Opening a Store
For entrepreneurs considering opening a shoe store, NSRA offers a “New Store Starter Kit” with information, forms, workbooks, and other tools to help you do the analysis necessary to make the investment decision.
Cost is $350. Kit tools include:
-
One-year membership in NSRA, your resource for contacts, business tips and practical advice
- One-year subscription to our bi-monthly magazine, Shoe Retailing Today
- Creating a Successful Business Plan, the easy-to-use reference book studded with examples to help you develop the best business plan for your soon-to-be-launched company
- XYZ Shoe Store, Inc., a sample business plan to help you prepare a successful one
- Retail in Detail, A 222 page book on "Starting and running a retail business"
- “Calculating Open to Buy,” a briefing paper on creating a buying plan that maintains your inventory at the right levels for your planned sales
- Sample Financial Planning Sheets, including profit & loss, cash flow, the sales plan, the advertising plan and more
- “Simple Inventory Controls to Achieve Greater Gross Profit,” a booklet on overall planning
- NSRA’s How-To Series, more than a dozen concise articles on aspects of operating a shoe store, including:
o Promoting Your Cause
o Building Great Relationships with Your Vendors
o Building Your Database
o Conducting a Trunk Show
o Conducting Employee Evaluations
o Conducting Staff Meetings
o Creating Visual Merchandising
o Motivating Employees
o Planning Your Store Design
o Creating Signs that Sell
o Shopping a Shoe Show
o Lowering Your Shipping Costs
o Using E-Mail Effectively
o Keeping Employees Honest
o Building Customer Satisfaction
o Retail Math
o Plugging Profit Leaks
o Selling More Shoe and Foot Care Products - NSRA’s Business Performance Report, the most recent industry statistics on store performance, including inventory, employees, and the costs of doing business
- Store Design Workbook, a volume written by a nationally known store designer that discusses important factors in store design
- Training DVD for Shoe Sales Associates, the handbook that outlines what you need to implement an in-house sales training program
- A $10 Gift Card for your first order from the NSRA Learning Center or redeemable toward the registration fee at one of NSRA’s twice-yearly conferences
- A Gift Certificate for a FREE Ritz Stick courtesy of Woodrow Engineering
For more information or to order, contact Tanja Towne at 1-800-673-8446 or email TanjaT@nsra.org.





Cost is $350. Kit tools include: