Stock Control: Santa’s Trauma

2:31 PM, 8 September 2016

New title buying, appropriate stock levels, returns, replacing titles after sales, rotating displays – pretty dull, right? Well, sure… if you say it like that, but stock control lies at the heart of a successful bookshop, and Christmas is the most important time to have those particular ducks in a row. If there’s an overarching theme these conversations produced it’s that safety is not guaranteed, and complacency cannot be abided. 

This week The Read talks to James Grant (Owner Paper Plus South City, Merivale, and Hornby), Peter Rigg (Owner Page & Blackmore), Carolyn Alexander (Manager, Unity Books Auckland) and Dylan Sherwood (Assistant Manager, Unity Books Wellington) about perfect buying, perfect stock management, and perfect sales in the face of Christmas. And how that just isn’t a thing.

The space between buying and returns

New title buying is both art and science and few exemplify this balance better than Carolyn Alexander at Unity Books Auckland, ‘You have to question your own practice… customers change, sales change, you have to think about your patterns and their patterns, be aware and change in response.’ Carolyn looks at Unity’s key backlist needs and looks to stagger, when possible, the arrival of large new title orders, ‘…space is at a premium here, so organising delivery can be useful.’

James Grant at Paper Plus in Christchurch (Hornby, South City, and Merivale) believes in planning as much as one can, ‘putting hard work into forecasting, getting in touch with our stock and triggering re-orders quickly’ but that with ‘differing marketing, differing trends and unpredictable viral hits’ it’s about ‘going with your gut early, then being responsive.’ James and his brother Simon operate three stores, which provides some latitude, ‘We massage some stock, because our buyers make different choices, so we can get it to the store that needs it – I make a pretty good delivery boy!’

Peter Rigg at Page & Blackmore understands the unpredictability of surging trends, but knows that having a quality backlist available and good booksellers on-hand means there are plentiful options, ‘We don’t despair over gaps, should they happen, there are always plenty of books – we just have to match them to the customer.’ 

Returning stock wisely

How big a part do returns play in Christmas stock control? This was the question that got the widest variety of responses. Dylan Sherwood doesn’t have to change many of his practices in managing Unity Wellington’s returns, just adapt them slightly: ‘We manage our returns throughout the year, and a balance has developed between my returns and our buyers’ – Courtney (International titles) and Karen (NZ titles).’If anything Dylan holds off on returns for the Christmas period, as long as stock control is in good shape, ‘then in January we look at them very closely – but it’s amazing what moves during Christmas.’ 

James says they manage returns at the individual store level but they encourage them ‘to be a little more ruthless a few months before Christmas in order to make space for newer stock, then we hold off until January, giving books their time.’ Carolyn lessens her returns pre-festive season, ‘Return less, hopefully sell more – we have high demand for backlist, so holding onto the smaller titles can make the difference.’

Unity Auckland shares a stock dilemma (such as it is) with Page & Blackmore, in that January is their second biggest month, meaning returns have to be handled carefully. Peter Rigg says ‘Nelson is inundated with visitors in January and we manage our stock for that second wave of customers, so returns can be complicated by that if we get ahead of ourselves’.

Keeping an eye on the big picture: staff and space

The stock holdings of all the stores spoken to increase significantly for Christmas – from at least 50% to more than 100% of regular holdings – so how does that affect the store and staff physically? Dylan points out again that it’s about adaption of existing systems rather than creation of new ones, ‘It’s Tilly’s and my job to keep an eye on the bigger picture stuff – making sure the flow of books is smooth, that the staff have the support they need, and all the individual parts of our operations aren’t being overwhelmed. The pacing has to be right for our big days for sales.’ Dylan’s point was reinforced by Carolyn, James and Peter, who all strongly implied that a healthy bookshop has good systems in place year round, and just needs a dose of steroids in clutch seasons.

When asked when they cut off orders, the universal response was, they don’t. As James said, ‘We’re ordering and restocking right up to Christmas.’ The only change is that they’re careful with what they promise – warning customers 10 to 14 days before C-Day (depending on the supplier) that it gets harder to guarantee something arriving. Interestingly, there isn’t a heavier leaning on NZ based suppliers for stock, largely due to title range or delivery times not being that much better than the Australian suppliers – though Peter says that Page & Blackmore  really appreciate being close to Potton & Burton for quick re-orders (about 12 hours for them). 

A high level of experience and good systems underlie all these stores, long practiced in getting the most out of Christmas for their respective stores. But just as vital is the acceptance of doubt and nervousness; being aware that constant attention is a must and being surrounded by knowledgeable bosses and staff is invaluable. As Carolyn neatly summed up, ‘I’m glad I’ve got a boss and staff I can bounce ideas off and talk numbers with. I’m always nervous - I’m spending a lot of someone else’s money! It’s good to get that right!’

Feature by Marcus Greville