To our customers:
This is the second letter. Last year I said I intended to write one of these every year and be honest in it. I am doing that now.
1972 was our first full calendar year. We were open for all twelve months. This sounds like a low bar and it is, but I have watched other stores in Macomb not clear it, so I am noting it.
Sales increased by 31% over our partial first year, adjusted for the fact that 1971 was only eleven weeks. On a comparable basis — projecting 1971 to a full year — growth was approximately 19%. I prefer to report the comparable figure. It is more honest. Anyone can show growth when the prior period was eleven weeks.
| Metric | 1972 |
|---|---|
| Pairs sold | 891 |
| Customers who drove more than 50 miles | 14 |
| Complaints received | 11 |
| Complaints resulting in a change of any kind | 1 |
| What changed | The sizing label on the Powerbroker |
| Times Gary suggested a promotion | Gary does not work here yet |
I made two mistakes this year that I want to account for. First, I ordered too many of the Burnt Ember colorway in October based on a prediction I made in July that turned out to be wrong. The Burnt Ember is a fine trouser. I was wrong about the volume. I have 34 pairs of it in the back room. I am not discounting them. I will wait.
Second, I hired a part-time stock person in March who left in May. I will not say more about this because the man has a family and I bear him no ill will. I will say that I moved too quickly and did not ask the right questions. I will not make that mistake again.
Several customers have asked whether I intend to open a second location. The answer is no, for now. I want to understand this location fully before I reproduce it. A man who opens a second store before he understands his first store doubles his confusion, not his success. I have seen this happen. I am not interested in it.
What does scale, I believe, is reputation. A customer who is fitted correctly tells someone. That someone tells someone. I have now traced fourteen customers back to a single conversation at a church function in Galesburg in April. I did not advertise in Galesburg. I have never been to Galesburg. Reputation travels further than advertising and costs less. I intend to invest in reputation.
I want to say something that may sound strange in a letter about an eleven-month-old store: I am not managing this store to look impressive at the end of a quarter. I am managing it to still be here in thirty years. These are different objectives and they occasionally require different decisions — the 34 pairs of Burnt Ember in the back room being a current example. When the two objectives conflict, I choose thirty years. I have chosen thirty years each time so far. I intend to keep choosing it.