Melbourne Herald Sun, 4 September 2010
If your business is retail you will be well aware of a large hole in your calendar. The seven months between Mother's Day and Christmas when there is no reason for the public to splurge - in your shop.
So was it just serendipity that dropped Father's Day right in the middle of this business desert? Or the work of a smart retailer with an eye for more trade?
Well for the sake of integrity I'm pleased to tell you that it was more luck than marketing. Father's Day was created in Washington State, USA, by a Sonora Smart Dodd in 1910, on the date of her father's birthday in June. So most of the world celebrates it on the Sunday of the summer solstice, around June 21st.
When it reached the antipodes in 1935 it was moved a couple of months across to the first Sunday of spring, from September 1st. You could say that it is the counterpart of the northern world's spring festival, Easter.
Certainly for the retail trade it is a legitimate excuse to welcome in a million sticky hands clutching five dollars bills to buy daddy a gift. Fortunately as they grow up, so does their spending capacity.
The cards and gifts thing has been a relatively recent phenomenon. These days this is definitely driven by marketing and gives a kick to trade at a chilly and quiet time.
While the past couple of years have seen subdued trading for the festival, this weekend it promises to pick up. In fact a report from researchers IBISWorld predicts expenditure of more than a billion dollars on the celebration.
A lot of it will happen tomorrow, when our cafes and restaurants are expected to reap $262 million, up nearly four percent from last year. That's a lot of busy chefs and waitresses.
If you're a dad who has been hoping for a new hammer-drill, you could be in luck. The hardware and electronics sector is expected to be the major winner for the day, with a 13 per cent growth in sales to $236 million.
It's the big day of the year for those who sell electric shavers, and a lot of dads will be getting new computer games.
In fact the news keeps getting better for you. With a decline of seven per cent in clothing sales, you are now less likely to receive a new tie or pair of socks.
The image of dad as an athlete, whether it's true or mistaken, is obviously firmly believed by their doting offspring. They will spend over $100 million in the sports store for you.
Half as much will be spent on books and CDs. While those with a true understanding of Dad's heart will spend nearly $30 million on booze.
Economics aside, I hope you give Father's Day the weight it deserves. In business you meet too many people who say, "I'm too busy for that nonsense", or "I'll give it an hour or two then I have to fly interstate for Monday's meeting". They shrug it off as sugary sentiment and not very manly.
But for your kids it's important. They've been preparing for it all week, have worried over their gift and their card. For them it's an important business campaign - to impress Dad with how clever they are and how much they love him. So you have to take it as seriously as any important business deal.
More so, because while customers come and go, and business ebbs and flows, your kids are with you a very short time and before you know it they'll be gone. How can you help them remember what a great time they had on Father's Day 2010?
ray@ebeatty.com
