Trading Day - are you ready?

Hi Everyone

It's just three weeks to the first trading day at Cascades Shopping centre in Portsmouth and a month to the Cambridge event at the Grafton Shopping Arcade.

It is really important for the companies to focus on these Days to ensure they are fully prepared. In the past teams have learnt the hard way about meeting deadlines etc. Please encourage your companies not to leave everything to late Friday night before the Saturday event! - a good way to avoid this last minute panic is to have a 'rehearsal' a week or so prior to the actual date. Get them to think about their stall and how they can make it really attractive for potential customers. Their merchandising skills are key in ensuring this important part of the Competition is a BIG success.

The experience is that the vast majority of teams who make the March Trading Days will go on to the finish line and successfully complete the Challenge. There are many important questions to consider, what will they cover their table with? will it have their logo and strapline printed on it? how much stock will they need? Will everything have a price tag? will they run a promotion during the day? what will the staff uniform look like? will there be a staff rota to cover lunch and tea breaks? what posters and advertising material will they produce? are they prepared to tell their story to interested customers? who is looking after the cash? what about the float? How will they get to the shopping centre? - these and many other questions will need to be answered, a 'dummy run' ahead of the Trading Day will provide an opportunity to get everything right on the day.

The Trading Day is a unique experience for 13/14 year old children, the excitement of selling their own product to real customers for real money will be very motivational and rewarding. It is an experience that we believe will give them an edge in the coming months and years of their lives.

Thank you again for your investment - if you have any questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Many Thanks - God Bless. Steve