Is retail being drawn to larger cities?

I went on a shopping trip to Leeds at the weekend and I was a little shocked to see how busy and vibrant it was on a week in late January (at the end of the Blue Monday week) when we are told that people have little or no money. It was cold. It was overcast and it looked like it was a typically British winter day. As the day went on the cold was added to by some drizzle yet there were still thousands upon thousands of people going about their shopping, eating in restaurants and sitting in coffee shops.

Contrast this to my local town which is deserted on a Saturday afternoon except a few men in and out of the bookies and the pubs.

So I thought back to other visits to big cities I have made recently and there is a definite trend emerging. The big cities are taking retail away from the small towns. I suppose it is inevitable if you think about it. The fact that a big city has ample parking, good transport routes and a huge choice of shops will always make it more attractive than a local small town. The fact that many cities (Leeds included) have developed the number of indoor shopping areas only adds to the attraction.

An ongoing trend?
There were so few vacant shops and people were out, even in that weather, selling on the streets. There were student demonstrations in different parts oft the city against eating meat and Donald Trump (surely there is a link there?) and this only added to the vibrancy of the city as a destination. Several coffee shops and cafes were full and were turning people away and some of the restaurants had long queues outside as people waited to be seated.

It all lead me to ask two questions-

1. Is this something that will continue to happen?
2. Is it something that we should embrace?

Let's take a look in more detail.

Is this something that will continue to happen

The short answer is - I can'y see why not. Having a local High Street that caters for people Monday to Friday while going to bigger and better shopping destinations on the weekend is something that will keep on rising in my opinion. The fact that retailers are happier to invest in places where they know they will generate a good footfall helps them to feel more secure.

A central location that offers more then just shops is another ideal for the visitor. I would happily spend the night in a hotel and do a weekend break somewhere like Leeds because there are museums, sports venues, concerts and other things going on all the time. It turns shopping into only a part of the reason to visit a city but an important part of it at the same time.

Is it something that we should embrace?

This blog has been set up to champion the High Street, so it may feel as though I am betraying my roots by proposing we abandon our local High Street on the weekend and trot off to our local city. But the High Street needs to evolve to survive. I think that there are destination High Streets and there are more functional High Streets. The first will be somewhere you go at the weekend while the latter is fine to pick up a few bits during the week and will survive well enough on that.

Does Black Friday actually exist?

Today is Black Friday. This is something that obviously started in the United States as the sales on the day after Thanksgiving. It makes sense there as it is something that is the equivalent to the UK sales that used to start in the New Year when I was a kid and now start on Boxing Day (or earlier.)

But rather than a genuine sale where retailers get rid of stock they couldn't sell in the run up to Christmas (or Thanksgiving in the US) these are marketing gimmicks that are used to shift goods at the right time. This leads me to ask the question-

Does Black Friday actually exist?

I mean this in the sincerest of senses. Black Friday as a day of sales does not really exist in the United Kingdom. What does exists is two forces that work together to make a great day to sell products for retailers but doesn't do a great deal for customers. We will have a look at the two forces below-

People only have a limited amount of money to spend on Christmas

Now I know that the sentence above might not feel true at times when you watch people leave stores with armfuls of goods day after day from the start of the Christmas season when Halloween finishes right through until closing time on 24th December.But once all the presents are bought for all the people they have to buy for then the vast majority of people stop.

So Black Friday is a great opportunity for retailers to get in there as soon as they can. If they become the first port of call for people when they are making their Christmas gift purchases then they stand a better chance of a bigger slice of the pie. If you leave your Christmas events until the week before the big day then you will end up missing out on all the consumers that bought on Black Friday.

The earlier you get people to spend their money with you then the less chance they have of spending it anywhere else. It makes sense in this way. But when you factor in the other force at play then you can quickly realise that this doesn't necessarily lead to bargains.

What constitutes a sale item

You look at a product. the retailer tells you is used to be at a higher price and you think that you are getting a bargain. That's how it works, isn't it? But many retailers are playing games with consumer at this time of year. For an item to be described as being in a sale it has to have been sold at a higher price for a certain period of time somewhere in that company.

And that is where the games can start. If Company A lists a product for sale on their website at £50 in the summer for that qualifying period of time then they can cut the price for Black Friday and call it a sale. They may have had no intention of selling any at the higher price. The newly-quoted sale price might be exactly what they were always intended to sell it for, but because they have played the game they can call this a sale item and hook customers that might have normally walked past.

So as a consumer, check out the sale prices and see if they represent value to you. If you are a retailer then play straight with customers and stop the games.

Retailers need to be ready for the Christmas rush

This is the time of the year for retailers. I have worked in retail for a long time and Christmas saves many businesses that have struggled the rest of the year. I know of some companies, including some national U.K. retailers, that look to break even all year round and get all their annual profit in the next six weeks or so.

But it isn't about opening your doors as usual and hoping that more customers will walk through them. Retail doesn't work like that and even with plenty of empty units out there you will still face be a lot of competition. It isn't always easy to see where your competition is coming from nowadays either with the internet undercutting many traditional retailers. Here are the things you need to get right for a successful retail Christmas.

Stock

Having the right selection of products on your shelves as well as enough of them is vitally important. You need to do something to supplement what you already offer. People are looking for something completely different at this time of year so make sure that you are in a position to provide it. Look at your range and see how it can be adapted and added to for this time of year.

People shop differently at Christmas. They will be buying gifts for people and will take a guess at what they might want. The refund and exchange counters at the big stores are packed after the big event with people taking back gifts they didn't want. You need to cater to the demand of people who don't quite know what to get. Either have a gift selector on your website or make sure your team are ready to help here. This brings me on to the next part.

Your team

You may need extra bodies at this time of the year to cope with the rush and to keep up your service levels. Think about taking on Christmas temps to help you out. You can give them short term contracts to see you over the busy period. You may have extended opening hours (more on this later) so you may see your existing team spread a little thinly. Try to counter this with help.

Make sure your team are geared up for Christmas. It might seem like they will just cope with whatever you throw at them, but show that you care. It is a hectic time for most people so help them unwind and keep up the spirits. Your customers will notice.

Extra training may be needed if you are offering new products or services. Get your whole team involved in this to get the most from it. Retail is all about the experience you give your customers so make it the best possible.

Opening hours

Shops do open longer over Christmas. You may find that the rest of the retail units in your town or shopping centre open later for one or more days per week. Look at the number and type of extra customers this will bring in and make your opening decisions based on this. With out of town large shopping malls often open until 11pm or midnight and the supermarkets and online retailers open 24/7 you can't compete with everyone on this. Choose your battles wisely and extend your hours where it will help you the most.

It may be that opening earlier helps people in their way to work pick up things from you. It may be that you are more likely to attract extra trade by opening later. Work out what you need, get your team in all the right places and do what will work best for your customers. If you don't have an e-commerce website to sell all hours of the day and night then think about getting this sorted before next Christmas.

This is a hectic time of the year and it can come with a lot of stress. If you get things right before Christmas hits though you will be able to enjoy it more.

What's your favourite part about Christmas as a retailer? Let me know in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you.

Gap under fire for shuffling profits

Retailers have a duty of care for their employees. See why it's more important in results season

It's the time of the year where retailers announce their results that cover the busy Christmas period. It's good to keep abreast of these, particularly those that operate in the same sector as you. Two that have been announced today are Morrisons who reported better than expected sales and Debenhams who report their sales as "strong."

This has got me thinking about sales figures and how they affect your team. When I worked for BP it was always a horrible couple of days with customers angry at petrol prices when the company was reporting multi-billion pound profits. I suspect that Starbucks employees had similar issues when their tax affairs were made public.

My readers are generally split into two main camps - independent retailers and those who work for larger retail operations. The difference in these two is enormous and only widened by the public reporting that is required of publicly -listed companies. There are lessons to be learnt whichever camp you are in and today's blog will look at this.

Larger chain retailers
And this especially applies to those that have regular reporting of their figures, because this is where you can get examples such as the BP and Starbucks ones above. It is important for those earning massive salaries to protect their workers that are on the front line. It is difficult for customers to differentiate but the comments, ill-feeling and sometimes abuse that a BP worker gets is completely disproportionate to their role in the process.I have always spoken to those customers that voice discontent at the prices of the retailers I work with about my lack of role in the process that dictates prices. If I am working in a store, for example, then my ability to affect the price that the company sells their products at zero.

But not every employee is this insightful or confident with what they do. As a large organisation the people at the top and (more productively) the marketing, media or communications department needs to ensure that they soften the blow for the lower level employee. BP used to produce a press release for us to hand out to discuss with the customers. It explained the difference between BP Retail and BP Oil and how it isn't legal to cross-subsidise one with the other. It separated the customers who were interested in the affairs of the company from those that just wanted to have a moan. Large organisations have a moral obligation to pay their workers better, pay their way in taxes and to look after their front line workers - and this includes provisions for when publicity affects their work.

Independent retailers
I think that there is mileage here in having some sort of published results for your own independent retail business. This is an especially good idea if you can compare and contrast this with the competition from larger chains.Firstly you can share an edited version of the results with your team. Perhaps breaking it down into percentages rather than actual cash will protect your personal data. For example-

• 45% of our costs are for staffing
• We paid 25% of our income in tax, whereas our multinational rival paid only 6%
• Our profit margin after all costs and taxes have been taken out is 9%

These figures will highlight to your team what a difference a small pay rise makes or the benefit of selling one extra item per customer or whatever you want to highlight. and this is where joined up business wins out every time. If you understand your results, understand what you want to make better then you can help your team to understand what differences they can make. For example, if you want to increase the sales by 10% to give your team a 5% pay rise then use the annual figures to explain this.

The second point is for those that are a little bolder with what they do. It's best explained by way of example and I'll use a coffee shop for example. It's about comparing and contrasting your operation with a multinational rival and using this as marketing ammunition. Imagine this press release, or something similar, appearing in your local newspaper-

"Use your local coffee shop as it benefits the community

Local coffee shop Coffee For Me has just published it's annual results and it makes startling reading. In contrast to the American-owned coffee chain XYZ Seattle, who only paid tax of 4% on  their UK earnings, Coffee For Me paid 20% of their earning sin tax. They also employ 5 people from out town, all of whom then spend their ages in our town. The owners, Mr and Mrs Jones, have lived here for over 20 years and they shop locally with other locally-owned businesses.

If you want to ensure that you support local people and people who pay their fair share of UK taxes, make sure that the next time you go out for  coffee it's at Coffee For Me, and nor one of these chains that are taking money away fro the town, the region and the UK."

It is for those with a little more aggressive marketing approach but the impact for me would be a huge one. It's all about making your customers think about their purchases and to make a decision on the greater good.

All in all, retailers have a duty of care over their colleagues. Whether it's to protect them from negative media coverage, to help them understand the business or to prompt their customers to shop locally.

This week is the MUST DO week when it comes to assessing how your Christmas sales are going

It's a hugely important time of the year for most retailers. I know of some retailers that trundle along through the rest of the year happy to break even or make a small profit on the basis that their Christmas trade will make up for it all. Many retailers I've worked with report that over 50% of their annual trade will happen during this quarter of the year. And there's the sales after Christmas to take into account as well!

With this time of year being so important, so busy, you can often forget to take a small step back and assess things. So ask yourself this question today-

How is it going?

Really. Find some time this week to answer that question. It's vital to the success of the rest of the year.

The big retailers have cottoned on to one truth that I'm going to share with you today-

Customers only have a finite amount of money to spend at Christmas.

It sounds pretty straightforward doesn't it? But it changes the way they operate. Their whole ethos is based around getting you (and your customers) to spend it with them and to spend it early. Look at the incentives-

• Extra loyalty card points
• Tesco Clubcard exchange
• Sainsburys Nectar point exchange
• Boots points events nights
• Boots Star Gifts and weekly offers
• Black Friday
• Cyber Monday

And the list continues. The idea is that you incentivise your customers to shop with you early. A typical Christmas list might read-

• Wife
• Eldest
• Youngest
• Mum
• Dad
• Mother-in-law
• Sister
• Brother
• Niece
• Nephew

And once there's a tick next to every name on the list, then Christmas gift shopping is pretty much done. So if it's done at a Boots points event, for instance, then the spend at Boots will minimise the likelihood that there will be any spend in other retailers nearer Christmas.

As for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, these are not American imports, as the press likes to label them. These events mean more to the British market than the American one. In the USA, it's our equivalent of the January sales - they are selling off post-Thanksgiving stock that didn't sell. They don't do Christmas in the same way we do. Over here it a great tool for retailers to get those sales in early.

So have a look at what you have done and what you have planned and see how you can secure those early sales. It will make a big difference to your performance for the rest of the year.

A purely retail task on The Apprentice, a Welsh village taking a stand and a message to the multinationals

At last there's been a purely retail task on the current series of The Apprentice. It will strike a chord with my readers that are independent retailers themselves.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06q7jtl/the-apprentice-series-11-7-discount-store

The task was to operate as a discount retailer by selling and reinvesting the proceeds in the items that have actually sold well. Which is independent retail in a nutshell.

There's the obvious and repeated issue with The Apprentice of many pieces of expenditure being totally ignored when it comes to calculations of profit and loss at the end of the task. I looked at it in a previous blog here - http://mytimeinretail.blogspot.com/2015/10/see-lessons-to-be-learnt-from-this.html

This week the ignored items included-

• Rent
• Staffing costs
• Tax
• Licence on the stall

I know it's the land of television and normal rules don't apply, but it's just not a level playing field.

Which brings me to my second story this week. It's about a village in Wales that is trying to level the playing field when it comes to competing with Starbucks and Amazon.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crickhowell-welsh-town-moves-offshore-to-avoid-tax-on-local-business-a6728971.html

The tax structures of local business and multinational business are so different that it allows the biggest companies to move their money across divisions and borders to minimise their tax burden.

I personally think it's time for the government of the day (whichever party they may be) to stand up. The message needs to be-

If you want to do business in this country then you'll have to accept lower profits.

The message is stark but necessary. Reduced profits for these companies mean several things-

• Higher wages for the lower paid in society
• Smaller tax credit burden on the government and tax payers
• Large multinational corporations paying their fair share in tax

I'm sure that everyone would agree that these are positive things that we can all get behind.

Why this week's The Apprentice (and a shopping trip) leaves me fuming

I hate homemade signs. I hate handwritten signs even more. I REALLY hate badly-made handwritten signs. After watching The Apprentice last night I despair even more!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06phn4w/the-apprentice-series-11-6-handy-man

Mergim felt the need to make a signs for their handyman business. I understand his motives but the execution was never going to win any design awards.

I've been out in a local town centre today conducting some mystery shopping (I talk about my mystery shopping in this blog) and I spotted loads of homemade and handwritten signs, complete with poor formatting, bad handwriting and spelling mistakes. I don't know what goes through retailers heads! The effect is unprofessional and does absolutely nothing positive for your brand, store or products.

The retailers I saw these signs in today included-

• A gift shop
• A nail bar
• Boots
• Holland & Barrett
• A sweet shop
• Several cafés and restaurants

So it's not an independents disease, nor that of a certain type of retailer. I really can't see any excuse if you're working for a major retailer. Every piece of marketing material is approved and provided centrally, it's even something that I've been asked to check up on during the mystery shops I carry out. If you want to know more about my mystery shopping and how you can become a mystery shopper then check out my blog- http://mysteryshopperblog.blogspot.co.uk/

Even independents can move quickly enough in their feet to avoid this. Having a good marketing, design and/or printing company to hand is a simple solution. Even getting training on design or using a friend with design skills will be better than handmade. By planning ahead and putting as much time as possible between thinking of the sign and using the sign gives you time to get the materials produced.

If you don't have the skills yourself or know anyone who can help you out the fiverr.com could provide you with an answer. It's an online community of freelancers that can produce one-off items for the low, low price of $5. Provide an outline of what you want and a timeline of when you need it and you'll find a willing designer to produce a file for you to print or have printed. Give it a look and you may find your answers.

You can find my profile at  https://uk.fiverr.com/homeestates

The Apprentice, Mannys Sauces and your business - see how they all connect

As a retailer, sometimes a part of your job is to launch a new product or bring a great product to people's attention. It's not always an easy task, as the competitors on this year’s The Apprentice have found out on two tasks so far this year-

There was an early episode where the two teams had a go at launching a new shampoo made with the cactus flower-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06jlg57/the-apprentice-series-11-2-advertising-cactus-shampoo

And a more recent episode featured the two teams (and those within the teams) going head to head against each other in designing and selling their own children's book-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06nw576/the-apprentice-series-11-5-childrens-book

It is not easy to launch your own brand or product but one man that has launched his own brand is Manny. Here's his story-

“As any other person in the world, I had a huge dream - to open the first Piri-Piri Chicken Restaurant in the world, and then spread this dream to every corner of the planet. It wouldn’t be easy to achieve, but neither was it impossible. I had the will, the courage, the faith and family support to make it come true. Early in 1985, I sold my home to open the first piri-piri chicken restaurant outside of Mozambique. CHICKENLAND was the chosen name and Johannesburg, South Africa was the birth place of my dream! After a short while, I was making, bottling and selling a range of 5 different Piri-Piri Sauces and Marinades. After a slow start, the business was a stunning success! The name quickly spread across the city and everyone was talking about this new food place that was taking the food industry by storm.

The business success was proven! The next step was expansion to other parts of the city, country and abroad, and many people tried to get financially involved. Expansion included a need for capital and people, and so in 1987, I sold some of my business shares to two young men: one of Portuguese origin and the other, a South African of Jewish origin. Shortly after they joined, the business name was changed to NANDOS. Chickenland was a nice name, but according to marketing experts at the time, it was felt that the business should be backed by a personal name before the expansion took place. Between MANNYS and NANDOS, I was out-voted two to one, and the latter name was chosen. Despite a few initial problems, the expansion started taking off and now more than ever, the success was tremendous!

A few years later, the rug was pulled out from under my feet and I was forced to leave my business. I lost my dream; one of the best things in my life after my family. After this happened, I opened a few other restaurants including Chickenland in Portugal, but these weren’t my dream. It was a way to make a living, but it wasn’t my passion. It took me a long time to recover from what happened, but I was determined and pushed through until another dream emerged; to make the best sauces and speciality food products in the world! MANNYS SAUCES is now my new dream! Once again I can see this new dream taking shape and growing strong all the way to the TOP! The passion is back and I again have the will, the faith, the support of my family, and the support of so many loyal customers that know and appreciate the high quality products that we make. I am forever grateful to my family and my customers for their support and the divine forces for showing me the way.

Manny x”

And one of retail’s challenges is to get in touch with your customers in different ways. It’s by being what large companies and analysts call multi-channel that gives you the best access to customers. Follow Manny’s lead, where you can-

Try the online store at http://www.mcssl.com/store/mannyssauces for the Chickita - Mann’s famous cured and smoked chicken sausage and the rest of the range of cured meats.

Follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Mannyssauces where you can read about the wonderful MannyNaise. With this, you can substitute your boring, regular mayonnaise for the spectacular taste of MannyNaise and transform dishes from the ordinary to the wonderful.

Catch up with them on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/Mannyssauces to hear about the Tomato Fusion – a sauce that’s destined to become the ketchup of choice for the 21^st Century. It’s the next level in tomato ketchup.

Their YouTube site at www.youtube.com/channel/UCPvHPFfaz5yJRTtlv_ViDPQ gives you great recipe ideas and shows you how to use the sauces, such as the original, classic Piri-Piri sauce. This is the genuine, original and unique Southern African Piri-Piri sauce. This is the perfect mix of the heat of chilli and the depth of flaviour that perfectly captures what Mannys Sauces is all about.

Don’t forget the selection of cured meats. Paio is a great selection and is made of pork fillet with a maximum of 5% fat.

And you can just go straight ahead and check out their website at www.mannyssauces.com to see details of what they are all about, more details on Manny’s story, find stockists and much more.

Think about your retail business and how you can make your offering truly multi-channel – it will bring out the best in your products!

See why inflation figures heighten your need to compete on things other than price

The latest inflation figures were announced this week and it's not good reading for retailers-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34514135

The figures show a fall in the inflation rate to it actually showing a negative. This means that prices are falling.

Why is this bad news for retailers?

This is particularly bad news for retailers of high price items. The fact is, that if consumers see prices falling they will put off their large purchases in the expectation that prices will continue to fall and they can save money. This effect really starts to kick in when prices fall consistently over a longer period of time. It works more on high ticket products - televisions, cars, gadgets and computers. So if you're a retailer of these items what can you do? The first thought when looking for customers is often price but that seems like the wrong idea on this occasion. Further price cuts can only deepen the feeling that prices will continue to fall. And increasing prices at this point will put you at a disadvantage to your competition.

So the best thing to focus on is the quality of what you sell. Having a quality product can sell no matter what the market is doing. Look at Apple - their products sell in times of inflation or deflation. Now, we can't all come up with an ipod, iPhone or iPad idea to help our retail business but you can focus on the quality in your own business.

Finding what makes you different

As a retailer you will probably already have an idea what it is that makes you different. It's what sets you apart from other retailers and it could be one of many things-

• Your loyalty scheme
• Your products
• Your customer service
• Your special offers
• Your events

I've written many, many times in this blog about understanding what you do better than others. And this is what you need to concentrate on. I'll give you a few examples-

Waitrose have high prices but their customers love their absolute quality and great customer service.

Boots are very pricey but focus on their loyalty card and customers return.

Aldi mixes price with availability and customers have loved this balance.

So what is your USP? What can you do better than your competition? What are you capable of that nobody else in your town is? These are the things that will drive you forward.

Communicate this with your team, communicate it with your customers and look away from just dropping your price to compete - there are other, better ways to differentiate yourself.

See how tapping into café culture can reap rewards

There's no doubt that there's a café culture in the UK today. I'm at a large shopping centre today before 10am when the shops open and every café is almost full of people drinking and chatting before embarking on the days shopping. Costa, Starbucks and Nero are the main three chain coffee shops and there are a staggering 3 Starbucks, 2 Caffé Nero and 6 Costa Coffee (yes, six as the vidiprinter used to confirm on the football scores.) Andcthats before you start to add up the Greggs.

And, as usual, this gets me thinking about retail and how all of these things knit together. For instance, there's two stand-alone Costa and the others are situated within other shops-

• Debenhams
• Namco
• Odeon
• WH Smith

And this is where I think that the angle is - using a coffee shop offering to get customers into your store. Of course the big retail players can look at strategic partnerships with the likes of Costa to make this happen but what about independent retailers. Most of my readers are independent retailers and I think that for some businesses, a coffee shop offering could really help their business. By having a quality, well-respected destination for the coffee drinkers you can have a ready-made custom for your store. I visited Lincoln recently and the coffee shop that really caught my eye was upstairs in an art and craft shop. In a quiet early morning when any large numbers of customer traffic was up at the castle and cathedral, this set and craft shop had 20 people browsing and a further 20 in the café - all of whom had walked through the arts and crafts to get there and would walk back through the arts and crafts to leave. In addition, there were art classes advertised on the tables and the café itself was decorated subtlety with arty type things. It was a great way of getting people through the door and spending.

This isn't the solution to all retail woes, but for some retailers with the space and the vision to create this, there's definitely something in this.

Not everything can be bought on the High Street-

Looking back at 100 blog posts - part 2 - your team

I've been looking back and celebrating 100 blog entries on my popular retail blog. In the first of these reviews, I looked at the High Street. My blog is about how to save the UK High Street and I set it up with the intention of looking at the issues that affect the High Street itself. In and around that are the areas that make retailers successful - as a successful set of retailers will mean a successful High Street.

The second review, here, is looking at the management of teams. I find that many of my readers are independent retailers who have a team around them. My other main group of readers is people who work for larger retail organisations and are looking to improve and develop their skills every day. I have looked in a different blog at you should attempt to keep learning and improving all the time-

http://eaboost.blogspot.com/2015/09/do-you-read-do-you-continue-to-learn.html

In this following blog, I look at how you organise your team to cover the weekend, where most retailers are busier-

http://mytimeinretail.blogspot.com/2015/03/staffing-at-weekend-how-do-you-manage.html

It's very important that you as a retailer are ready for your trade and prepared long before they walk through the door. It's only by providing a great service that you turn your customers into brand ambassadors and have them not only returning time and time again, but bringing their friends and family with them.

And in this one, I look at ensuring that you are consistent in your management decisions to ensure that your team are engaged-

http://mytimeinretail.blogspot.com/2015/07/a-lack-of-consistency-frustrates-your.html

And I also take a look at short-staffing and where it can lead you and your team-

http://mytimeinretail.blogspot.com/2015/05/how-to-avoid-being-short-staffed-and.html

It is really important that your team feels on board with the decisions that are made. This involves communicating your ideas and goals with them team. But it also involves ensuring that each and every small decision fits into the big picture. Your team can get really disheartened if they work hard towards a goal and then feel that the rug has been pulled from under them. A very short example-

If all the work that the team had pout in to clinching a particular client was then undermined if the client withdrew their business because of a personal dispute with someone high up in your company.

And finally, I look at how to reward those in your team that exceed or excel. It's important that you reward those in your team that make the business a success. To have people work hard (again) and not reward them is dispiriting. Yo verbally, personally reward someone for a good shift, hard work, a particularly good sale will improve the morale of the whole team-

http://mytimeinretail.blogspot.com/2015/01/how-do-you-reward-your-high-flyers.html

Think about what you want your promotions to acheive

I've started looking in more detail at some promotions in certain retailers, and I think that you can split promotions into two main types.

Promotions that drive people to your door

Promotions that influence your customers when they are in store

I think that you can split promotions in this way and I also think that you should think about your promotions in this way. Why? Because you need to drive people to your door AND you need to influence people's purchasing decisions when they are stood in your store, looking at your shelves. There needs to be a balance between there promotions as you attempt to achieve both of these things in tandem. A successful retailer will want and need to attract new customers with their promotions that drive people to their door. These can be linked to their loyalty cards, headline offers or outdoor advertising. The idea behind this is that you, as a retailer, can expand the customer base that frequents your shop or shops. From this increased customer base (and you providing them with fantastic customer service) you can increase your sales.

The other promotions will actually affect people's buying decisions when they are stood in front of your shelves. This is mainly aimed at your existing customers - those that come into your shop as a matter of course. From the starting point of having these customers walk through your door anyway, you want to ensure one of the following three things-

1- They spend more money than they came in for.

2- They buy when they may not have expected to.

3- They find a reason to come back.

This isn't always an easy feat but promotions such as multibuys, the location of related sales close to each other or announcements of coming events are all great ways of talking to customers with the aim of achieving one of these three things.

I'll look at little more closely at these three promotion types-

Multibuys
These are the tool of these three that will get your customers to buy more than they came in for. Take many, many national retail chains that have 3 for 2 promotions running is some or all of their shops at different times. The idea is that once the customer has cottoned on to the additional maths, the sale is logical.

The maths is as follows-

ONCE YOU HAVE BOUGHT THE FIRST ITEM (the one that you came in to buy)
THE TWO REMAINING ITEMS ARE BUY ONE GET ONE FREE

From this mindset, most customers then buy more than they came in for.

Associated sales
These are a great way of achieving points 1 and 2 from the above. The basic example from my early retail days was a promotional end of associated products. At Christmas, we used to sell wrapping paper

like it was going out of fashion. But the clever retailer made a promotional end of wrapping paper, sellotape, gift tags, a sellotape dispenser and bags of ribbons and bows.The difference in sales is astounding and customers walk out with something that they perhaps hadn't come in for.

Event announcements
This is the one area of the three that I find a little resistance to, from retailers that I speak to every day. The resistance is in the fact that retailers are worried that they put off today's customer until the event, if they are promoting a great event. For example, if you are offering double points on your loyalty card next week, then a customer that walks through the door today may be out off buying until next week.

The converse could be actually happening. A customer could walk in today to check out your prices and find that you are slightly more expensive than a competitor that they have just checked, Whilst they are in the store, they see your offer and decide that it would be better to buy with you rather than your competition.

I think that every announcement, promotion of piece of marketing that encourages your customers to spend with you is positive and you shouldn't hold back with the worry of simply postponing sales.

Shop Local is about spending with genuine authentic brands

I have talked many times before on my retail blog about the importance of shop local. Shop local has become an important movement and I think that getting behind the small businesses that produce high quality products becomes more and more important as every day passes. News articles about the perceived greed of Starbucks, Google and Amazon have been followed by recent articles about large restaurant chains taking tips away from their waiting staff. And every time one of these issues is exposed in the media or social media, there is a genuine outcry of anger from consumers. Being a responsible consumer, though, is about much more than boycotting a brand because they have had an unseemly practice exposed in the media. The positive side of responsible consumption is to be a consumer of, and brand advocate for those products that reflect your own values.

One such product is Mannys Sauces. They currently produce a range of 9 sauces and all free of the top 14 allergens, and are suitable for vegetarians and vegans. The sauces come with a guarantee of 100% satisfaction or your money back – that’s how confident they are that you will love them. In fact, the Piri-Piri and the marinades are considered to be within the best sauces on the planet. So, when you have a product that’s made with all natural ingredients in the UK to the highest standard then it’s something that you just have to get behind. And there are more than one way of getting behind a product as good as this. The first step is to try it. The Meat Marinade is created to marinate all red meats such as pork, lamb and steak but, it’s actually also delicious with any kind of fish or seafood. The Curry Sauce lets you make the most delicious and healthy curry in your own home, without any hard work or effort! And they can be found at http:/mannyssauces.com Once you’ve tried the sauces and I’m sure that you will love them, it’s time to be a brand advocate and make sure you share your love of them on social media. Mannys Sauces can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Mannys-Sauces-182624281912692/timeline/ on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MannysSauces or check out their YouTube video at https://youtu.be/9gSO1jGftyM

My blogs always look at the process of being a retailer and how your actions fit in with your overall brand, and being an ambassador for a genuine, authentic product will help your overall business as their name and your name move through the social networks. When you find a product that you can see is on the way up then your instinct as a retailer is to get behind it. And I feel that Mannys Sauces is one of these products. The next step for you will depend on where you work. I know that my blog is read by independent retailers and those who work for larger organisations. If you are an independent retailer then, using Mannys Sauces as an example, you should get behind a UK independent, genuine, authentic product by becoming a stockist. If you are working for a larger organisation then you should be as aware as you possibly can be of these genuine, authentic products appearing on the marketplace and seek out the producers to see if you can provide them with a platform for their product.

Something else I repeat on this blog is finding out what you are good at and then making sure you can produce it day-in, day-out. Expanding your empire should come at a time when you have got a complete grip of what you are currently doing and you are ready to move on. Well, Mannys Sauces have done just that with a range of continental meat lines that would perfectly expand on what they already do, as these are great for snacks, tapas and sandwiches etc. These are more great products and you can currently choose from Portuguese-Style Chorizo, Chicken Chorizo, Paio, Presunto or Pork Belly. These make a perfect plate if you don’t have as much time, or if you want something lighter.

The products are backed by enthusiasm and a dream – the story of Manny. I’ll let him tell the story himself here-

“As any other person in the world, I had a huge dream - to open the first Piri-Piri Chicken Restaurant in the world, and then spread this dream to every corner of the planet. It wouldn’t be easy to achieve, but neither was it impossible. I had the will, the courage, the faith and family support to make it come true. Early in 1985, I sold my home to open the first piri-piri chicken restaurant outside of Mozambique. CHICKENLAND was the chosen name and Johannesburg, South Africa was the birth place of my dream! After a short while, I was making, bottling and selling a range of 5 different Piri-Piri Sauces and Marinades. After a slow start, the business was a stunning success! The name quickly spread across the city and everyone was talking about this new food place that was taking the food industry by storm.

The business success was proven! The next step was expansion to other parts of the city, country and abroad, and many people tried to get financially involved. Expansion included a need for capital and people, and so in 1987, I sold some of my business shares to two young men: one of Portuguese origin and the other, a South African of Jewish origin. Shortly after they joined, the business name was changed to NANDOS. Chickenland was a nice name, but according to marketing experts at the time, it was felt that the business should be backed by a personal name before the expansion took place. BetweenMANNYS and NANDOS, I was out-voted two to one, and the latter name was chosen. Despite a few initial problems, the expansion started taking off and now more than ever, the success was tremendous!

A few years later, the rug was pulled out from under my feet and I was forced to leave my business. I lost my dream; one of the best things in my life after my family. After this happened, I opened a few other restaurants including Chickenland in Portugal, but these weren’t my dream. It was a way to make a living, but it wasn’t my passion. It took me a long time to recover from what happened, but I was determined and pushed through until another dream emerged; to make the best sauces and speciality food products in the world! MANNYS SAUCES is now my new dream! Once again I can see this new dream taking shape and growing strong all the way to the TOP! The passion is back and I again have the will, the faith, the support of my family, and the support of so many loyal customers that know and appreciate the high quality products that we make. I am forever grateful to my family and my customers for their support and the divine forces for showing me the way.

Manny x”

So, shop local is about more than paying lip service to spending some time and money in your nearest High Street every now and again. It’s about getting behind genuine, authentic products that show the World (and the World of social media) that the brand choices you make change people’s lives.

Payday weekend bonanza with Bank Holiday thrown in as well!

Is bonanza time for most retailers this weekend as we have the weekend, it's a payday weekend and it's a bank holiday weekend. And I can see many times and retailers making the most of it. There are offers, events, fairs and all sorts of things happening all over the country as retailers try to compete with other attractions for people's time and money this weekend.

The national chains seem to have set themselves up for a big weekend, so it's time for the small independent retailers  that make up much of my audience to up their game.

As I've said many times before in my blog, the first step on the road to payday weekend success of planning your staffing. With me being away for three weeks and forcing myself to stay off the internet I haven't blogged this early enough but there are always lessons to be learnt and this will stand you in good stead for all payday weekends, bank holiday weekends and other events throughout the year. Once you have your staffing sorted, it's time to look at how you can offer something different and special at this time. I've already stated that you will not just be competing with other retailers but other attractions on a weekend like this. Giving families a reason to visit you rather than a park, a museum, a theme park or the seaside is part of ensuring success. So I'd say having something exciting for the children is a great idea for this weekend. What you do may well depend on what type of retailer you are, but be imaginative and think about what can keep families in your store for longer.

It's also a god idea to ensure that any offers you run coincide with a weekend such as this. If you are planning a sale, a but one get one free or other promotion them starting it this weekend is a great idea. It gets people through your door that may not normally shop with you and give you a chance to convert then into loyal customers. It will also give you a chance to cement your relationship with your existing customers who may need a little push to spend more with you.

The final piece in the jigsaw as far as I'm concerned is to make sure that your team are motivated and enthused about the weekend trade and any event you are hosting. Get them involved in the ideas process and you will get their buy-in for the event itself. If it's fun for staff and for customers then you've probably got a winning formula.

Keep this blog entry and re-read every time there's an event coming up - you'll be amazed at how useful it can be!

NOT EVERYTHING CAN BE BOUGHT ON THE HIGH STREET

Celebration of my 100th Retail blog entry!

It's now reached 100 blog entries for "My Time In  Retail - Where The High Street Goes From Here." To celebrate I will be taking a look back at the first 100 entries and some of the themes that have been developed over the last 100 blogs.

This current entry is number 101, and is a short piece to explain what you will find over the next 3 or 4 blogs from me.

I'll take a look at ongoing themes from the blog and how they knot together into a coherent (hopefully) series that gives retailers everywhere the benefit of my many, many years of experience in working in shops and on the High Street.

I'm looking forward to the next few blog entries - I hope that you are as well!

A return from holiday leaves me needing a catch-up

I've now returned from three weeks holiday. A three week break brings lots of thinking time but the return to reality and activity is tougher than I remember.

I've kept physically active whilst away, with a gym and swimming pool on the complex I've been staying on. But a lot of time on the road, by the pool, in the gym and on the beach gives you plenty of time to think about what you are doing and where you want to start going next with everything you do.

I think that it is good (and it was good) to have a period of reflection and contemplation. It gives you a chance to determine whether you think that you're on the right track and to plot the way forward without the everyday distractions of work life. It also enables a little "blue sky thinking" as there exposure to a different routine and a different culture can have you thinking about things in different ways. I have looked at the direction I'm heading in and I broadly think that it's where I want to be going.

It's now thinking about heading out of the break and back into my life that's occupying my mind. I landed and got home in Sunday evening and it was back to work at 7.30am on Monday, so there was no real transition to be had. It was a case of holiday mode as is went to bed and work mode when I got up the next morning. It was just the way it had to be with three weeks off - there was no spare time to be had! So it was straight back into it, which can sometimes be the best way to get on, although I don't really feel like that the the moment! I can just about see the wood from the trees at work now, after a few days of catching up. I just wish I could say the same about everything else I do.

It's getting back into the swing of things for everyone concerned at the moment. The Summer customer flow is very different to the flow during the rest of the year, especially in a university city, such as the City of Durham that I work in regularly. So it's been a time where large parts of the city have been on holiday and where large parts if the city are starting to get back into a routine for Back To School promotions, the kids actually returning to school and the university students returning to the city.

I've been doing some work with a pharmacy in the city recently and all their work is geared to the students returning and the ailments beginning, especially when the weather turns cold. The start of term can't come quickly enough for them and their largest customer base starts getting ill not long after returning.

It's interesting to note where your largest customer groups are and how the ebb and flow to be able to plan out your staffing, stock and things such as opening hours. I've mentioned in my blog many times about organisation, and this is adding another level to your understanding of what goes on.

NOT EVERYTHING CAN BE FOUND ON THE HIGH STREET

Conflicting stories emerge about the success of 'Click and Collect'

Some news stories have emerged in recent times about the phenomenon that is 'Click & Collect.'

"A click-and-collect company which announced a major deal with Network Rail is to open fewer parcel collection points at stations than planned.

Doddle now wants to recruit people to use their own homes as pick-up points for internet shopping."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33597033

"Click-and-collect is a fairly new battleground for UK retailers, and promises rich rewards for daring firms.

It has been hugely popular over the past five years, as customers embrace the convenience of being able to order goods online and pick them up in store or elsewhere."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33371265

Now I don't think that both stories sit happily hand-in-hand and it's another case of the truth being more shades of grey than the black and white reporters make it out to be.

I've blogged loads of times about the advantages of 'Click & Collect' and I feel that these apply whether you are a High Steeet chain or a single independent retailer. It allows you to sell products online that maybe you can't stock in store. It brings people through your door that may not have otherwise visited, customers who collect spend more money whilst in store. There are even companies that allow you to collect things that you've not even bought trough them - Argos have set up collection points for eBay purchases and mdny independent stores have become Collect+ locations, with sellers including Amazon.

So why are John Lewis different?

Obviously they've looked at their business model and they don't think that it works at present. I've heard the head of their organisation talk before about customers needing to change their pricing expectation when ordering online. He believes that customers need to stop expecting a product at the same price and free delivery. I think he's deluded. The fact that they don't have to pay High Street or shopping centre rent, the savings in staffing and the reduced security concerns of having customers walk through their doors should mean a cheaper online product in my eyes. It's why Amazon are so successful - their long-term model to now has been online-only sales.

For independent retailers I'd say that having an online store will bring you extra business, not extra costs. Enabling your local customers to collect directly from you should increase your market, your footfall and your profits. Whether you do this through your existing website, a custom-built sales-only website, eBay or Facebook, one things for sure - you'll bring more people through your door, whether physically or digitally.

And that can only be good.