Apparel is a category that does well in truckstops and travel plazas if operators understand who their customers are and purchase and present merchandise in the right way.
“A strong apparel program is an opportunity to increase profits,” said Darren Schulte, vice president of membership for NATSO. “When done correctly in our industry, apparel can have margins of 50 to 100 percent profit depending on what types of products you’re selling and what you buy.”
Today’s shoppers are open to finding apparel in unexpected places, which bodes well for truckstop and travel plaza operators. “Think of the number of apparel products that popped up in airports,” Schulte said. “Someone at the airport authority has said, ‘You know what? This can sell.”
However, an effective apparel program goes beyond t-shirts, so Stop Watch sat down with Schulte as well as several 黑料社区members to learn more about how to build a successful apparel program.
Know Your Customers
Knowing who is shopping allows operators to buy the right merchandise for their stores, Schulte said. “One of the most common problems our industry has is that when we buy apparel, we don’t understand who our customer is,” he said, adding that merchandising doesn’t have to be complicated. “Look at who your customer is and ask yourself if you have something that customer will buy.”
It is important to look at not only styles of clothing, but also sizes. “Truck drivers tend to wear larger sizes, so don’t fill your racks with size 33 Wranglers or loads of smalls and mediums,” Schulte said.
JoJo’s Travel Store, which is located inside Truck World’s locations in Hubbard, Ohio, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, carries sizes up to 4X. “We try to bring in a wide range of the different types of clothing,” said Kelly Burke, manager of JoJo’s Travel Store.
Burke also watches for buyouts to keep clothing prices low. “Truck drivers are ruining their shirts. They don’t want to spend a lot on clothing,” she explained.
Burke said the company’s two locations have very different types of shoppers and she sees differences in what the customer at each location is wanting. “The fleet drivers are buying more comfort and in-the-moment items they would need and want,” she said. “The owner-operators are more shoppers.”
At Schatz Crossroads in Minot, North Dakota, the traffic is made up of owner-operators as well as those that work in the agricultural industries, so the location stocks merchandise that appeals to those demographics, said Krista Marshall, operations manager for the location.
In addition to looking at who the customer is, operators should also consider whom they want to attract, Schulte said. “If you’re trying to get females to shop the store, have your gifts and apparel products on the path to the restroom,” he said.
Burke has been working to expand the women’s clothing program at JoJo’s Travel Stores. “During the summer months, I’ve found that the dresses are selling well,” she said.
Make Shopping Easy
Identifying what the product is and how much you are asking for it is the first step to turning shoppers into buyers, Schulte said. “An effective display will identify what the product is and what it costs,” he explained, adding that operators don’t want to pack the racks too full. “Also make sure to have prices and proper tags on clothing and get rid of multiple types of hangers.”
Schulte said utilizing all matching hangers and proper signage can drive sales higher. He also suggests operators be uniform in grouping like types of apparel together.
Shorten the Shopping Cycle
Professional drivers, whether they drive for a company or work as owner-operators, are on a timetable. “Time is a priority for them. They don’t have time to shop,” Schulte said, adding that it is important to make apparel sets easy to shop. “Identify what the product is, make it shoppable and don’t pack as much as you can into an area,” he said.
Create a Strategy
It is essential for operators to focus on the basics, such as creating a summer and a winter offering. Schulte suggests operators watch what other retailers are doing during various times of the year. “If you’re in apparel, are you bringing in shorts with the rest of the retail world? Are you bringing in shorts in each spring like the other big retailers? There is value in following the standard operating procedures the rest of the world follows,” he said.
Commit to the Program
For a location to have a strong apparel program, it has to support it. “It isn’t a program you just put on the bottom of a wing rack or the bottom shelf of a gondola,” Schulte said. “If someone forgets to place an order, how are you holding them accountable?”
Operators should also plan out their sales calendar and display ideas in advance. “The single operator will say, ‘How can I do that?’ You have to employ you vendors to help you,” Schulte said. “However, your vendors can’t be dictating to you, and you can’t be dictating to your vendors. It has be collaborative.”
Consider What Customers Need
Thinking through what customers may need either within the location or in the areas surrounding the travel plaza can help operators create the right product mix, Schulte said. For example, locations that sell a lot of showers may do well with shower shoes or flip-flops.
Schatz Crossroads is surrounded by oil fields, and it has had success with clothing targeted towards those who work in the area as well as clothing that highlights agriculture in the state. “In addition to that, we sell safety clothing,” Marshall said. “We are in hunting season, and we have some camouflage and bright orange hunting things that seems to be doing well.”
Marshall said the location also taps into its extreme North Dakota climate in the winter, selling have fleece items, thermal flannels, gloves and hats.
Remember Accessories
Schatz Crossroads has had success with its line of accessories, especially purses. “We have a purse and wallet combo that people love,” Marshall said.
The combo set retails for around $70. “It is more than an impulse buy, but we see them move pretty quickly,” Marshall said. “We find the price point is at that nice spot where they are spending enough that they are getting a quality product, but they aren’t having to spend more than $75.”
The best part is that the purses keep people coming back. “I’ve noticed as I’m talking to customers that they are saying, ‘This is the third one I’ve bought here,’” Marshall said.
Tap Into the Novelty Factor
Customers like finding things in unexpected places or that they can’t find anywhere else. “We strive to carry unique items that people coming into the store wouldn’t have even though they wanted. When their eye catches that, they want to buy it,” Burke said.
Schatz Crossroads has had success with its novelty clothing, especially Blue Q socks, Marshall said. “The socks say really funny things on them. They are hilarious. They have swear words on them and most have sarcastic tones,” she explained. “They catch you off guard, and you end up laughing.”
Position Items for Success
Schatz Crossroads wants to make sure shoppers see its apparel offerings and displays them at the intersection between its busy restaurant and the travel store. “Everyone sees our merchandise that is out there. We get a lot of foot traffic from the gas islands, the truck drivers and the restaurant,” Marshall said.
Know When to Discount Items
JoJo’s Travel Store also keeps a dedicated sales rack for clothing. “We mix in things that we’ve been sitting on and organize that by sizes,” Burke said.
Marshall said Schatz Crossroads discounts items when the season comes to a close or once the newness wears off. “We had flip-flops that did really, really well when they first came out, but now we’ve dropped the price,” she said.
Learn even more about how 黑料社区members are profiting from apparel at www.natso.com/apparel.
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