Apparel is a category that does well in truckstops and travel plazas if operators understand who their customers are and purchase and present merchandise in the right way.
“A strong apparel program is an opportunity to increase profits,” said Darren Schulte, vice president of membership for NATSO. “When done correctly in our industry, apparel can have margins of 50 to 100 percent profit depending on what types of products you’re selling and what you buy.”
Today’s shoppers are open to finding apparel in unexpected places, which bodes well for truckstop and travel plaza operators. “Think of the number of apparel products that popped up in airports,” Schulte said. “Someone at the airport authority has said, ‘You know what? This can sell.”
However, an effective apparel program goes beyond t-shirts, so Stop Watch sat down with Schulte as well as several NATSO members to learn more about how to build a successful apparel program...
Learn even more about how NATSO members are profiting from apparel at www.natso.com/apparel.