They say there’s no one right way to do something, and in fact, they’re right. There are five. The 5 R’s of merchandising are something that retailers should live by and die by if they want success. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the effectiveness of the 5 R’s, are their simplicity: present the right product to the right people at the right time in the right way at the right time.
The Right Product
There’s no accounting for taste, so this is basically a matter of being in the know. To complete the first “R,” you need to know what the people want before they do.
The Right People
Once you have your product, you have to make sure the right people are seeing it. If you’re selling a $1,000 coat in the middle of nowhere, you’re catering to the wrong people. If you’re selling the same coat in SoHo, you’re going to sell.
The Right Time
In this industry, it’s critical to strike when the iron’s hot. The right people are not looking for stores who are riding on the coattails of others, they want to be the first people to have it and they want it available when they want it.
The Right Way
Again, if you’re selling a thousand dollar coat, and you’re trying to sell it on an outdated mannequin in a generic scene, it will be passed by time and time again. You have to make the people want what you have, and the only way to do that is by painting the picture for them.
The Right Price
Pricing is a science few have mastered, but all have attempted. The price needs to match the perceived value created by all of the other factors: the product itself, the people who will buy it, the timeliness of its debut and the lifestyle it represents.
