
areas might be selling more of—my market might not demand.
For example, at my FL store we sell tons of men’s diamond
bracelets—in my NC store I have yet to have any men who walk
in the store even stop to take a look at them.- While it is true
that there are regional differences, it has been our experience on
the watch side that 8 of the 10 top models are consistent
throughout the country. Additionally, model level reporting is just
one of the items that retailers get to see. Frankly, LGI is not as
good at explaining the benefits as other retailers. We hope some
respond to your posting. This said, there is a reason whey LGI had
2,000 store-fronts when we started and now 7,000. Also, we are
proud of those retailers that have chosen to be part of LGI –
unquestionably some of the best in the industry. These are all
smart people that while recognizing that no data source is perfect
(as your valid example demonstrates well), used properly, the
service can contribute strong value. Does LGI show local retailers
each other’s info? If so, why would I want other local
independents to know what I sell most of?-LGI does not show
retailers each other’s info. No other retailer can ever see
how another retailer is performing. We have extremely strong
controls in place that have been reviewed by many leading retailers
prior to signing on. In our five years in operation, there has not
been a single issue along these lines. LGI utilizes POS
info—do they request numerical figures and do they post this
info or is this information kept confidential? –
Participating retailers provide LGI with sales and inventory
information on a monthly basis which we pull from each
retailer’s POS system via a process that requires no effort
on the retailer’s part after the initial short
implementation. This information is kept strictly confidential (as
per written agreement that each retailer signs at startup). Each
retailer’s information is then aggregated with all of the
other data LGI collects. I hope this helps further clarify the role
of LGI Network. Please feel free to contact me at 973-659-0333 x
105 f you have any questions.