Spotlight on Ohio

by Danny Summers

As we see the year progressing in Week 32 just reported last Friday, there is one Group Region that is leading in year-to-date sales growth – OHIO. No other Group Region is a single state, but as we divide Group Centers into regional and sales groups we have enough Centers concentrated in Ohio to do so.

The Group as a whole is just about even with 2022 year-to-date sales. Here's The Big Three for the Ohio Region:

YTD Sales +8.1%
YTD Average Sale +4.0%
YTD Transaction Counts +4.1%

With The Fall Event 2023 being held in Ohio, this is the perfect time to put the spotlight on this Group Region and learn why they are doing better than other regions.

Group Centers that are reporting to the Weekly Department Review (WDR) can certainly drill down into the depths of the 2800+ weekly reports year-to-date, by Center, by Region, by Sales Groups, or by individual Centers.

Here's the Sales chart with the Total Group as of Week 32 showing each week's combined sales. Obviously, here we see the more southern regions filling in earlier weeks. Remember, the bars represent each week last year and the line is this year's sales.

And here is the same chart with just the Ohio Region Sales as of Week 32. Overall, while there is a similar pattern in both, Ohio had bigger gains in mid to late May than the rest of the Group.

The next chart shows Ohio Region Transaction Counts as of Week 32. Besides the April 10th week, here is again the month of May that helped build gains. Remember, it is the line that represents this year, and the amount of space between the bar and line indicates the level of increase.

Next is the Ohio Region Average Sale as of Week 32. There are one or two abnormally high weeks, but overall, Average Sale is tracking slightly above most weeks.

This is timely with The Fall Event 2023 in Cincinnati this year and so many of our area Centers in attendance. I am certain there are many more details of how the Ohio Region is ahead of all others and we will be asking a lot of questions of these Centers when we are in Cincy. A few things I am anxious to hear about is their balance of sale... is there a higher percentage of green goods or other categories? Are there any trends with their customers? Will this increase in sales translate to the bottom line?

And, of course, we will be watching even after The Fall Event 2023 for the 2023 Annual P&L Study to see profit reporting from Ohio as well as all regions.

Somehow I can hear Steve Bailey saying, "It's not what you make, it's what you get to keep!"

A special THANK YOU to all Centers who are reporting in the Weekly Department Review (WDR). You are helping build a tremendous amount of data for Tim Quebedeaux to give us amazing insights.

Only 5 weeks from today...you'll be in Cincy!