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We work with corporations large
and small to build their store best operational practices and
increase their profitability. Our programs are entirely customized
to meet the specific requirements of our clients. Ultimately,
clients own, operate and can adjust these initiatives, projects and
plans to meet ongoing challenges and opportunities.
Our most popular programs
are:
Store Operations Review Program
Objective:
Help small to mid-sized retailers in their day-to-day store merchandising and operations
Provide valuable outside, confidential, practical and realistic advice on how to increase sales and profits
Provide the knowledge and tools that will allow them to go from small to "big stores" results in the first six months
Methodology:
- A background document is sent in advance to gather facts on the client’s store and their operation. It is about
12 pages long and generally takes about an hour or two for the retailer to complete and then it is sent back to
us prior to the first visit. This saves time, as we
come prepared (although we talk about one store, this review can be done on multiple stores, as well)
Download
the forms
- The first visit is generally a full day and in this visit we review the background document and identifies the areas that the store needs advice and direction on. This visit also includes a store "walk around" with many issues addressed right then and there. At the end of the visit, a preliminary "to do" list is given to the store. This list contains at least twenty items for immediate attention by the store.
- Within ten days a written report is sent to the store owner/manager. It documents the to do list with:
- Immediate action on low cost, high payback solutions
- Secondary actions to be completed once the first steps are completed
- About 6-8 weeks later a second visit is made to see what has been done, what problems have cropped up and what extra advice and ideas are needed. There is a brief report after this visit. This visit often encourages the owner/manager to
complete all the to-dos in the first visit as they know we are coming back!
- A final visit is made about two months after the second visit. This final visit is intended to fine tune all the recommendations, prepare a mid to long term plan to keep everything on track and to give the store a written game plan for the future
- Throughout the entire program and for up to six months following, advice is available via e-mail and phone whenever required by the store manager/owner.
Our Store Operations Review Consulting Services include:
- Store operations review documentation
- Background document
- To do list
- Reports addressing issues such as:
- Viability of the store concept
- Target market
- Profit and loss statement
- Merchandise assortment, buying and inventory control
- Sourcing and supply chain recommendations
- Visual presentation, layout, display in the store
- Staffing and sales promotions
- Use of technology and systems
- Other key issues that the retailer would like to review
- Mid-to-long term plan
- Follow-up via e-mail/telephone/fax
- Store visits to review operations and ensure correct implementation of plan
Sample Clients:
- Poster Plus
- Potomac ABC
- Urban Mode
- Moody Bible Store
- Hermes
Retail Study Tour Program
Objective:
-
To expose the participants
to the latest trends in store layout, design, customer service
and merchandise presentation used by retailers that are the
leaders in both their industry segment and outside it
-
To provide them with
insights into current and future consumer trends
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To challenge them to extract
ideas that they can use in their own retail operations that will
lead to higher sales by making their stores easier and/or more
exciting to shop
-
To develop a critical view
of what works and does not work in a retail environment and why
-
(When done for international
groups) to give participants a competitive advantage by using
concepts that are ahead of the competition in their countries
Methodology:
-
Participants are divided
into teams and given an overview of the stores that they will be
visiting, including operating results and corporate strategies.
They are provided Store Observation Sheets (click
here for a copy of the form in PDF format) to guide them in
their appraisal of each store
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They look at high street
stores, neighborhood stores, mall stores and superstores which
gives them a good mix of different formats and customer types.
As well, they see a mix of discount, low price, moderate and
high price shops
-
A review is given of each
presentation to evaluate completeness and practicality of the
suggestions
Our
Retail Study Tour Program Consulting Services include:
-
Tour Planning
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Travel Coordination and
Reservations
-
Comprehensive Package for
each attendee inclusive of details on the city toured, consumers
and retail trends overview, statistics, operating results and
corporate strategies on key retailers to be visited, evaluation
sheets, and more
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Introducing the Tour and the
Assignment
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Conducting the Tour
Sample Clients:
To learn more about Dionco Inc. Store
Operations Review & Retail Study Tour consulting experience please check Projects.
Check also Jim’s book "How to Start and Run a Retail Business"
and Keynote Speeches, Seminars
and Workshops
on this
topic.
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