The Retail Doctor's Blog

A few years ago, it seemed everyone was tacking on a gas surcharge for most any product.

You won't find key performance indicators in most discussions among retailers. They just aren't sexy like marketing or product assortment can be so they can easily be left on a shelf.

However, your financials are the vital signs that can determine right away if you are in need of bleeding money or doing just fine.

Just like your temperature, blood pressure and pulse are clear gauges of your body's good health, your financials also known as your key performance indicators (KPIs) are black-and-white indicators when it comes to your company's overall health. Know these and share with your management team regularly. Here are the six results you need to track:

A quick walk through the mall shows retailers are trying to increase revenues with some fairly dramatic sales this summer.  

But sales can hide the cause of death of many stores...passive employees.

Let me explain…

Selling a bunch of merchandise for a loss, even if it generates revenues, often is the result of passive selling.

It takes the active selling of merchandise for it to get full price.

But because your employees weren’t active and didn’t sell the merchandise, the product had to be marked down.