Why is it that retailers have back-to-school sales starting in August?

They know that clothing purchases are made 3-4 weeks immediately before the first day of school. (They also know that few customers will purchase clothing a mere day or two beforehand.) Stores make their buying decisions months in advance. Manufacturers make their products even earlier.

After the school selling season is done – maybe a week or two after school starts – the retailer will stock the next season’s apparel and the “old” stock is often sold at a loss.

Surprisingly, there is a lot that we can learn from retailers. For example:

• There is a shelf-life for opportunity. If the window of opportunity is missed, then it cannot be resurrected.
• Just as a retailer’s purchases may not sell well, there is a certain risk that our training might not meet the market requirements – which is why we must continuously invest in our expertise.
• Learn from our mistakes. Just because we weren’t the right “merchandise” for a particular opportunity, doesn’t mean that there aren’t other ones where we are just what the customer wants.
• Like the retailer’s different buying seasons, there are professional and work-life balance activities that should happen at different times of the year – and can be calendarized.

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