Bite of the Apple

Okay, first off I'm the first to admit that I'm biased here...I've been a Mac guy before I could spell "PC". I'm a biz consultant for Apple, and I'm glad to say I've been a stockholder before anyone knew what an iPod was... So when Apple speaks, I listen.

Red Herring posted an article recently on how successful Apple's Retail portion has been. And if you've been in an Apple Store lately, you know how busy they are. Here's a quote from the article:

Apple’s stores have hauled in annual sales per square foot of $4,032, compared with Best Buy’s $930, Neiman Marcus’ $611, and luxury store Tiffany & Co.’s $2,666, according to Bernstein.

Apple’s recipe works like crack. Apple gives customers instant gratification by keeping inventory in stores, unlike its rivals. Apple has opened its stores slowly, building up anticipation for its stores. Finally, those stores are some of the toniest in retail—encouraging customers to drop far more money than they might in a dusty computer shop or utilitarian web site.

What lessons can be learned here in the Christian Retailing area? Best Buy tries to be everything to everyone...from plasmas to kitchen appliances. And while there may be a need for that, does Best Buy have to fill that need? What if Best Buy slimmed down and focused on a niche, a market... and let someone else worry about some of the less-popular departments. At The Living Word we've looked at a lot of our sales, trying to figure out what we need to be. And honestly, a lot of the things that people would expect a Christian Bookstore to be, we're not going to be. Some people may be upset by that, but honestly it doesn't make sense (or cents) to do some of these things.

At the bookstore we could get bigger. We could expand our inventories. We could be everything to everyone. And we could get so big we couldn't pay the rent. Our employees could be clueless on what they were selling. Customers could get lost between the aisles. The store could feel like an empty warehouse. Instead, what if we did a smaller space, employed it with people passionate about God and product, and turned inventory like crazy.

What does a "Christian Bookstore" look like on crack? It's called C28. That's actually one of the things I love about C28. They know who they are targeting. They know their audience. Their goal is only their audience. If a product doesn't reach the audience, then don't carry the product.

Enjoy the article, and dream with me about what a "christian bookstore on crack" would look like. (Feel free to e-mail me on the whole "crack" reference too!)

Comments

[geiger]

Jeff,

Are you saying you are now selling Crack too?

[Jeff Reed]

Getting the new biz cards printed this week. Just bought the domain name. Look for marketing campaign starting in 2007. Oh, and you don't mind if I reference you as one of my best customers, do you?

Note, the above comment was a joke! Eric's not on crack. Anymore.

Sincerely.

Jeff Reed