Extracts from Tim Radley’s 5-star book…
‘Meaning in the Retail Madness’
How to become an Essential Retailer.
Creating a balanced organisation, flexible process flows, and a culture for change will benefit you little, unless you channel these attributes correctly into the brightest opportunities.
Every retailer will have different opportunities that will depend on the product and service sectors that they inhabit, the markets in which they operate, their level of ambition and current delivery, and their business strategy. Some opportunities will be common to all.
The first astute strategy consideration is not to focus your attentions on product functions, but to think beyond your internal divisions. Internal divisions can soon become isolated silos, and a focus on specific initiatives by silo will only increase the divisions within your business. This is not a good thing.
Deliver precise strategies for your customers. Strategies that will make you essential, indispensable and irresistible to them. The benefits of your strategy outputs should primarily be for the customer. The strategies will generally be delivered cross-functionally. They will benefit those functions and the ways they integrate their thinking, principles and processes. Everyone benefits when strategies are not retail function focused.
Do not define strategies by ‘I need to make my buying process more streamline.’ Articulate the strategy as ‘I need to make my products closer to what the customer wants!’ The project resulting from these ambitions may well will involve streamlining your buying processes and include benefits to integrated processes across related functions.
Apply your ambitions and energy to the things that really add benefit and make a difference to the customer.
Your channel strategy including collaborations, your product and service proposition, assortment plan and structure, your supply partners. Add into that your shop location strategy, your customer communities, your sustainability initiatives, the people in your business, and your ethical values as a business – environment, sustainability and governance – ESG.
I would also consider that the application of technology across every area and function should be a focus of your astute strategies. But don’t work with technology as a function. It is possibly the worst discipline to regard as a function and to isolate. But the fact is, it is so important, so pervasive to every element of retail, that it cannot always be considered just as a facilitator of other strategies. But it must always be viewed in the widest sphere of application, facilitating and bringing functions together, rather than looking at functional technological processes in isolation.
For all astute strategies, prioritise the likely benefit impact depending on your overall business strategy, and the current levels of practice and skills excellence within your business.
For a new businesses, particularly from non-retail origins, product propositions may be a big opportunity. Brands born on the crest of a wave of disruption, initially thrive through energy, and the novelty of innovation, but will quickly need to learn and incorporate some fundamentals of retail buying & selling. Conversely, the need to expand, to capitalise on new channels, collaborations and market disruptions, may well be the priority for established businesses.
Enrichment of current practices is an opportunity for all. It has the capacity to transform established processes, whilst adding commercial stability to disruptive ones. Enrichment has the potential to bring together the functional ‘nuts and bolts’ with emotional innovation and energy.
To evolve, to enrich and to expand, requires a common and coordinated approach to forming and delivering ‘astute strategies’ at every level of every retail business.
The five-year strategic plan is a bedrock of business, and retail businesses are no exception. However, the COVID pandemic with its unpredictable repercussions, illustrates how implementing even a six-month strategy can sometimes be almost impossible.
The new retail landscape shows the need to be ‘astute’ in the implementation of dynamic strategies on the three levels – evolving, enriching and expanding.
The requirement is to balance strategies that embrace change continuously, as well as those that guide short-term initiatives towards a longer-term goal.
The five-year strategy is a periodic re-appraisal and affirmation of the vision of the business. It responds to the times we live in, customer trends, technological advancements ensuring that change is always within the parameters of the vision.
The 6-month, one-year or five-year plan are all valid. What they all require are agile organisations and astute strategies that have both the stability to withstand severe external pressures, and the flexibility and dynamics, to be able to change. To change quickly to grasp quickly emerging opportunities.
Stability, flexibility and agility are essential in any era. The post-COVID era is no exception. It is an extreme.
Extract taken from Chapter 3:
How to excel in Astute Strategies
I have written this book for anyone who wants to consider the alternatives to the familiar,
misguided and destructive retail strategies that many retailers still persevere with.
Retail leaders & professionals, commercial entrepreneurs & accidental retailers, consumer brands, shop owners, managers & colleagues,
product suppliers, growers, manufacturers & craftspeople, landlords, designers, social marketers and informed customers.
It’s not all about plaudits, but it is nice when people leave kind reviews.
“Insightful read – highly recommend. Detailed read with lots of helpful illustrations, practical advice and case studies that bring the key learnings to life without being too theoretical or heavy.
Tim clearly has bags of experience in retail to share with the reader, I’ve learnt a lot about disrupting the business and being an essential retailer!.”
Sarah G.
Amazon.fr
“5.0 out of 5 stars This book is more relevant now than ever. As the title alludes to, even with 25 years of retail design experience, this book is an essential must have. A life time of experience packaged in a clear, simple and methodical way.
Many publications about this subject tend to be whimsical speculation, but founded on front-line experience this book collates relevant/current case studies and pairs them with simple action plans and guidelines.”
Jolyon N.
Amazon.com
“Expert but accessible, a book for everyone. I’d recommend everyone from buyers to shop assistants to read this book. I really liked its structure, which starts by looking at the retail environment today, then at the organisations themselves and then the strategies they undertake. It’s completely logical. There is a good depth of knowledge, but it is explained clearly and very visually so it’s interesting at any level. The illustrations and diagrams are also amazing! I now feel more informed as a shopper – thank you so much.”
Alice R.
Amazon.com
“Invaluable read and resource! This book is not just for reading though!
This is a great resource book, full of considered industry insights, and is really useful for enhancing staff training and engagement: currently doing the rounds with my colleagues at the ‘shop face’! … thoroughly recommended”
Celia L.
Amazon.com
‘Meaning in the Retail Madness’
“Wonderful Read !!” – Sarah R.
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