Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://specialtyfoodmagazine.epubxp.com/i/139333
cheese focus The Inventory Sweet Spot Five cheesemongers talk about their strategies for keeping their counters stocked and selling. BY JANET FLETCHER O rdering the right merchandise in the right quantity can be a daunting task for a cheese merchant. Nobody wants to run out of Stilton in December or to buy more burrata than weekly traffic can bear. "For me, inventory is everything when it comes to business success," says Stacey Adams, proprietor of Tastings, a specialty cheese shop in Annapolis, Md. So how do you find that sweet spot between not enough and too much? To learn more about how specialty food retailers manage inventory for minimal waste, we interviewed five successful merchants from around the country. Their replies, presented in roundtable format, have been edited and condensed. THE PARTICIPANTS: Stacey Adams Tastings Annapolis, MD 60 Rob Lawler The Truffle Cheese Shop Denver, CO ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com Connie Rizzo DeLaurenti Seattle, WA Amy Ruis Art of the Table Grand Rapids, MI Kent Torrey The Cheese Shop Carmel, CA