Mary Jo Bellner Swartzberg
On June 22, I noticed that one of the storefronts in Oro Valley had a large poster taped against the massive glass window area of the store which read, “Now Hiring!” It was to begin the process of hiring for Halloween. And then I realized that the holiday season is just around the corner and that perhaps it is not too early to get ready for it. After all … the way our economy is moving. But digressing should not be done here. So, let’s dig deeper into getting ready for the holiday season.
Just how do retail stores prepare for the holiday season?
According to Sander van Lokve, a process consultant with Districon, a Netherlands supply chain company with a location in Chicago, “Retailers start to prepare for next Christmas in January. We have seen companies use up to 14 years’ worth of historical data to learn from past experiences and improve their performance year by year.”
This information may or may not surprise you, but here is a thumbnail sketch of how some retailers/businesses prepare for 2022 and “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”
Kohl’s Corp. has already started preparing for the 2022 holiday season by offering incentives to employees who stay with the company through the busy shopping season.
Macy’s has already announced its holiday hours to its employee staff.
The Dick’s Sporting Goods Black Friday website (yes, it really exists!) has an ad that allows a person to sign up to be the “first to know” when its 2022 Black Friday advertisement will be published.
The Christmas Guide published these words on Dec. 28, 2021 on its website: “Get Ready Now for Christmas 2022. Yes, we know that Christmas has only just finished. But there’s no time like the present to start making plans for Christmas 2022!”
And on Feb. 15, 2022, the website Organize My House published an article titled “71 Things to Do to Get Ready for Christmas this Year.”
On June 24, 2022, the website HERE.360, the official BLOG of Here Technologies, published an article titled “Chain Reaction: Companies Are Already Placing Their Christmas 2022 Orders.”
On Feb. 10, 2022, the United States Postal Service (USPS) published its complete holiday schedule, including the USPS holiday shipping deadline for Christmas 2022.
But while we are all scrambling to do our last-minute shopping, most of us are unaware of all of the advanced corporate planning and preparations that are made for the holiday season. And aren’t we all happy with all of the effort that goes into the holiday season? Afterall, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”
This I have learned …
“Once again, we come to the holiday season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice.” —Dave Barry