Sharpening the Sword is a regular column by retailer John Riley of Grasshopper's Comics, a 1,300 square foot comic and games store in Williston Park, New York.  This week, Riley talks about things for retailers to consider during economically challenging times:

As I said last column, I took a break from the column for the summer.  Part of it had to do with something of a “perfect storm” of events and obligations that overwhelmed me for quite a few weeks.  We’ve been doing an extension on the house (had only one bathroom and three kids!) as well as a lot of work at the store in a summer where the movie season really had an impact.  But part of it was also a complete sense of confusion regarding the current market that has honestly just made it very hard for me to write down my thoughts.

I read a lot, probably more than I should.  And over the last few months I’ve seen “experts” tell me that oil will be over $200 a barrel by the end of the year, while other “experts” predict $83 a barrel, sometimes in the same article.  Banks are failing, and the two biggest mortgage institutions in the U.S. are being bailed out.  As I write this we’re waiting to find out what is going to happen to at least four major financial institutions.  When it comes to the economy there is no shortage of doomsday articles these days.  On the streets there are more and more empty storefronts, and local businesses are being forced to raise their prices.  I’ve seen some customers lose their jobs, and spoken to those who now owe more on their houses than they’re worth.  Perhaps we’re more sensitive to it here near Manhattan.  And yet I don’t see too many people changing their lifestyles or spending habits very much.  There’s a lot of talk about it, and I’m sure many have put off their larger discretionary purchases until they feel more comfortable, but for the most part things seem the same. 

In our industry we’ve seen a string of exclusive distribution arrangements on the gaming end.  We’re seeing some manufacturers close up shop, while others reduce their product lines.  And yet at the same time, we’re watching comic book films set record after record and dominate popular culture.  It seems like there’s a new deal between comics and Hollywood almost every day, all of which continues to drive an ever increasing public awareness of our incredible hobby.  In fact, we’re doing very well right now as people look to us for distractions and entertainment. 

It’s hard to know what to think.  On one hand we’ve got the incredible experience of seeing young women come in to buy the Watchmen trade after seeing the trailer during Dark Knight (something that I would never have believed possible ten years ago.)  That’s a sure sign for optimism!  And yet on the other hand here in the northeast we have to begin thinking about how we’re going to budget this winter when we’re looking at fuel oil that will most likely be over $5 a gallon.  We had a warm winter last year, but a cold one could literally triple our utility bill which wasn’t small to begin with.

So what kind of strategy makes sense right now?  Honestly, I’m not sure.  Part of me says play it safe and part of me is thinking about opening more stores!  So perhaps the place to start is looking at the mistakes of others; mistakes that we’re noticing as customers ourselves.

Last weekend we took the kids out to one of our favorite restaurants, a little brick oven pizza place down by the harbor.  It’s not fancy, but the food is great, pretty inexpensive, and the place has great atmosphere.  Eating out has definitely been one of the things we have personally cut from our budget, but this restaurant has always been a good value.

Now I know we’ve all heard this story before; how the restaurant changed owners and the food went downhill.  But that wasn’t quite the situation here.  No, in this case the business had clearly been hit by rising costs and had decided not to raise prices but had decided where they could trim expenses to maintain their margins.  Instead of the great custom dressing bottle that usually accompanied their salad, came a generic plastic cup.  There was no fresh ground pepper at the table.  The portions were off just enough to no longer look impressive.  In a nutshell, nothing was actually bad, but nothing was special either.  All the little details that brought us to this place instead of the five places we passed on the way there were gone.  In trimming the fat to maintain their margins without raising prices, they eliminated all the little details that made their experience unique.  It was by no means bad, but it was no longer worth driving the extra fifteen minutes for.

By contrast we went to another restaurant recently too.  This restaurant featured enough details to make your head spin.  The parking lot was filled with white pea gravel giving it a seaside feel. The lights were modeled after old gas lamps.  The restaurant itself was done in a cottage type of art deco style with tremendous attention to use of color, fonts in their signage, etc… There was a small patio with tables and a singer/guitarist leading singalongs.  What type of restaurant was it? Believe it or not, it’s an ice cream parlor.  And people drive for half an hour to get there.

The point is that in attempting to cut back and be more careful in these uncertain economic times we run the very real risk of disappointing our customers when they are most sensitive to it.  My first thought when being disappointed at any store these days is that I wasted a gallon of gas to get there!  Looking at my own business I realized that if the customer came in looking for a Watchmen trade paperback because we always have it in stock, then we better always have it in stock!  If a customer runs in looking for some Bleached Bone paint to finish up his zombie regiment for that weekend’s game, we better have it.  Because right now, when consumers are weighing the value of each trip they make, we need to deliver that value, have the product they’re looking for, and deliver the experience they’re expecting from us.  While none of us can do it across the board, it may be the time to do a little reinvesting into the core products/services that we’re each known for. 

I know none of this is rocket science, but at the moment concentrating on the basics might be the best strategy we can take.  Next time we’ll take a look at the industry that might have stolen FCBD!

The opinions expressed in this Talk Back column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.