many people in retail today have grown up using computers which have this nasty habit of stifling free thought.  After all if that is what the computer says… We know the components that make up the bottom line and quite correctly we focus on these as best we can. They say it is a male thing that we can only focus on one thing at a time, whereas females are much better at multi-tasking. But gentlemen, let’s see if we can stretch it to two. May I suggest that if we are going to concentrate on two things only, that these should be sales and wages. Before the wrath of the titans descends upon me, there are of course many other factors that we need to consider. Rent is a major factor, but once we have negotiated this, we are pretty much locked in. Expenses other than wages? Yes, always worth a look, but often not that easy to make savings year after year. Margin? Again yes, but there are limits. The most glaring inconsistency I come across time and again is the mismanagement of wages.  Store staff should be brainwashed into focusing on sales and wages almost to the exclusion of all else, because this is often what makes or breaks us. Many store managers get it, but an alarming number don’t. Sit with the store manager and agree on monthly sales budgets for the following year. Wherever possible, bend to the will of the manager so that he/she has ownership of the sales budget and does not feel that they are being foisted upon them. Now look at the wages as a percentage of sales. This will vary significantly depending on what kind of retail you are in and it will also depend on a host of factors including scale. As an example, let’s say that the agreed percentage is X per cent. Calculate the hours per month based on projected sales.  You will of course find some anomalies. The hours in December will be excessive and the hours in February may be too thin. The store manager should have the flexibility to rob from Peter to pay Paul as long as the hours for the year are not exceeded, and (here comes the rub) provided sales are achieved. (Complimentary roster available – please email me.) The managers that get it, will concentrate on their rosters and sales and the balance between the two. The managers that don’t get it will whinge. The sales budgets that they agreed to are now too high. Point out that these can be reduced, but it will mean that hours will need to come down too. This will be unacceptable to your less smart manager. After all, if you don’t have the staff, how can you achieve the sales? Overly simplistic? Absolutely. Effective? Try it. Stuart Bennie is a retail consultant at Impact Retailing www.impactretailing.com.au and can be contacted at stuart@impactretailing.com.au or 0414 631 702