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Friday, December 14, 2012

Activity Report


Salvation Army Inc.


 


Salvation Army Thrift Store in Lake Worth & West Palm Beach

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdKFzOaCDiA

 Date: Je’Vaughn Osgood 14, 2012
To: Professor Sherry Smith
From: Je’Vaughn Osgood, Baler/Dock Maintenance
Re: Activity Report

Recently, I proposed a reconstruction and remodeling of the Salvation Army Inc. Thrift Store. The purpose of my proposal was to remove the clutter of items in a section of the store called Brick-N-Brack. The proposal was accepted by management personnel as well as the corporate office. The proposal plan has now been in action within the course of the last three weeks.

In the past three weeks, the store has completed several objectives that are in the proposal plan. All of the objectives are now completed:

Step One: Make stocking Simple and Efficient
The wooden barriers that sectioned off areas for brick-n-brack were removed. The isles are now being installed instead of wooden boxes for store items. Orders have been made for headers over each isle indicating what particular item goes there. There also been a purchase of the containers that are clear small, medium, and large containers. The price for the items was discounted because of the large order.  The containers will have certain colors that match the color of the headers on the isles and will also have a label to indicate what items go in them. The walk-ways in the brick-n-brack area are no longer cluttered and the working with better efficiency. There has been extra hours offered to employees for the holidays and there have been no complaints of hard labor.
Step two:  Offer Specials and Discounts
We have increased turnover by persuading customers to purchase more items. We have offer specials and discounts to new and existing customers. We now have discounts in every section of the store. An addition offer is the Thrifty Thursday Sale, which has addition mark downs on sale items and merchandise that is usually full price. Sales have steadily increased and overstock is slowly starting to decline. We have offer discounts on brick-n-brack items including fifty percent off of purchases of these items. There has also been a discount that coincides with the discounts on clothes. Senior citizens, veterans, and college students now receive the same discount on brick-N-brack as they get on clothing. The response has been tremendous and word of mouth publicity has more customers seeking our bargains.  Specials now offered exceed the ones we have had in the past. The projection of buy ten for a dollar is producing a high turnover, but for certain days will proceed to fifteen for a dollar, then on holidays twenty for a dollar. There was a sale recently that customers got free brick-n-brack merchandise with a purchase of two hundred dollars or more.

Step three: Sale merchandise in Bulk
In the past two weeks the Salvation Army Thrift store has found bulk buyers from other retail stores. There are several stores in the area of Hattiesburg, MS that sell home décor and household items. We have offered them a discount for buying a certain amount of brick-n-brack that has benefitted ours sales and decrease the overstock in the area. There has been a freight pick-up every week. There are three customers that buy merchandise from the Salvation Army Thift Store in bulk. We project that there will be at least five more customers in the next three months.
Reconstructing the storage area and revamping turnover has benefited the store greatly. The isles have acquired save us important time and space.  The new clear, colored containers work hand and hand with the isles. As a result, the employees on the dock and in the storage area can get things done more effectively with less effort. There is more fellowship amongst co-workers and less strain on their work loads. Discounts and special offers for customers have driven our sales and allow for us to gain more customers from our price advantages versus our competitors. It has helped the flow of merchandise from the storage areas.
Sales have increase more with businesses buying merchandise from our store. There are more shipments and more stores buying merchandise in bulk. These common products allow us to have larger customers from many different avenues. We have a price advantage and the economic strain could increase our business to business sales. We want to expound on all of our attempts to sale and ship items to other locations.
The reconstruction and remodeling project is a total success. The front office was so pleased by the project that they offered to use the proposal for all of its thrift stores. The plan of action will be taken first of those Salvation Army Thrift Stores that had the initial problem of overstock as we did.
Thank you for reviewing this Activity Report. If you have any questions, please call me at 601 441-2424 or email me at jevaughn.osgood@gmail.com