Understanding The Retail 4-5-4 Calendar

Many retailers follow a calendar known as a 4-5-4 calendar. This calendar, originally introduced in the 1930′s and began to be used commonly in the 1940′s, is beneficial for many reasons. Among the most important is that it provides a more consistent month flow versus the standard calendar, where weekends and days of each month will vary each year. The 4-5-4 calendar, however, provides the same number of weekends for comparable months, therefore allowing a more accurate report of sales. Because weekends tend to be heavier in sales for retailers than weekdays, making sure there is some routine to the annual reporting of sales – including what day of the week the sale is made – is extremely important.

The calendar known as 4-5-4 divides the year into months of 4 weeks, then 5 weeks, then 4 weeks and so forth. Beginning on Sundays and ending on Saturdays, it also ensures holidays are lined up and like days, such as a particular Wednesday, are lined up so that sales reporting can be done accurately.

As effective and beneficial as this calendar is, there is one problem that it brings to the table. It only covers 364 days. The extra one day that isn’t covered on the calendar is easily managed, though, by proper bookkeeping completed by each unique retailer. During Leap Year, though, retailers may opt to add another week to the calendar – though some retailers ignore this altogether. When a 53rd week is added, you simply push your weeks back by one to compare to the previous year. Essentially this would mean you would ignore the first week of the year. It also gives retailers and vendors a great reason to get excited – more time to meet annual sales goals!

In addition to allowing sales to be reported more accurately, there are two more valuable reasons to use the 4-5-4 calendar. The first is payroll. This calendar can help guide you in your payroll decisions and help manage your accounting. The second additional reason is inventory control. With a balanced calendar, taking inventory and tracking inventory can be done more accurately when completed routinely.  

While it’s common for large, corporate stores to use this calendar, not all independent retailers have introduced this to their stores. Most retail software systems have this calendar integrated into their systems, however some small business owners still track sales the old fashioned way (pen and paper or their own excel spreadsheet). Certainly there is not a right way to do this – only you can determine that for your store – but there are easier ways to manage your business. This calendar is definitely one of them. A great tool for retailers, if you aren’t following the 4-5-4 calendar already, you should consider how it may be helpful for you.

The Fashion Retail Entreprenuer – Is It Right For You?

Ladies love to shop, ladies love to spend money and ladies love clothes (most ladies at least). Seems to make sense that owning a retail fashion boutique would fall into place in a ladies life then, as well… right? While this may seem idealistic, the reality is that running a fashion oriented boutique – whether selling womens apprel, childrens clothes or fashion footwear – is hard work. Ladies or not (though the majority of fashion retail store owners are women), owning and managing a retail boutique takes a lot  of sweat and sometimes tears. A few things to consider when deciding if owning a retail store is right for you includes the following:

1. Do you like long hours? Retail is a five to seven day a week job (depending on location) and the hours are long. Even before and after opening store hours, store owners are busy working to ensure successful sales, merchandising and more. You have to truly be dedicated to stay passionate about working as hard and as long as retail owners have to. Consider your personal life, as well. Do you have the time to dedicate to these types of working hours?

2. Is your passion fashion or people? It doesn’t matter what you sell if you don’t like working with people. Retail is all about customer service. Make sure that this is a strength of yours or plan to get support here so that the product you sell doesn’t have to sell itself. The reality is consumers expect customer service from boutiques. If you care about this as much as you care about the product in your store, you are on the right track!

3. Are you a good self manager? Working for yourself certainly has it’s perks, but it isn’t for everyone. No one but you will be there to tell you to get the job done. If you need a push every now and then – or all the time -  to get things done, retail may not be your calling. There are always things to do on a retail to-do list and ignoring these details can create problems for your business. Self starters and motivated workers thrive in retail. Is this you?

4. Do you think of others or only yourself? Store owners often neglect to buy product for their store that their consumer may like, but rather only buy what they like. As a store owner, it’s very important not to only buy products based on your own wardrobe desires. You need to be realistic with who is shopping your store, styles offered and assortment options.

5. Are you willing to make mistakes? All retail stores do – that’s just the  reality. You may buy too much for Fall and not enough for Spring. Too color heavy and not enough black. Basics may sell great but you thought trends were the way to go. Learn and move on – don’t dwell on these mistakes but be willing to accept them and move forward.

6. Can you afford it? Starting a retail business costs a lot of money. You need a storefront, inventory, decor, computer and so much more. Getting started can put you in a big black whole unless you are financially supported. Loans may be an option and savings help too. Consider the specific cost details before getting too deep into your retail dreams to ensure this is for you.

Finally, you have to love your job. Retail is an amazing way to spend your days, but the days can be long and the work can be endless. While you may love shopping, you have to love helping other people shop more! Consider all these points and more when deciding if opening a retail store is right for you!