Preface—Why retailing?
One thing that hasn’t changed is that retail is still physically and mentally hard work. The pressure’s always on; we’re only ever as good as our last trading day. Every time we open the store, what follows could be a disaster or a triumph.
And that’s the thrill of the thing, that’s why we do it—get things right, get the team pulling together, make customers happy, and take some money ... well, those are the days that keep us coming back for more. Getting retail right is thrilling—magic, even.
Welcome then to Smart Retail, where together we can try to make sure that you enjoy more good days, better profits, a happier team, an improved business performance, and a boost to your retail career. I love selling things in shops, it is my passion, and this book is all about sharing retail excellence so that we can all enjoy the good bits of that more often.
That there Internet thing
Selling online has had a massive impact on what we do and it is an impact that will continue to grow, not just through e-commerce but in how easily-available information and price-comparision forces change in the way retail works overall. Nowhere in the book though do I make much distinction between retailing on the Internet and retailing in a store—and that’s because they are the same activity. Both forms are about selling products people want in nice, shoppable, environments—supported by robust systems, great customer service, and effective communications. Retail standards apply in the same way across both.
Where distinctions do apply is in the suitability of your product, positioning, and format to either form. The rule of thumb is this: If you are a bricks-and-mortar retailer then you are unwise to be without a credible online outlet—it’s another store and one with a big potential catchment area. The other way around though and it’s less clear-cut: The Internet allows smaller retailers to reach far more people, more directly, and more powerfully than a few physical stores might.
As Internet retailing has matured, so too has an acceptance that both forms can learn from each other. Internet retailers have begun to understand better the principles of the complete customer experience, while bricks-and-mortar retailers have slowly begun to learn how to communicate better and how to give customers more reasons to come back. Reminding us that they exist, telling us about good things we might like to buy, and reminding us to come visit is something the best Internet retailers do superbly well—better than any high-street store. Internet retailers say “thank you” better than traditional ones too and that’s more powerful than you might think.
Asking the questions
Each edition of Smart Retail has been put together on the back of a simple question that I’ve asked the world’s best retailers: “What makes you so good?” Maybe it’s a surprise that they would reveal the answer to that question? That they have, over and over to me, is, I think, because great retailers have a passion not just for their own success but a determination that the more retail businesses out there who get retail right then the better off we all become. A vibrant retail sector plays a critical role in the success of economies and, as it goes, the UK in particular owes much of its last decade of success to the superb performance of some of the best retail businesses on the planet. Equally, when customers stop spending ... 2009 and 2010 were tough: We lost a few businesses but others strengthened and learned. I’ve experienced three recessions in 25 years of retailing now and I’m sure I’ll experience future ones too. We push through and we survive by continuing to give customers what they want, need, and didn’t know they were looking for.
Is it rocket science?
Because the book is founded on examples of best practice and because, as we will explore later, there are few “new tricks” in retail: Much of what we cover has been done before; I make no secret of that. You will already know lots of it and you will easily understand all of it. This isn’t a bullshit fairy-dust consultants” book: This is a collection of answers to your challenges; it is a professional self-help resource—it’s not about doing the impossible and being one of the tiny handful of people who invent something new; it’s about helping you to make the best use of your own retail instincts and to benefit from the experiences of others.
Brass tacks
The essence of Smart Retail is about helping you to make more money, to win the sales battle, and to help you and your team stand out from the competition.
Stars of the shop floor
A good store manager can make a huge impact on the success of an individual store, much more so than a clever marketing director or number-lovin” finance chief can. With a good manager at the helm, great sales teams can make a big and immediate impact. Although I’ve presented the ideas here in straightforward terms, that doesn’t mean they’re not sophisticated: We’re talking about best practice learned from time spent with the world’s best retailers—everything here is accessible to store teams and everything is potentially incredibly powerful.
Much as I’d love the bosses to use Smart Retail to make positive changes, I’m hoping that grafters out there on the shop floor will read it too. I’ve had a lot of feedback from so-called “lowly” checkout people and sales assistants who have been inspired by Smart Retail to push themselves forward. So much for “lowly”—I’m really looking forward to the day when my agency is ringing you ex-checkout people and asking if we can come and work for you in your retail empires. It’s been fun writing this edition but if just one more person, maybe you, uses the book to realize their true retail potential, well, that’s worth more than gold to me.
That gives me masses of hope for your success too. There is nothing to stop you pushing yourself—good ideas, retail ability, and energy are valuable—use the ideas and strategies in Smart Retail to make the breakout and to create momentum for yourself.
At the risk of this all going a bit Tony Robbins, you can do it!