By: John Matthews, founder and president of Gray Cat Enterprises Inc. Looking for a way to invigorate your store staff and sales? Employee peer recognition is often more influential among your workers than achieving actual prizes or monetary rewards.  Developing ongoing peer recognition programs will keep your employees excited about their jobs and their enthusiasm…

By: John Matthews, founder and president of Gray Cat Enterprises Inc. The conversation usually starts like this: “So, do you know your customer?” “Of course, I know my customers, most by name.” “Great, let’s communicate to them that you have a sale this weekend.” “[cricket sounds]” Call me a pragmatist, but this is a typical…

By John Matthews, founder and president of Gray Cat Enterprises Inc. Customer Appreciation Days are excellent ways to attract consumers that have similar backgrounds or interests. Honoring your best customers with a distinctive recognition day is a terrific way to create a “call-to-action” for specific selected groups.  Whether it is for school personnel or administrative…

By: John Matthews, founder and president of Gray Cat Enterprises Inc. The lease is up at your existing location, and the new center down the street is happening. The thought of relocating your business is daunting—when will you find the time and will you lose customers? An important decision faces your brand—do you relocate your…

By John Matthews, founder of Gray Cat Enterprises Inc. It was the situation that everyone dreads. Out of the blue, the anxiety-filled request was made—the CEO had summoned me to his office. Thoughts raced through my head—mostly bad thoughts, mind you—of why I was being asked to join him and the COO in an impromptu…

By John Matthews, founder of Gray Cat Enterprises Inc. “Merchandising, merchandising, where the real money from the movie is made. Spaceballs the T-shirt. Spaceballs the lunchbox. Spaceballs the coloring book. Spaceballs… the flamethrower! Kids love it. And my favorite, Spaceballs the Doll — me!” — Yogurt from the movie Spaceballs Merchandising is a critical aspect…

By John Matthews, founder of Gray Cat Enterprises Inc. For the multi-unit operator, managing a retail real estate portfolio is tricky business. Keeping winning stores in tip-top condition—both physically and financially—is the key to long-term success. The best multi-unit operators actively prune their portfolios in a proactive way and overtime, minimize the organization from becoming…

By, John Matthews, founder and president of Gray Cat Enterprises Inc. Ah, the glamour of business travel. The security lines, the $8 airport beers, the ongoing game of “how much can I stuff in an overhead bin,” all for the privilege of boarding a bus with wings. Well, this week I passed a milepost of…

By John Matthews, founder, Gray Cat Enterprises. Aligning your vendors to a common business vision is a daunting task. In many cases, vendors for retail outlets number in the hundreds, if not thousands. How is it expected of the retailer to manage all of them? The key is to take control and focus the vendors…

By John Matthews, Founder, Gray Cat Enterprises. Some of the local store marketing strategies that I have highlighted over the past year are designed to increase awareness and sales for your brand, others because it’s the right thing to do. Working with charities over a period of time enables you to give back to the…