Synchronize Your Calendars because Retail New Year’s Day is Sunday, February 2nd and I might be the only person I know who celebrates it more than January 1st!
I’ve shared my perspective on what I think January is for — a seasonal transition. It’s a time to wrap up the past, dream about what’s ahead, bounce back and forth in time, and zoom in and out on biz ops. I rely on the 4-5-4 retail calendar for this.
It can help you connect the dots between spending your open-to-buy, managing order lead times, creating merchandising plans, scheduling your marketing activities, and more so that you can:
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You can also use it to help you develop, foster, and maintain working relationships with employees, freelancers, vendor partners, and customers.
🧭 Four Pillars of Merchant Method™: Manage retail relationships
📚 Merchant Skills: Benefit from the 4-5-4 retail calendar
✏️ Your Assignment: What you need to know about 2025
🧭 FOUR PILLARS OF MERCHANT METHOD
Strategic relationship management
This guide focuses on the People pillar for auditing your 2025 goals and creating your monthly/weekly action plans for Q1.
Strategic relationship management
This guide focuses on the People pillar for auditing your 2025 goals and creating your monthly/weekly action plans for Q1.
New to the Merchant Method or need a refresher? Get oriented.
📌 BULLETIN BOARD
Revisit the essentials of the retail calendar
If you want to understand how something as simple as a retail calendar can help you make quantitative and qualitative improvements in your operations, check out these training videos:
📌 BULLETIN BOARD
Revisit the essentials of the retail calendar
If you want to understand how something as simple as a retail calendar can help you make quantitative and qualitative improvements in your operations, check out these training videos:
📚 MERCHANT SKILLS
Need-to-know about the 2023-2025 calendar
2023 was a 53-week year and has been restated as a 52-week year by omitting Feb Wk 1. (If you’re confused by this, watch the first bulletin board training video. Understanding this is foundational retailer info.
Need-to-know about the 2023-2025 calendar
2023 was a 53-week year and has been restated as a 52-week year by omitting Feb Wk 1. (If you’re confused by this, watch the first bulletin board training video. Understanding this is foundational retailer info.
✏️ YOUR ASSIGNMENT
Synchronize and customize
Action: Print a 4-5-4 Retail Merchandising and Marketing Calendar (2023 Restated, 2024, 2025). Two effective ways to use it right away is dating an undated planner and pulling reports with these dates.
Customize: Note important annual dates in your business. Does your business neighborhood have an annual event that boosts your revenue? Does your local sports team draw traffic that keeps your true customers away? Note past and upcoming dates.
Hot Tip: You’ll find ways to make this meaningful if you’re willing to mine and track your own business history for wisdom.
