The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The former Robin Hood owner said yesterday there had been an overwhelming response to the opening of his new Everything Must Go retail concept, telling Tribune Business: “It went extraordinarily well”.

Sandy Schaefer said customer response to the opening resulted from ‘word of mouth’, and showed there was a demand to be met.

“It went extraordinarily well. We were very pleased. The customers were pleased,” Mr Schaefer said.

“We had some issues with customers getting out fast enough, but we are going to get them sorted out this week and we are going to have new stuff in, so it should be interesting.

“For the type of response that we got for the first weekend, with no announcement or advertising, but just word of mouth, it tells you that there is a demand that needs to be met,” he added.

“Obviously we have to focus on price, and quality. Offering the best prices obviously is singularly the most important thing. People have been struggling for a long time. People are out of work. We ended up giving up a lot of produce, dairy and meat, to people who were there at the very end on Saturday night with the caveat that they must give it to a needy family as a way of trying to engender a little Christmas spirit into people.”

Mr Schaefer told Tribune Business previously that his new retail concept would cut operating costs by 60-65 per cent.

He added that he had invested some $1.2 million in his latest venture, which will employ 35 staff, and is effectively the opposite to 24/7 retailing.

Everything Must Go’s strategy is founded on being open just three days a week, thereby enabling him to control key costs - labour and utilities - and minimise inventory shrinkage and theft.

To create the ‘buy now’ impulse, the store will, after opening on the Thursday, drop its prices by 10-15 per cent on Friday and then, on Saturday, drop throughout the day until inventory is completely clear.