Bravo Product Knowledge for Apple Ipad 2 - A1395

BRAVO goes Mobile BUYA.COM MOBILE

BUYA - Becomes the number #1 most popular website for Pawn Shop shoppers.

Number #1 Pawnshop Network

449 Current Pawn Shops

Most Popular Pawnshop Website in the World

Direct Referrals

Mobile Traffic up 15.71% this month

Search referral traffic

Social Referral Traffic

Unique Visitor Traffic

Uptime

BRAVO Business Intelligence - Uncovered..... 2014

Business Intelligence - Uncovered....... 

Bravo has released its updated Business Intelligence with Microsoft's SQL Server 2012 and SharePoint 2013 on IBM new flex chassis fusion SSD hardware for blazing fast results.

Management Dashboard

Loan Management Dashboard

Retail Dashboard

Loss Prevention Dashboard

Employee Performance  Dashboard

Employee Resource Planning Dashboard

Loan Revenue Analysis Dashboard

Dozens more to choose from or customize your own.

OMNI-COMMERCE Company Branded Ecommerce Platform

BRAVO

New product release – April 2014

Branded Company Ecommerce Platform

As a part of Bravo’s Omni-Commerce platform, Companies now can have their own brand with all of their individual stores rolling up to its own complete Company eCommerce platform.

Whether you are a small business or large corporate multi-store operator, Bravo’s multi-tenant platform can accommodate up to 1200 stores under each company brand.

Traditional Brick & Mortar operators now can leverage their store infrastructure and their in-store inventories from each of their stores into the various web commerce channels with Bravo.

“In order to capture Profitable Operating Leverage that has eluded traditional store operators, the platform must connect all the dots of various selling channels in one tight seamless operating platform.  BRAVO!”

·       Items from each store location GEO located into Googles New Local PLA.

·       Each store measured by transnational feedback.

·       Stores POS terminals include logistic management for wrap pack and ship.

·       Multi-Channel Commerce including eBay flow seamless to the store.

·       Each store location has independent Auction and Sale functions.

·       Payment systems seamlessly integrated to each location.

·       Social Media Channels integrate into each store and transaction.

·       Bravo CRM uncovers who your customers are with each transaction.

Store Clerks now emerge as Store Commerce Agents.  More empowered, more opportunities, the BRAVO POS dashboard UI transform the value of everyone.

Pawn-Brokering 2025....

Wave of change is hitting the pawn industry and as pawnbrokers are switching systems, Bravo Cloud Services for Pawn wraps up March with record month. Thanks to all of our supporters and loyal customers.  

Change is becoming inevitable with Microsoft XP discontinuing support, more government regulation, competition outside our own industry, Internet Pawn, and the major shift of product availability and maturation of the Gold Boom.

Microsoft XP

Microsoft XP has turned off support for its operating system leaving computers with operating systems vulnerable.  We recommend our users to upgrade to Windows 8 or Windows 7 professional, however our customers can continue to use Microsoft XP because our services run in a protective layer on top of XP not exposing your data or operating systems. 

If you are running server based software or running on a proprietary network in your store we recommend researching your options as each day, you are running into increased risk that computers are open for attack.  

Check all of your computers in your company as one machine on your network can expose the rest.

Government Regulations

Never in the history of business has the last 10 years invoked more regulation.  Can we fight it?  We should.  Once these laws have been passed though, it’s time to become compliant, whether with a manual process or a system process.   

Your business and yourself is on the line with some States laws containing high penalties and even criminal exposure.  I have listen to our industry insiders mock the big corporations getting hit by well notarized and public disclosures.  I call these Helmsley’s.  

The once famous heiress was charged with a crime regarding social security taxes not being paid for her maid.  The government used this case, the media, and the courts to send a message to the public.  Over 200,000 more filings that year for personal home employees were filed that year.  The government is keyed in on more Helmsley’s.

There are 15,000 pawnbrokers, mostly independents; the regulators that I meet with believe 80% of small and medium size businesses today are non-compliant.  The new creation of the Federal CFPB that our good friend Jerry Whitehead has written about, “the new government cancer”, will be an ongoing regulatory publishing house.

Finding efficient and accurate methods to manage the deluge of administrative effort required by law is essential.  Staying ahead of the curve here should be a mandate, because any flag will trigger an audit, an audit will cost 10’s of thousands dollars to complete, potentially years of aggravation to defend and clear your business.  This is assuming you have done no wrong.

Small businesses are also known for curtailing tax related regulations.  The government is looking for revenues. This is no secret!  Don’t put yourself, your business and your family at risk.

Personally, I was in a position in cleaning up a small business and found the effort spent on curtailing compliance was more expensive that paying the damn tax. 

With today's systems you will find efficient methods in keeping track, picking up, and getting the work done. Spending time at what you love to do is much more profitable than head down in your books, forms, and compliance reports.  Your time is the most valuable asset.  

Allocate your time precisely and you find happiness and extra profit.

Competition

There was virtually no competition in 1977.  Big business loves high margin businesses.  The stigma of used merchandise is widely accepted by the next generation of consumers.  Pawn Stars has lowered the stigma and barrier of entry for entrepreneurs, equity funds, angel funds, new start ups to get into the business.

This has been a slow maturation of acceptance.  It started with trade in policies.  Used car lots – Now CarMax – where did all of the small car lots go!  BestBuy is another example, now in their 10th year of in-store and online trade-in and purchase programs.  GameStop – the tiny and only game store worth now $5B dollars. 

Wal-Mart has jumped into the fray and how serious are they!  Check out their new online or in store trade program.  Instant valuation – instant e-cash to use anywhere in their store.  As an example they are paying $30.00 for this game Microsoft Xbox 360 Grand Theft Auto V – XBOX 360.   

They are using Big Data Product Evaluation Analysis across all 3100 stores.  See Wal-Mart Video – here.  I have heard rumors Wal-Mart will get into the Cash for Gold business.

Then in 1999 the Internet started a whole new revolution of commerce with no physical barriers.  This is simply going to intensify as Data becomes more useful, targeting your customers becomes more effective and you will see every loan over $200 challenged by online pawn marketing.

Micro Lending – no one talks about this industry but it is backed by big thinkers and a growing social conscious of usurious interest rates be charged to the poor.  By all measures of interest charged for a loan, the pawn industry is in the top tier worldwide to lend money legally at the high interest rates we are allowed.  I have been saying for the last 30 years; it’s a target that will be focused on in the future. 

It has always been my belief that the inefficiency of our business model is what has driven the cost of our business and the justification of our charges.  Back in the 1890’s when my family was in the business loans were $1-$5 principal range.  You made 25 cents and extra 15 cents for dry cleaning the suit you lent on.  

The transaction cost to perform a loan is quite expensive.  The regulatory requirement over the last 30 years has doubled the cost for each transaction.

Because of my fear of how the public felt about our industry, the interest rates we charge and stigma that goes along with the business, it has been my focus in achieving activity cost savings, driven by the most efficient way to perform a transaction, every element and outcome.

  

The simple placement of item while in loan.  Where you locate an item, how popular the item is, (what was the average number days it was held in loan), and how many steps to the location it was placed were examples of consideration in reducing cost.  

When I was 9 - years old, I created a location system for my Dad so he could find loans with ease.  I would also flip all of the hand written string tags we used so they were seen without touching.

My goal was to figure out how we could operate profitably charging the lowest interest rate possible.  In Nevada, Arizona, Washington, and California where SuperPawn stores were located, and some of the lowest state statutory interest rates charged in the United States, the efficiency that we created over the 25 years as an operator, created the most profitable group of stores ever.

We generated the highest average number of loans per store, per employee.  The fastest sell through of inventory and the largest average loan portfolio per location.  The highest retention of customers and new customer acquisition, to name a few metrics we measured.

 

Like a mature retail business where margin and price has been the hallmark of survival.  One day our interest rates will be challenged by competition the same way and the ones that can operate most efficiently will be the winner.

Gold Boom – what’s next?

You probably won’t like my answer, but it’s everything nobody wants to take.  There are 800 categories to transact on.  Get back to the basics of pawn and business and start saying yes to things your customers are bringing you.  This takes really good research, selling skills, multiple selling channels.

Be careful of your inventory turnover, this stuff is harder to sell and the reason why no one else wants this stuff.  Don’t be afraid to sell at a short margin and even a loss at times.  Yes even a loss.  When I was in the Auto Title business, I had a 90% redemption rate, and a negative -5% gross margin on the cars that defaulted.  I was printing money.

Don’t be short sighted, take the smalls and bigs will come.

Gold is still out there.  Pawn broker’s competitive advantage is offering a loan rather than buy.  You have the tools, be more patient, grow your loan balance.  I found that customers that came to sell, that we turned into a loan still came back to redeem or renew.  It was at a greatly reduced average, but it was still meaningful and helped out people that really wanted to keep their stuff.

The future

In the following weeks I am working on a new blog, “Pawn brokering 2025”.

For the new pawnbrokers wanting to read on pawn brokering tips see my blog with over 80 short articles.  http://bravorevolution.blogspot.com/