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11-15-2023 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders
11-15-2023 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1200 1200 SVDP USA

Next week, we start what is the traditional year-end holiday season that extends through early January.

Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, New Years. Food, prayer, presents, parties, and football. Usually a lot of food, a lot of presents, a lot of parties, a lot of football. More than enough food and parties to cause a lot of us to begin that new year with another new diet. More than enough presents to tempt us to cut up those credit cards and swear off debt. And more than enough football…. well actually, there is never enough football.

But is there enough prayer? Is there ever enough prayer?

The thing about holidays and Holy Days is that they focus us on prayer, gratitude, and spirituality. But what about all those other days that aren’t Sunday Mass days or holidays? When it’s bitter cold in mid-February and the car is stuck under a snow drift, do we pray? Or maybe — do we curse? When it is 115 degrees with 89% humidity in August, do we pray — or do we curse? When it’s just a plain ole normal day where nothing especially went right or wrong, do we pray? Or do we just let it go by, untouched by our spiritual selves? I admit, I’ve been on the wrong side of each one of those questions more times than I wish I had.

St. Vincent de Paul said, “Give me a man of prayer and he will be capable of everything. He may say with the apostle, ‘I can do all things in him who strengthens me.’”

As Vincentians, we are women and men of prayer. And through that prayer, service, and friendship, we seek to grow in holiness and become closer to God and each other. Our meetings open and close with prayer. In our gatherings, we reflect and pray on scripture and other spiritual discussions. We sometimes pray with those we serve; we always pray FOR those we serve. Prayer is central to being a Vincentian.

So today, I pray that you and your families are blessed with happiness and peace this holiday season. I pray for those gone from us this past year who won’t be sitting around our Thanksgiving tables or won’t have presents under the tree. I pray today for an end to the war, violence, and hatred that has exploded across the globe. I pray today that civility, listening, and understanding return to our conversations and interactions in society. And I pray that those we serve find hope, healing, and relief from suffering.

And finally, I pray that when the holidays are over, the tree is back in the attic and it’s a normal boring Tuesday, that I pray. That day — and every day.

Peace and God’s blessings,
John

John Berry
National President

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Stores Corner — Pricing Strategies for SVdP Thrift Stores
Stores Corner — Pricing Strategies for SVdP Thrift Stores 1080 1080 SVDP USA

A Discussion by: Dave Barringer, SVdP National Chief Executive Officer

The concept of Pricing is the least understood among the “4 P’s” of marketing – Price, Product, Place (distribution), and Promotion. However, a good pricing strategy can be your strongest tool toward sales and profits in a thrift store program.

In this article I will discuss several pricing strategies you can use to develop a set of guidelines for your store that help ensure you are creating maximum value for your store as well as your customers. As the former National Chief Marketing Officer and National Director Stores Support for Goodwill Industries, my insights below are based on twenty years of supporting more than 2,500 thrift stores across the United States. While the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is quite a different organization, the pricing theories and practices between the two retailers are much more the same than different.

First, know your limits. There is no point in operating a store unless it makes money for your organization. Certainly, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) may give away some, or even a lot, of what it collects directly to people in need, the store still needs to make enough money to keep the operation going. Fortunately, there are proven ways that a store can properly integrate with other aspects of the Society and still meet business objectives.

Here is an example of how this might work: The Council that owns the store wants to provide mattresses at no charge to families in need. They create vouchers for its Conferences to give to those who need this product, who bring them to the store for redemption. You know what each mattress costs from the supplier. Add to this any storage, transportation and other costs, such as labor and administration. From this, derive a “price” for the mattress, even though you will not charge the family in need for it. You will, however, charge the Conference this price for the mattress. In this way, you maintain the sales you need for the store’s livelihood, still provide the mattress at no cost to the family and keep a reasonable cost for the Conference who would otherwise need to purchase a new mattress elsewhere. A corollary example: The Conference may use its own vouchers to purchase the mattress, earned from its collection of saleable goods that are given to the store. Again, pricing plays a role here. The retail team determines, for example, that a truck full of used donated goods is equal 100x. The Conference holds a collection event at its parish and fills the truck. Upon pickup, the retail team pays the Conference in vouchers worth a percentage, say 60x, of the truck’s contents resale value. Everyone wins.

The first critical component of a good pricing strategy is to know your costs. This includes both direct costs (the cost for each unit) plus the indirect costs (costs that are there regardless of the number of units, such as rent) that are then applied to each unit. Most retailers take the total cost of the unit and then double it to set a price to ensure its profits. This becomes your baseline pricing strategy, cost times 2. This price allows for the unforeseen, such as shrink and damaged goods to some extent, and gives you wiggle room to stimulate sales through pricing discounts later.

Competitive Pricing

Some thrift stores simply copy the price of the other stores in town. This is dangerous because their costs may be radically different. The competitor with many area stores can spread its indirect costs over more stores and more items. Perhaps the competitor wants to price you out of business, by selling their goods so low that if you match them, you go broke first because of your cost structure and/or charitable goals.

I once saw a store that priced its goods exactly double those of another thrift store directly across the street. The higher-price store went shopping at the competitor, took its best goods, then doubled the prices for sale. Customers only saw inferior goods at the lower-priced store and were happy to pay the higher prices for the better goods at the other store because, after all, every item is one of a kind. Believe it or not, the lower-priced store was happy for a while being the wholesaler in effect for the other store. Ultimately, though, they realized that shoppers weren’t coming in any longer, because the “treasures” that shoppers enjoy in all thrift stores were being picked away before most shoppers had a chance to find them. What to do? They raised their prices to cut the profit margin opportunity for the higher price store and kept good values for its own customers who had already proved they would pay the higher prices by their defection to the other retailer.

The same concept applies to shoppers who use our stores as suppliers for their yard sales and eBay/online businesses. They show us that our goods are worth more in the marketplace, so why don’t we price them to keep the profits for ourselves? It may be our charitable intent, which I will discuss later. Remember, the first customers to complain when you raise prices are these retailers who make money from what they buy from you. Thus, these complaints are a sign that you are doing a good thing!

Know your Environment

If you are reading this article in hopes that I can give you a specific price point for every item, or even any item, in your thrift store, then you don’t understand your local environment. Did you know, for example, that food prices may be 30 percent lower in Baltimore than only a few miles away in Washington, DC?

We all live in areas with separate economic conditions and cost-of-living realities. Separate from our competitive status, we also have economic truths to consider in pricing. That four-dollar blouse is a bargain in a high-cost area but priced too high for another one. You probably have some sense of your relative trade market economy. Scoping out other thrift stores and discount retailers will help you gauge the range in which your prices may need to reside, at least as a starting point.

NEXT TIME: PART TWO – Different Pricing Concepts to Explore

If you have a topic that you would like addressed in a future Stores Corner article, please e-mail our Jeff Beamguard, National Director of Stores Support at jbeamguard@svdpusa.org

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11-02-2023 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders
11-02-2023 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1080 1080 SVDP USA

What is the hardest thing you’ve ever done? I don’t mean running a 10K, bench pressing 300 pounds, or completing the New York Times crossword in record time. No, I mean what was really the hardest thing you have ever done? Was it to leave home and venture out on your own? Was it to ask that pretty girl out on the first date that resulted in a lifetime of love and family? Was it to leave an unhealthy relationship or change an unhealthy behavior? Was it letting go when you really didn’t want to? Was it leaving that comfortable, well-paying, secure job to take a shot at a new opportunity?

And why did you choose to do that thing? Close your eyes a minute and think about it.

OK, welcome back. I don’t know what you might have decided was the hardest thing you’ve ever done, but I am pretty sure that whatever it was, there a very important factor that was involved in your decision to do it: Vision.

When you began the thought process about that decision, I am willing to bet that (consciously or unconsciously) you went through a process of imagining the ‘other side’ of it. You had a vision of the consequences of success — or  failure.. And as you contemplated your decision, you asked yourself “Imagine if I …”

Underlying that vision was an even more important factor: Faith.

Your faith — in yourself,  in others, and  in God — was the underlying core that made that vision something attainable and realistic, and thus gave you the courage to move forward. Likewise, in the decision process a lack of faith in any of those things might have given you the red light to say ‘No, this isn’t something I want to do/try/begin.’

In a few months we will begin what I have called our SVdP USA ‘Family Conversation.’  It is an opportunity for us to journey together in an exploration of the challenges and opportunities we have as we adapt to a changing world; just as we are called to do by The Rule, Part 1, 1.6.  As we work together in this guided process over the next few years and journey together to adapt to a changing world, let’s keep those two very important principles in our minds.

Vision: “Imagine if we …”

Faith: “What is God calling us to do as his workers in the field to support our Sisters and Brothers in Christ?”

Because if we can answer those questions and do the hard things that result from them, then we will create a beautiful foundation for the future and those who follow us in this amazing vocation.

Remember the words of St. Paul: “I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.”

Peace and God’s blessings,
John

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National Council Welcomes National Store Support Manager
National Council Welcomes National Store Support Manager 799 1117 SVDP USA

The National is excited to welcome the new National Store Support Manager, Jim Conley.

In his new role, Jim will oversee the opening and operation of the second SVdP National Thrift Store in Fairview Heights, IL. Once open, the store will serve as an additional location for Conference and Council Stores leaders to come and learn best practices to take back to their thrift stores.

Jim received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from the University of Missouri – St. Louis in 1997.

After graduating, Jim went on to work in retail management for more than 20 years. He worked for companies such as The Home Depot and, most recently, Total Wine and More.

Jim enjoys teaching and training associates to deliver outstanding customer service, as well as helping to build successful, profitable businesses. He is very passionate about helping his associates reach their career goals and providing them the level of training needed for that.

Jim currently lives in Ballwin, MO and has a 13 year old son.

Please join us in welcoming Jim to the SVdP team!

If you would like to contact Jim, he can be reached at (314) 576-3993 ext. 229 or by email at jconley@svdpusa.org.

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10-26-2023 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders
10-26-2023 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1080 1080 SVDP USA

Imagine my surprise when I saw several young adults at National Assembly wearing my chosen brand of athletic shoes. It was even more surprising to learn that their choices were based on seeing me wear the shoes at the Midyear meeting!  I had not chosen to be a “fashion influencer;” my shoe choice was based on having plantar fasciitis, and my trying not to scream with every step!

We are often influenced by others when they don’t realize it, and sometimes we don’t realize it either. A coach will tell athletes to make their bed in the morning and it gets done, even though the parents have tried without success for the same results over and over again. We wear something because someone on television wore it. We pick up language patterns from our parents and friends, mostly unintentionally.

As Vincentians, we may not realize how much of an example we set for others. We believe ourselves to be simple humble servants, but you may be heroes to other parishioners in the pews because you take on work for the poor that they appreciate but don’t feel comfortable doing themselves. You set an example for those we serve through your compassion and willingness to listen and to help. You also exhibit an example of perceived financial stability and success.

It is said that one’s character is who you are when no one is looking. We know as Vincentians that God is always looking! If you are a parent, you know that the kids are always looking – often at times you may not choose! Yet we may not be aware that others also see us when we aren’t thinking about providing any example, we are simply living our lives. We are who we are even when we aren’t “wearing the uniform” when we serve.

How many Conference or Council leaders act one way when leading a meeting, but seem to be completely different people when off of the meeting stage? How many of us are Saints when conducting a Home Visit encounter, but act, well, differently when among friends or family? Chances are, this difference in behavior and/or attitude is unintentional. It’s not that we are at times putting on a show; it’s more that we are aware of our capacity as example-setter when in certain situations and we want to perform in an exemplary manner.

Being the best we can be is hard work, even for small periods of time. We can’t be perfect every waking moment, even when we try. That’s okay, God is forgiving, certainly more than we may be for each other. Let’s give each other, and ourselves, some grace in those moments when we aren’t at our best.

That said, let’s work in our Vincentian lives to remember our role as community exemplars. We wear the Society of St. Vincent de Paul label as we serve our Church and the Poor, and granted, that can be a lot to live up to each day. Let’s nonetheless be intentional regarding our individual and collective language, behavior, appearance and anywhere else that may serve as an example for others.

Let’s work not only to talk the talk, but also to walk the walk. Apparently, I can recommend the right shoes!

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Disaster Services Offers Aid to Northern California Fire Victims
Disaster Services Offers Aid to Northern California Fire Victims 938 943 SVDP USA

When massive wildfires hit Northern California without warning, entire towns were destroyed, thousands were left homeless, and 16 people were killed. But thanks to your generosity, the St. Vincent de Paul Disaster Services Corporation was there to help the Sacramento Diocesan Council respond and rebuild.

Survivors were living in RVs, leaving them vulnerable to the elements, while waiting for delayed state assistance to help them rebuild. Thanks to help from donors like you, DSC and the National Council were able to:

  • Assist 15 Households: The grant provided essential materials and supplies for survival and recovery.
  • Weatherize RVs: By equipping 10 RVs with roof coatings and caulking materials, the project protected families against the elements.
  • Solarize: Solar panels provided heating and cooling needs for a household living in an RV.
  • Provide Hot Water and AC: Families received hot water heaters and window AC units, restoring essential comforts.
  • Control Erosion: Supplies including paint rollers, caulking guns, gloves, fans, flashlights, batteries, and jack pads, were distributed to address pressing safety concerns.
  • Build Community: A poignant remembrance event connected 150 survivors with vital community resources and distributed 400 trees for reforestation and erosion control, fostering a sense of unity and renewal.

But the impact didn’t stop there. The second half of the grant helped volunteers complete vital solar repairs, bring damaged RVs up to safety standards, and distribute gravel, as well as providing fire extinguishers, carbon monoxide detectors, and smoke detectors.

Program Manager Simona Gallegos can’t thank donors enough. “Without this funding, these wildfire survivors would have remained stuck in a never-ending loop of destruction. This funding has equipped them to better deal with extreme weather situations and made them more sustainable in their recovery.”

To donate to the Annual Disaster Campaign, visit www.svdpusa.org/disaster

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10-5-2023 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders
10-5-2023 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 900 900 SVDP USA

This past weekend, I was in New Jersey to attend the Sunday Night NY Jets game at the Meadowlands (sometime in the past I must have done something really bad to have been burdened with the unique torture of being a committed NY Jets football fan). While there I attended Mass at St. Joseph’s Parish is East Rutherford, NJ. Waiting for Mass to begin, I was looking over the parish bulletin.

I was struck by their Mission Statement, prominently displayed on the cover page. It read: “A community of communities where each person can encounter Christ and lead others to him. Our vision is what you do for the least one, you do for Me.” What a beautiful expression of faith, friendship, and service.

It certainly occurred to me that it was a statement that could apply to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. We are truly a community of communities; diverse in our backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, ages, genders, and races, yet united in our faith and our commitment to serve the least of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We lead people to Christ not by our words, but by our actions. To paraphrase St. Francis, we “Preach the Gospel at all times through our service, and when necessary, we use words.”

I am truly honored and blessed to be able to serve you over the next six years as your National President. It is my hope and my prayer that I will have the opportunity to meet you all in visits to you or at National and Regional meetings. I want and need to hear from you about what you think and what you need from me, our new Board of Directors, and our tremendous National staff to support your efforts to live out our three essential elements of spirituality, service, and friendship.

To that end, and as I discussed in my inaugural remarks at the National Assembly in September (you can view the video here), I am asking us, as a Society, to embark on a two-year period of conversation, discernment, and prayer to look at our future and adapt to the changing world we are in. Our Rule calls us to periodically do just that. We will model our discussion on a synodality process. Synodality is a Greek word that comes from ‘journey’ and ‘together.’ We will journey together is a conversation and discernment that will guide us as we build a bridge to the future so that our community of communities can and will continue to encounter Christ through our service and help lead others to him through our example.

You will hear a lot more about this exciting journey in the months to come.

Peace and God bless,
John

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09-21-2023 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders
09-21-2023 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1080 1080 SVDP USA

Just as Summer inevitably turns to Fall, our beloved Society’s leadership changes at the end of September each year with new local Council and Conference President elections at the end of respective three-year terms.

At the national level, the term of the National President and his/her Board is six years. The current National Council’s Board of Directors began their Board service in 2017. It concludes with that of the National President, when Ralph Middlecamp’s six-year term ends on September 30. Since 2017, well, what a ride! Allow me to share with you just some of the accomplishments made possible through policy development or direct actions taken by this Board.

  • They strengthened support of local Councils though enhancements of our Model Bylaws, Standards of Excellence, and a new Safeguarding policy.
  • They engaged more members in national service through regions, committees, and task forces.
  • They expanded recruitment, leadership inclusion, and Conference support for under-represented ethnic communities and young adults.
  • They shepherded six years of profitable National Council financial success and stability, including the policy formation of how to use restricted funds and operating reserves while simultaneously growing fundraising and operational support. Along the way, we increased financial and leadership support for the global Society, and supported three new national subsidiary organizations.
  • During the global pandemic, the Board went remote for three National meetings – and doubled our attendance! They also pivoted all of us first to remote activities and then back again to in-person services and gatherings. Along the way they supported growth from 20 to more than 100 national webinars annually.
  • The Board provided budgets and policies to rebuild our national public and member websites, and created oversight for better document management and online security systems.
  • Finally, this board sold our national office to buy a new building just a block away that doubled our staff workspace, added a larger, interactional boardroom and a beautiful Vincentian chapel. This was accomplished without asking for any membership dues assessments or even a capital campaign, a rare feat among nonprofits!

There is more, but you get the idea. This has been a high-functioning board of directors working on your behalf to support and strengthen the Society in the United States. We recognized the Board members at the closing banquet of our National Assembly, but a few words can’t express the gratitude they are owed for shepherding the National Council over the past six exciting years of the Society.

We also say goodbye, well sort of, to our National President Ralph Middlecamp as his term ends. The good news is that after six years of exceptional, Vincentian servant leadership to the Society in one country, we now share Ralph with the rest of the world. Upon the election and recent installation of the new Council General International President, Ralph has been appointed International First Vice President! This is great news for all of us, as the U.S. Council participates very actively in the work of the global Society. Ralph can keep us informed and up to date on spiritual, service, financial and other opportunities.

Every national Board builds upon the work of those who served previously. New National President John Berry and his newly-appointed Board of Directors will have their own initiatives and goals, with a strong National Council to continue to strengthen in service to you as its members. Finances and staff are strong, and we have relatively few urgent challenges. It’s a great time to re-assess our Society presence, culture and operations (more on this from John soon), and take time to listen, really listen, to our members and the world around us. Thank you, Ralph and our outgoing Board, and with John and our new Board, we can’t wait to get to work!

Yours in Christ,
Dave Barringer
CEO

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09-14-2023 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders
09-14-2023 A Letter From Our Servant Leaders 1080 1080 SVDP USA

Every year in the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is an opportunity for new goals, leadership transitions, and reflection on our successes and challenges. At this year’s National Assembly in St, Louis, we did all this and more as we celebrated “Where It All Began” with a pandemic-delayed 175th (now 178th) anniversary.

The biggest set of changes is the transition from one National President and Board of Directors to a new set of national officers. John Berry, our National President as of next month, succeeds Ralph Middlecamp, who has led the Society faithfully and effectively through six years of pandemic, economic, and social uncertainties and what all of this has meant for the Society.  John has selected a new Board of Directors, which was ratified by the National Council at our annual Business Meeting held this week. We are now poised with talent for leading in the immediate future.

But what will that future bring? President-Elect John asked all of us to be part of a national listening process as we determine what the Society needs to be to remain true to our Mission and Three Essential Elements in a changing world. Much more to come on this, to be sure!

It is easy to forget that while around 750 Vincentians attended the National Assembly, more than 80,000 or so did not attend. They need to know a lot of what was discussed in St. Louis. Watch for videos of Ralph’s farewell address and recognition of his service at the closing banquet, John’s inaugural member address that lays out his hopes for his upcoming term, and other videos of our general sessions and workshops. These take some time to isolate, edit, and post, etc., so be patient as we release these in the coming weeks. They will each be announced in the e-Gazette as they become website links that you can share with your Council and Conference.

Three general sessions deserve your viewing. Bishop Donald Hying provided another seminal spiritual reflection for us in his last appearance as our National Episcopal Adviser. (He will be succeeded under President Berry’s term by Archbishop Andrew Bellisario from the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau. More on this soon!)  St. Louis Council’s Executive Director/CEO John Foppe delivered a powerful, personal, and inspiring talk to the Assembly based in part on his book, “So What’s Your Excuse?” and Vincentian Father John Rybolt, a foremost authority on the life of St. Vincent de Paul, provide insights on St. Vincent’s varied imagery through the years and thoughts on how Vincent would approach today’s challenges. Coming soon!

A new Ozanam Institute online learning program was launched during the week. More on this elsewhere in the e-Gazette – don’t miss it!

A highlight for many who attended was the Installation Mass for the new President and Board at the “New Cathedral” of St. Louis. While many had been to St. Louis previously, most had never seen the enormous basilica filled with beautiful mosaic tiles including images of our Society founders. And as St. Vincent de Paul is one of three of the city’s patron Saints, his image appears in both mosaic and statue in the Basilica. It was a beautiful and inspiring event!

The National Council enters the 2023-24 year with a profitable 2022-23, an annual budget passed this week, and money in the bank for new initiatives as determined by you and the new Board.  Our three subsidiaries – Disaster Services Corporation, SVDP National Stores and SVDP National Foundation – are healthy and poised for growth and success in their respective missions.  National committees are being re-formed under new and existing banners to reflect our Essential Elements and other priorities. National staff will add a second Stores Director to support new and existing local stores, and an HR professional to assist the National Council and its subsidiaries to manage employee benefits legally and effectively for employee satisfaction and retention.

Nearly a third of the Assembly’s participants were first-timers. Plan now to join them and hundreds of others at our next National Assembly in Phoenix, August 14-17, 2024.

Yours in Christ,
Dave Barringer
CEO

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Stores Corner — I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know
Stores Corner — I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know 1080 1080 SVDP USA

Written By: Rick Bologna, Stores Director, Central Texas

Are you willing to take a hard and honest look at your store operations? Are you willing to say and admit – I DON’T KNOW WHAT I DON’T KNOW? I would like to share my firsthand experience with you in this article.

Have you ever wondered how you can make your store more profitable? How can you generate more income and move more product through your store more efficiently and faster? As store leaders, we no-doubt have asked these questions in our minds.

In October of 2020, our store in Austin reopened after being closed due to the pandemic. The store had annual sales of $200K and a warehouse stacked high to the rafters with clothes, housewares, donations, and junk, with more items coming in daily.

Through brute force, common sense, and a lot of trial and error, our team installed processes and workflows to push additional product to the floor and generate additional income.

Our customer-base loved the changes we were making in the store; however, our processes and workflows were not sustainable. The key to sales and income is through the back-room production. Please read that sentence again!

We were working extremely hard, but not very smart.

After the first fiscal year, we increased sales to $400K from $200K. Then we went to $610K in our second fiscal year. We had plateaued. This was as far as I could lead our team.

I was tapped out on my knowledge-base and experience in getting us to this level. This was an awful fact that I had to personally own and share with my team — I DON’T KNOW WHAT I DON’T KNOW!

I reached out to the Director of Stores Support in the National Office, Jeff Beamguard, for help. Jeff heads up the National Training Store in Phoenix, AZ and leads the National Stores Committee.

Jeff arrived in Austin in October of 2022, bringing 40 years of thrift store experience and completed a full assessment of our store.

Key components we learned from Jeff:

  • Initial sorting of product – Is it sellable, recyclable or trash? This will save you a ton of time on product selection for the floor.
  • Each product has an exit strategy from your store — the product will either sell during the color rotation cycle or it does not sell, and it comes off the floor for recycling or trash. IT IS REALLY THIS SIMPLE!
  • Initiated the 5-Week Color Rotation Cycle – If the product has not sold after five weeks on the shelves with various markdowns to .99 cents (in a thrift store) the market will tell you, they do not want the product. Put new products out on your shelves and turn over the shelf space more rapidly by selling more profitable items.

In conclusion, I must say, our Austin team has completely embraced what we are doing and where we are going. Without the team’s buy in, we would not achieve this success utilizing Jeff’s assessments, suggestions, and our implementations.

This fiscal year, our sales will be around $800K. Our workflows and processes are now sustainable, due to education. Our annual production in three years went from 109K pieces to 176K pieces, to about 300K pieces this fiscal year.

As a staff, we NOW KNOW WHAT WE KNOW! We are headed towards the million-dollar store benchmark because of education, proven methodologies, and continued support from the National Stores Committee and Jeff Beamguard. The National Stores Committee and Jeff are here to serve you.

How much money are you leaving on the table in your store without this education? Are you doing your store and Council a service or disservice by not running the store as efficiently as possible?

Please take advantage of this educational opportunity for your store and get into the KNOW!

Please encourage your store personnel to subscribe to the to the e-Gazette, by emailing mboyer@svdpusa.org.

If you have a topic that you would like addressed in a future Stores Corner article, please e-mail our Director of Stores Support-Jeff Beamguard at jbeamguard@svdpusa.org.

 

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