runstyle

"Incorrect and corrupted product data are such a barrier to stores being able to properly and ef- ficiently run, understand their business, and make it better. One way that bad data affects running stores is how it limits their ability to determine where to get their best ROI. Bad data even affects the value of the business, because we look at product data to see what is sold and not sold, and inaccurate data can undervalue sales numbers. The PDC will give us the ability to understand what is really selling in the market, creating new opportunities. It will be a game changer, providing better manage- ment of inventory so better partnerships can be developed between retailers and brands. The RIA is taking an incredibly fragmented marketplace and bringing it together with common purpose. Data management has been a barrier for as long as I remember. Improving how we function online, go to market, operate, and collaborate – that all excites me. It's a significant deal." - Parker Karnan, co-owner and general manager of Karnan Associates, a full-service business consulting firm, and a former brand rep in the run specialty industry since 1991 "Brands have so much data to share and nu- merous places where we need to share it. If a change is made to any of the data, making sure it is communicated to all parties properly is a massive challenge. The PDC will allow us to share information in a timely manner and give us the ability to instantly communicate any product, pric- ing, item number, or data change. With a centralized data-sharing platform, brands will be able to spend more time thinking about what drives the business and less time consumed with reacting to requests for information. Reps, who have a number of competing priorities, will be able to spend more time working with accounts to find ways to support their business at a local level versus making sure they have the latest line lists." - Paul Perrone of Implus, a family of brands such as Balega, TriggerPoint, Spenco, and RockTape "In my research, I have found that more than 42% of the products sold by run specialty retailers do not use the same UPC codes that brands use, making it very difficult for retailers to track sales history. Why is this happening? It's because making data consistent requires tons of time. It's a never-ending job of sending emails, doing Excel work, and constant oversight. And while the data indirectly affects the bottom line, retailers have more immediate priorities: there are always customers to serve, inventory to keep stocked, employees to train, you name it. And companies like ours need the time back in our day just as much as retailers do. We have to keep our product catalog updated, too. If we don't have data from all brands, our software seems incomplete. Having the PDC and a single source of truth will not only save us time, but it will also make our product that much more effective." - Coleman Conley of Upper Quadrant, providing software to help retailers understand sales trends and leverage marketing data "The current problem or pain point for retailers in managing product data is mainly how the data comes across in raw form, and the time it takes to get it into the correct format and into your system quickly. If that time can be reduced, that is a huge benefit. When products, sizes, colors, etc. are in our system and easily searchable, it helps employees from a speed standpoint. We specialize in getting the right shoes for customers, and it's important to be efficient with checkout time for customers. If staff can't easily search for the item that the customer wants, then that's going to bog down the transaction. The PDC can help improve sales because if we can be more efficient with the customer and inventory, then we are more efficient in our space, and everyone is trying to maximize dollars per square foot. Anywhere we can maximize efficiencies will help a run specialty store improve sales." - Ken Larscheid, founder and owner of Running Lab in Brighton, Michigan since 2011 and former brand sales rep "With all of the SKUs, UPCs, pricing, price re- ductions, images, and formatting needs, it's a big process ensuring the accuracy of data so inventory is accurate. We always have four to five people managing data, and are probably at a point where managing and updating data from hundreds if not thousands of SKUS should be some- one's full-time job. The main benefit of a universal product data management solution is having all of the data readily available in one place and in one format, rather than having to spend hours reformatting it. The PDC will help our employees when looking up special orders. They will benefit from having connected inventory from the brands all the way to the warehouse. What excites me the most about the coming launch of the RIA's Product Data Collaborative is not spending hours of my life in excel sheets, and getting back some productivity not only for myself but for other people." - Justin Porter of Athletic Annex in Indianapolis, Indiana, a three-store retailer celebrating its 40th anniversary SPECIAL REPORT WHAT RETAILERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE UPCOMING LAUNCH OF THE RIA PRODUCT DATA COLLABORATIVE OTHER PERSPECTIVES ON THE POSITIVE IMPACT OF A PRODUCT DATA SOLUTION

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