As the dust settles and we get back to normal after our annual Warehouse Sale I thought I would share a few facts with you. This year was our 8th Annual Warehouse sale (it is always the first weekend in March) and it is only once a year for several reasons.
It is an incredible amount of work, as much as we call it our warehouse sale we hold the sale in our store, it is definitely a marketing tool to give people who might not normally come to the store a chance to see who we are. We clear about a third of the store and fill the space (several times over) with product we are trying to clear.
We do not buy product to sell at the warehouse. What we sell are one of’s (barstools, floor sample chairs), damaged product, mismatched product, freight damaged product, items we bought that are not selling and floor samples that need to be moved to make room for the new product. We like to call them the “whoops”, “whoa’s” and “who bought those?”
The sale runs for 3 days or when the product is gone. The prices are mostly so low they are below our cost. Once we price the items we do not budge or haggle. That is very easy for us to say because anything that is left over goes directly to Habitat for Humanity to be sold in their Restore.
This wonderful charity is very close to our hearts. It is a natural for our business and we have supported the Palm Beach branch since we opened the store over 12 years ago. One of the owners is on the Board and has been for several years; we have sent out a few teams to do the Habitat build – including one “all women’s team”, we are constantly donating items to be sold at the Restore and last year we donated a house. The money made from the two stores we contribute to help with the purchase of land and products that are not donated. This year we sent over $30,000 worth of product the day after the sale.
The warehouse sale is the equivalent to spring cleaning and a giant garage sale. Everyone feels good when we are finished – the customers who got a wonderful bargain, the warehouse staff who once again can see the racks, and Habitat because the Restore is filled with product.
