As long as you clear out any potential turkeys now, the festive season can still be a winner

Our Christmas plans were put to bed months ago, but like Santa Claus our retail teams across the country will be “making a list and checking it twice”.

Not to find out who’s been naughty or nice – we already know that every-one who works for, or shops with, us are nice people planning on being naughty – but to double check that we’ve set ourselves up for success in every aspect of our business.

This year more than ever, none of us can afford to lose trade as a result of operational issues, inadequate staffing and imperfectly merchandised stores, or indeed by chasing sales at the expense of profit with too many desperate discounts.

The best retailers should spot a turkey early. If you act quickly and work to clear them from the business this month, you’ll be better placed to focus on higher margin best-sellers in the critical weeks before Christmas.

As we seek the perfect in-store ambience, one persistent challenge is that of Christmas music. We’re nothing if not traditionalists at Ann Summers, so we’ll have Oh Come All Ye Faithful on heavy rotation. You can try and be cool with some urban, R&B remixes of Silent Night and suchlike, but you’ll probably be cajoled by your music provider into a sprinkling of classic Christmas pop too (apparently our customers like it).

As a consequence of today’s economic situation, I predict that when we visit our stores this season and those from head office go “back to the floor” at the branch nearest their mum’s house, many of these songs will carry a new resonance.

A bit like when you break up with your boyfriend and every song on the radio seems to be a sad one lamenting lost love, this year Wham’s Last Christmas will have some retailers thinking that it probably will be theirs.

There’ll be the irony of playing I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day, when your stores are in January Sale mode by mid-December. Then if footfall dives and customers have seemingly disappeared, we could all get together as Retail Aid and release a curmudgeonly version of Do They Know It’s Christmas (For Goodness Sake!).

Joking aside, I don’t know whether it’s because we’re privately owned and not beholden to shareholders and short-sellers or because as a multichannel business we’re better placed to face a downturn, but I’m just not getting this whole “sky is falling” hysteria.

Business is tough, but not disastrous. The lower interest rate and falling oil prices should mean more money for customers to spend and should have been headline good news.

Sir Philip Green was right to ask for some reason and positivity from the media as he announced Bhs profits of£30 million (you’d think he’d lost£30 million the way it was reported).

If you don’t believe in Father Christmas, he’ll never come down your chimney – and you’ll be amazed how far a little belief from the media will take us.

Jacqueline gold is chief executive of Ann Summers.

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