And then it hit me - BANG! ...the ever changing Retail Landscape

I found myself in a guitar shop this week (my one weakness), and got talking to the owner. I let it slip that I had just bought a lead and strings online. Naturally he was disappointed I didn't buy from him. The usual discussion followed, you know ...how you'd prefer to buy in a shop, but the prices...

I said that that was the new reality and he needs to create other ways of adding value and making revenue, and then it hit me BANG! I've been there before, 25 years a go. I was a manager of an independent camera shop, before the internet was a twinkle in Tim Berners-Lee's eyes. We found we could not compete on price with mail-order camera shops, because they bought their goods as 'grey imports'. i.e. circumnavigating the official distributor by buying where the pound was strong. So a £125 camera was sold at cost price in order to compete, yet our way round that was to use our greatest asset ...our physical presence. Our caring, advisory and patient stance meant that few walked away without buying a case, filters, film, flash gun, batteries and so on. These supplementary products came with at least a 50% mark-up, so we were able to make a handsome return on what the customer was going to have to buy anyway.

There's no doubt that the retail landscape is changing because of the rise of e-commerce. But it always has been changing and we shouldn't feel bad about it. Remember the days when you went in to an insurance broker's shop to buy insurance? Customers vote with their money and it's up to the commercial world to adapt and change accordingly. There will always be demand and supply, and all that is required is finding that mutual win-win space.

Praising the enemy

In the news this week is footballer, Dave Kitson, who is effusing about the sheer skill of the Arsenal players and the team now playing in the English Premier league. Nothing unusual in that, but Kitson is a striker for Reading FC as well a life-long Tottenham fan. The thing is, that dropping prejudices in favour of identifying competitor’s qualities, is a healthy thing.

I once worked for a company that supplied direct marketing services to a well known luxury car brand. How refreshing it was to attend a new launch briefing session at UK HQ, where product managers would compare their new car with the competition. Not only would it be good analytical stuff, but they would be critical of their own model’s weaknesses and praising of the competition if they had anything that was better. Such objectivity can only help one learn and improve I know that might sound obvious, but try looking at a competitive entity and see how many good things that you admire and can list. It might surprise you!