Retail

If you are not satisfied with the performance of your front line retail teams, we will provide an objective, unattached view of what is working and what is not working.  
If it’s possible for a difference to be made, we will figure out what needs to be done, whether it’s maximising resources, minimising overheads or utilising the full potential of the team. Our advisers have a proven track record in evaluating situations and implementing successful turnaround strategies. Drawing from our own hands-on, practical, successful experience we would create a solid turnaround strategy and action plan. We would also oversee every element from concept to execution. This would include either supporting existing management in implementing any training, development and process restructuring or recommending any necessary amendments to ensure the change is driven through.

Without integrity, the work-ability of any object, person, system, group or organisation declines. Therefore, integrity is a necessary condition for maximum performance. In the words of Harvard Business School Professor Emeritus, Dr. Michael C Jensen, “Integrity is a matter of a person’s word – nothing more and nothing less." He goes on to say that without integrity nothing works and that integrity has nothing to do with what's right or wrong, good or bad or even being honest or virtuous (as many of us assume it is). It is about people knowing exactly what to do, and doing what they know to do, and doing it in a timely fashion. By enrolling the team in the agreement that this is the basic expectation it is then possible for us to provide an independent audit & review of your current culture, generate an expert gap analysis, and work with you to create a comprehensive plan of action to introduce a culture of integrity in the workplace.

The success of your business depends on the consistent and efficient delivery of your company branding and ethos by your staff in store. Even the best retail brands can be let down by poor execution at store level. Our objective would be to set up efficient and effective operations that can be easily monitored but that support maximum income generating activity. Streamlining processes to the lowest level of complexity possible, creating a benchmark for how much resource is required and measuring the execution in a way that ensures constant improvement.

Identifying, adopting and refining best practice is an essential part of any successful business. Knowing what constitutes best practice and how to achieve it is where we offer experience and expertise. Setting achievable goals coupled with a clear measurement and feedback mechanism. Best practices are important for processes that you need to work correctly. Our team has a wealth of hands on experience of best practices and can advise on the most effective and efficient procedures to maintain consistently high performance, more organised planning, more efficient systems, regular and informative reporting and reduced shrinkage rates.  

Our team has won prestigious awards from luxury department stores for their exceptional customer service and they also have a long and successful history with celebrity and VIP clients. We would bring all this knowledge and experience to educate your teams as to why adopting a ‘go the extra mile’ mentality makes all the difference. Luxury-level customer service doesn't have to come with products that cost thousands of pounds; anyone can implement high-end customer service practices and improve the customer experience. Excellent customer service is the best way to put a customer at ease and to increase the return rate. 

This would start with a comprehensive review of your existing retail store operations; it’s important to understand where you are now in order to help you get to where you want to be. This would involve interviews, analysis and rolling up our sleeves and getting involved: really living the day to day lives of your teams for a few days. Sometimes having a team and a set of processes in place for a long time isn't always the best thing. Just because people have gotten used to doing something a certain way, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the most efficient way. Once the feedback is obtained and the action plan approved, our Advisers would personally oversee the implementation and fine tune where necessary. 

Sometimes it’s just hard to see what it is that isn’t working – especially if things have been done the same way and everyone is comfortable and resistant to change. Whether it is your store layout, your training program, your hiring process, your merchandise selection and pricing or marketing, someone from the outside, with fresh eyes can often give you the most valuable insights. Someone like us, with a proven track record, can not only help you see what a new customer sees but also how to correct any deficiencies.

Creating a strong CRM system and really registering all of your leads, contacts and their shopping is the most efficient way to put the customer at the heart of your business, which is the fastest way to increase sales and profits. One of the biggest ways that we have positively impacted profits has been through expanding CRM systems. Tracking all customer interactions is a way to make them feel seen and important.  It is a way to reveal new possibilities and when actions are taken in line with these possibilities, new results are achieved.  

Achieving a high standard of retail store operations comes down to effective planning, resourcing, and training. You need the right people working for you, with the knowledge to communicate your message clearly and passionately to your customers. Based on tried, tested and successful models, our Advisers would be able to provide a customised Induction, Training and Development strategy.

Following on from the hands-on analysis, it is then possible to create bespoke store operations, designed to maximise efficiency and compliance but also minimise time spent doing administrative tasks. Setting up bespoke training and coaching programs will strengthen the leadership skills not only of your managers but of the whole team, providing a more predictable and workable succession plan.   

In order to attract and retain physical customers, stores need to create the ‘wow’ factor – the theatre of a wonderful display attracts attention. If, however the basics are missing, then it will be much harder to retain engagement with the customer. It is proven that stores that pay attention to all the small details can see customers spend around 30% more than those which don’t.