Performance Management

Retail Opreations 2020 feature

Retail Operations 2020: Time to Manage Outside of the Box

Best Practice, , , ,

Barely 20 years ago all retail operations took place in high street store formats. Then cross channel happened, and now Covid-19, and efficient retail operations are utterly transformed.

In the early years of this century, brand retail operation felt like paradise. Store networks were growing globally and being an expanding head of retail was a fun job. Managing high street stores, factory outlets, concession stores and flagships, having CEOs promote direct to consumer growth, and even the CFO was happy. All that was needed for retail operation was easily organised and within the store ‘boxes’. But soon brand stores encountered mighty antagonists.

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Post Covid Industry Best Practice in Retail & Online

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The Covid-19 pandemic is devastating for those with pre-existing conditions. But it also mobilises the best in all others: unforeseen creativity, outstanding personal engagement, true loyalty and support among many more qualities.

There is no way around acknowledging that the situation is grim wherever you look and listen across the brand and retail industry, in parts even online. But if we pay close attention, we can also observe new brand industry best practice emerging.

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Brand Sales and Distribution 2020: New Ways to International Sales Growth

Brand Expansion, , , , ,

International Sales Growth remains mostly dynamic in 2019. But as financial reports show, growth rates have decreased for many. Be it in the US or in Europe, especially domestic-bound retailers and brands stumble.

Global expansion in sales and distribution competence has become a lifesaving strategy feature, but allow me a personal question first:

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store staff performance

Retail Portfolio Management: Store Staff Performance

Brand Analytics, ,

While excellent staff and service are what distinguishes brick and mortar from online retailers, staff performance is often overlooked in store evaluations. Two new KPIs help account for the human factor.

When evaluating a retail portfolio, very often mangers only look at the financial results of a store. But excellent service, competent and dedicated sales staff are a key differentiator of brick and mortar retailers. A fair and objective store staff performance evaluation is therefore increasingly important. This article introduces two new KPIs that help to fairly evaluate staff performance and to determine optimal staffing for each store in your portfolio.

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Retail Portfolio Management

Retail Portfolio Management: Renegotiating Your Rental Contracts

Brand Analytics, , , , , ,

This is the second installment of a short series that dives into a few uncommon KPIs for successful retail portfolio management. Learn how traffic cost and footfall per hour can help you renegotiate rental contracts.

For many years, retail expansion was the main growth strategy in the brand retail world. More recently, however, brands increasingly face an under-performing retail portfolio. Realising that retail expansion doesn’t work without like-for-like growth of existing stores, brands are busy assessing their retail portfolios in order to focus on profitable stores and stores with potential for improvement.

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brand private equity

Driving Brand Growth with Private Equity

Brand Strategy, ,

Brand private equity investments have increased, but not all have been success stories. How can PE and brands work together successfully?

Over the last couple of years, brand private equity (PE) investments have increased strongly. Brand investments were very attractive, PE investors had a positive influence, but not all PE investments have been success stories. From my experience as a CFO in that environment, I’d like to share some learnings on how brands can grow successfully with private equity. (more…)

Engaging Associates: Best Practice Retail Operations at Polo Ralph Lauren

Best Practice, , , ,

Your KPIs, dashboard and performance management are in place, but your retail operations are missing that final touch? This best practice story shows how new technologies can help you win at associate engagement too.

Put yourself in the shoes of a senior vice president of outlet retail for a lifestyle brand in Europe who runs a few stores across several countries. Your stores are commercially successful, and your brand is an anchor tenant for many landlords. But you observe that you could do even better by becoming more engaged in retail operations. Are you tempted to push that old KPI and performance management button to reach your full- and part-time store associates? And, how well has that worked out for you in the past?

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Inspiring Brand Retail Best Practices for 2018

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Pick the brand retail best practices from 24* cities and 6 topic areas that will work for you. To a good start and comp growth in your new business year!

It was a good year for the brand lifestyle industry in Europe and the US. Reading interim reports suggests that the majority of top brands have grown despite challenges in wholesale and full price retail distribution. While not true for all, this goes to illustrate another year of beautiful distribution complexity and financial challenges.

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Brand Store Operation Best Practice

That One Perfect Day: How UGG Solves the Ice Cream Problem

Best Practice, ,

Thanksgiving in the US, Ramadan in the Middle East, Christmas, or simply next Saturday: high traffic days define the brand store operations winners. Here’s how UGG does it.

Brand store operations is not a complicated job. As a sales clerk in lifestyle retail, it comprises three core processes: 1. receiving and displaying merchandise, 2. serving customers and 3. removing goods from the shelf to make room for the new season.

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Processes & Operations for Retail Managers

Retail Performance: I Like Like for Like – I don’t Like Like for Like

Brand Analytics, , ,

H&M gave up their monthly reporting in July. An indication of an ailing retailer? Debatable – Zara never did it in the first place.

Three years after H&M gave up on like for like reporting, they stopped publishing monthly sales figures altogether. H&M follows the path of other well-known retailers that no longer publicly report monthly details of their like for like retail performance. (more…)

Clothes line (photo: Zeitgeist Handeln) - The Necessary Fashion Retail Revolution

Have We Forgotten the Customer? The Necessary Fashion Retail Revolution

Brand Distribution, , ,

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8 Excellent Weekend Reads for Brand Growth Strategy

Editors' Picks (Best Read), , , ,

Our Q1 blog visits are +99%, bounce rate -41%, subscribers doubled, likes & recommendations +100%, there couldn’t be a stronger feedback  the “Brand Growth Inspiration” blog is on the right track. Thank you to all authors, our readers & supporters.

In case you missed one of the valuable posts, here’s our bespoke selection of best weekend read for you. (more…)

Retail Lease Management in Stormy Weather

Brand Strategy, , ,

Retail management without lease control management is like sailing in a storm but leaving the essential navigation tools at home.

How many of your global leases are about to expire this year and you missed the date to opt for an automatic extension or substantial renegotiation last year? How many leases would you have loved to leave last year, but overlooked the date for early contract termination? (more…)

Brand KPI,

Disarmament of Brand Performance Metrics – a Small Task Creating Big Impact

Brand Analytics, ,

L4L, Share DTC, Mark Downs, Space Density, 4W-Contribution, … there were far too many brand performance metrics to manage brand distribution easily. And now with social media & the internet arriving, another set of 10 KPIs are supposed to be important.

Next year’s planning arrives soon with many new priorities for your business agenda 2018. It’s likely you have already far too many topics to focus easily, but allow me to suggest one more topic. I promise it will be done after a day, or will create you some enlightenment towards your true needs & priorities. All you have to do is ask 10 members of your team one question. Their answers will give you the key to a year with better focus, an increased performance and potentially 50% less management reports.

So what do you have to do?

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Processes & Operations for Retail Managers

24 Thoughts on How to Benchmark Retail Windows

Brand Analytics, , , , ,

Retail windows are expensive advertising spaces and often miss their commercial potential. We share 24 thoughts to inspire great window performance.

Our 2016 retail term of the year is ‘loss of traffic’. Internet competition brought another year of loss in consumer footfall. Many of our retail friends struggled to keep momentum and to motivate for improvements in sales.

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