Fundamentals of the Retail 4-5-4 Calendar
Some of the most frequently asked questions in IMS Retail University are about retail planning, forecasting and execution cycles. A fundamental basic of retail execution is consistency. So rather than use the traditional calendar on your wall or computer, everything in retail is based on their 4-5-4 Retail Calendar.
If you are responsible for retail and did not realize that in 2009 the month of January starts on the 3rd, you are NOT on the 4-5-4 Retail Calendar and already out of sync. Actually, Week 1 of 2009 does not start with January … it begins on February 1st on the 4-5-4 Retail Merchandising 2009 Calendar. What is the Retail 4-5-4 Calendar?
With a 365 day calendar, the weekends and holidays shift around from year to year. The 4-5-4 Calendar sets every quarter to a 4 week month, 5 week month, 4 week month. Each of the 52 retail weeks all start on a Sunday and end Saturday. Why use a 4-5-4 Retail Calendar? For retailing in developed markets, it’s all about “comps”, consistency and comparability. By maintaining the consistent 4-5-4 weekly pattern, it is possible to keep the same number of weekends in each month. It is also possible to keep major holidays, such as Christmas, in the “same week” to enable consistent year-over-year “sales comp” performance comparisons. When did Retailers start using the 4-5-4 Calendar? Prior to the 1940s in the US, there were not as many organized ads and promotions on a national scale. With the growth of large national retail chains and Sunday circular print ads, the weekends became a significant part of weekly sales. In order to track ad performance and make consistent year-over-year comparisons, US retailers started using the 4-5-4 Retail Calendar by 1950. When in doubt – Ask for Their 4-5-4 Retail Calendar Not all retailers start/end their fiscal years in the same month. Hence, they may have adapted their own 4-5-4 Retail Calendar to fit their fiscal years. While it follows the same general pattern, the corresponding week numbers may not match the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) 4-5-4 Calendar. So by all means, ask for your retailer’s 4-5-4 to be absolutely sure what retail week # you’re in! When and why is there a 53 week Retail year? In the 4-5-4 Retail Calendar, 52 weeks X 7 days only equals 364 days per year, not 365. In addition to this extra day per year, there are also leap years in the traditional calendar to compensate for the fact that earth’s rotation is not exactly 365 days per year. To get back in sync, a 53rd week is added to the 4-5-4 Retail Calendar approximately every 5 or 6 years. Retail Quiz - When is the next 53 Week Retail Year? Retailers (and vendors) love having that 53rd extra week to “make the annual numbers”. And, being creatures of habit and consistency, they plan well in advance for it by adjusting inventory, ads, promotions, etc. When is it time to plan for the next 53 week year? So test your Retail IQ … when is the next 53 week Retail Year? Hint: If you are not already using NRF as a retail resource, this is a good time to check NRF site and use the search: http://www.nrf.com/
Please one more post about that.I wonder how you got so good. This is really a fascinating blog, lots of stuff that I can get into. One thing I just want to say is that your Blog is so perfect
Posted by: xanax | August 04, 2011 at 02:39 AM