Supply chain focus pays off for Noni B

Womenswear chain Noni B has credited tight supply chain and inventory management for its continual defiance of the subdued sales experienced by many of its competitors.
Noni B managing director Alan Kindl confirmed sales for the first half of the current financial year rose by 12 per cent from the same time last year outperforming retail rivals The Just Group, Oroton Group, Colorado Group and David Jones.
Kindl denied there was any magic recipe behind Noni B's success.
"One thing I will say is that we've worked very hard to be more efficient with our supply chain. Do more with less is our motto. In other words achieve more sales with less stock."
The retailer - which now operates around 190 outlets nationally - anticipates solid full-year profits - to be announced mid February.
Noni B - whose policy is to reinvest profits in new stores or the refurbishment of existing ones - opened eight outlets in the months leading up to Christmas with four more planned for the first half of 2006.
"We always grow from profit and never borrow," said Kindl.
Roger Sayers, director of Melbourne retail consultancy Australian Retail Services cited Noni B - along with fashion retailers including Sportsgirl and Witchery - as a retailer that had successfully rationalised supply chain and inventory.
"Retailers will always need to carry stock but they no longer need to carry as much as they used to. It's more important to keep stock moving."
Successful players were customer focused and shrewd in their product development, buying and pricing, he said.
Sizing also played an increasingly important role in stock management.
"With the average size now at around 14 retailers should be producing less of size 6 and 8 and more of 14. They should also be looking at how to train sales staff. It's increasingly important that staff should know how to up sell and cross sell," Sayers said.
"Something like 30 per cent of [fast food chain] McDonald's sales come from asking the simple question: "Would you like fries with that?" There's no reason why fashion retailers can't do the same."