Retail Bulletin is promoting the 2nd Annual Retail HR Summit which is aimed, as you might expect, at retailers but in reality it will probably not attract many SMEs - but that will not be the fault of the organisers (although it is marketed in a way that might deter many!). The lessons to be learnt at this event are fundamental even to the small employer.
The headlines are citing that it will be advantageous to differentiate your brand in the recruitment market - I have to say that that is more than possible even if you only employ a few people. They are promoting training input as an important tool for staff retention but also for adding value to the bottom line.
All too often the SME retailer falls into the trap of believing their own unfounded statements of woe and doom when it comes to training; "I can't afford for him/her to be off the shop-floor", "I can't afford to pay for any training", "They'll only leave if I train them". These perfectly understandable comments are not based on a well planned training strategy as a fundamental function within the business plan and often arise from a lack of understanding about how to capitalise on well trained and motivated staff.
My experience comes from when I devised a training programme to counter the fact that my store was based within half a mile of several major store groups, each with an effective training policy. In embracing an established programme I was able to attract funding (although there were associated costs); I was able to focus the training on the weaknesses that I had previously identifed in a simple SWOT analysis; equally I was able to build on the strengths. By ensuring that the individual needs of the staff member was also taken into consideration and that they were duly recognised for their efforts, I was able to reduce the turnover of staff, improve the performance of staff in each of the departments thus cutting costs and increasing revenues by making the sales staff better able to convert sales. The chosen route was to work towards awards that were within the National Vocational Qualifications framework, so that even though we were small, our training suited the requirements of a recognised award.
Staff were rewarded for effort, producing a far better return on the firm's investment in them and customer loyalty was noticeably improved and costs reduced. What can I say? If I can do it...
Just a small aside, depending on the size and location of the business, there are funds available to subsidise relevant training and you will be surprised how well motivated staff will commit to working in their own time. Try it, you might get the bug yourself! Contact Train to Gain and your local Business Link for more information.
Showing posts with label SME Retailers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SME Retailers. Show all posts
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Monday, 23 June 2008
Re-running the problems of the 1970s
Today the news that council workers are to strike sends shivers down my spine. I remember, all too well, the problems that beset the people and businesses during the various challenges that were put up by pressure groups and the Unions to the Government of the day in the 1970s.
One cannot help but imagine that the present Government is being seen as weakened by the economic conditions, their persistence in pursuing unpopular policies and lack of leadership when the going gets tough. If this is the perception of even a moderately sizeable section of the population, then we must all prepare ourselves for the fall-out. In the case of SME Retailers it is essential that you have contingency planning for the continuance of your business during periods of disruption of essential services.
If the Government is weak then there will be many people wishing to exploit that weakness to further their causes, for good or ill. It will be interesting to see if the messages of 'prudence' that were given to the nation by the last Chancellor of the Exchequer have actually provided the Exchequer with the wherewithall to withstand a period of internal conflict such as we saw thirty years ago with similarly weak Governments; it will be also interesting to see if there are Statesmen (or women) in the present Government that act for the common good rather than the thought of losing the next election.
One cannot help but imagine that the present Government is being seen as weakened by the economic conditions, their persistence in pursuing unpopular policies and lack of leadership when the going gets tough. If this is the perception of even a moderately sizeable section of the population, then we must all prepare ourselves for the fall-out. In the case of SME Retailers it is essential that you have contingency planning for the continuance of your business during periods of disruption of essential services.
If the Government is weak then there will be many people wishing to exploit that weakness to further their causes, for good or ill. It will be interesting to see if the messages of 'prudence' that were given to the nation by the last Chancellor of the Exchequer have actually provided the Exchequer with the wherewithall to withstand a period of internal conflict such as we saw thirty years ago with similarly weak Governments; it will be also interesting to see if there are Statesmen (or women) in the present Government that act for the common good rather than the thought of losing the next election.
Sunday, 22 June 2008
Tough times for consumers as well as retailers
Each week now we are fed more bad news about the economic conditions and tales of woe in the High Street. This week the Observer has commented on warnings issued by Lord Harris of Carpetright fame, a very experienced and successful British retailer, who sees real problems for consumers as well as retailers with rising prices affecting the entire supply chain.
The Chancellor, Alistair Darling, has told the world that Britain needs to have restraint in wage demands in order that the Government's inflation target of 2% might be reached, yet we hear that the fuel drivers have settled at 14% in their claim. The Governor of the Bank of England has stated clearly that the country is heading into a period of rising inflation and hints that the Monetary Policy Committee is likely to recommend raising interest rates to compensate for the predicted 4% inflation.
Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, is attending a summit called to discuss the high and rising global cost of oil. It is unlikely that he will be able to make much difference given the conflicting pressures and constraints that exist in the world markets and in individual producing countries, but it makes for a positive press that the PM is standing up for the country. The real problem is that these rising prices must impact upon all parts of the supply chain and will directly affect consumers with higher prices at the retail pumps, indirectly by the costs of transporting goods to the High Street shops and those associated with manufacturing those goods.
The combination of these pressures is bound to exacerbate the already toughening trading conditions; so can SME retailers be optimistic about the future? Of course they can, retailers must be optimistic above all things. The economy will move through cycles and the current cycle, though likely to be really tough, will end. The wise retailer will allow for the changing conditions in their planning and will ensure that they are entirely fixed upon the changing needs of the consumer. It might seem obvious that they will spend less - they'll be less to spend all round, but whether consumers buy fewer products, buy less often or a combination of these strategies will depend on a range of factors - too many to rehearse here, but the wise retailers mentioned before will be trying very hard to understand the buying habits of their particular customer sector and will change their own marketing habits to suit. Let us pity those larger retailers who have non-retailing shareholders that demand continuous growth and rising profit - when things are really tough, prepare the ground for future growth but be content with holding ground and retaining a reasonable profit.
The Chancellor, Alistair Darling, has told the world that Britain needs to have restraint in wage demands in order that the Government's inflation target of 2% might be reached, yet we hear that the fuel drivers have settled at 14% in their claim. The Governor of the Bank of England has stated clearly that the country is heading into a period of rising inflation and hints that the Monetary Policy Committee is likely to recommend raising interest rates to compensate for the predicted 4% inflation.
Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, is attending a summit called to discuss the high and rising global cost of oil. It is unlikely that he will be able to make much difference given the conflicting pressures and constraints that exist in the world markets and in individual producing countries, but it makes for a positive press that the PM is standing up for the country. The real problem is that these rising prices must impact upon all parts of the supply chain and will directly affect consumers with higher prices at the retail pumps, indirectly by the costs of transporting goods to the High Street shops and those associated with manufacturing those goods.
The combination of these pressures is bound to exacerbate the already toughening trading conditions; so can SME retailers be optimistic about the future? Of course they can, retailers must be optimistic above all things. The economy will move through cycles and the current cycle, though likely to be really tough, will end. The wise retailer will allow for the changing conditions in their planning and will ensure that they are entirely fixed upon the changing needs of the consumer. It might seem obvious that they will spend less - they'll be less to spend all round, but whether consumers buy fewer products, buy less often or a combination of these strategies will depend on a range of factors - too many to rehearse here, but the wise retailers mentioned before will be trying very hard to understand the buying habits of their particular customer sector and will change their own marketing habits to suit. Let us pity those larger retailers who have non-retailing shareholders that demand continuous growth and rising profit - when things are really tough, prepare the ground for future growth but be content with holding ground and retaining a reasonable profit.
Tesco under cover
The Sunday Telegraph has today published a piece about an unusual tactic being employed by Tesco in making a planning application for a store in Barnstaple in Devon.
Apparently the application was formally made in the name of a local retailer called Brian Ford, a business that they have taken over and have represented as the true identity of the applicant. My interest was piqued not simply because it begs the question as to why Tesco felt the need to conceal their identity but also because, in the Telegraph piece it suggests that, other retailers have complained that Tesco has acted in an "underhand" manner. That begs the question about whether they are more upset that Tesco stole a march on them in Barnstaple or that Tesco had thought of the wheeze first.
What I would hope is that the planning authority in Barnstaple consider the need for the town to have a new 80,000 sq ft supermarket and the potential impact that it might have on the trading environment of real local traders and the long term choice available to consumers.
Apparently the application was formally made in the name of a local retailer called Brian Ford, a business that they have taken over and have represented as the true identity of the applicant. My interest was piqued not simply because it begs the question as to why Tesco felt the need to conceal their identity but also because, in the Telegraph piece it suggests that, other retailers have complained that Tesco has acted in an "underhand" manner. That begs the question about whether they are more upset that Tesco stole a march on them in Barnstaple or that Tesco had thought of the wheeze first.
What I would hope is that the planning authority in Barnstaple consider the need for the town to have a new 80,000 sq ft supermarket and the potential impact that it might have on the trading environment of real local traders and the long term choice available to consumers.
Monday, 11 February 2008
Camden Market
It was with real regret and sadness that I saw the news on television over this last weekend about the fire at Camden market.
What really astonished me was that, other than a comment from Boris Johnson MP (a hopeful in the upcoming Mayoral campaign in London), it was difficult to find any real comment on the disaster that must have occurred to a large number of small businesses. There was plenty of coverage of the damage to the neighbouring public house - but even with that coverage it didn't really focus on the damage to the business but merely introduced the idea that minor celebrities chose to drink there on occasions.
Camden market is iconic - it is not at all glamorous, but has stuck to its own particular marketing strategy with huge success over a large number of years. It is in an area that is not especially prosperous and brings in large numbers of people from across Greater London and way beyond to sample their special brand of market trading. What self-respecting twenty-first century hippy would not shop at Camden? This is a real example of where SME retailers make a visible difference to a locale.
Let us hope that the London Borough of Camden and the Greater London Authority, ensure that the many small businesses that are affected are supported during this period of disaster and that the market is able to begin trading again in the short term.
What really astonished me was that, other than a comment from Boris Johnson MP (a hopeful in the upcoming Mayoral campaign in London), it was difficult to find any real comment on the disaster that must have occurred to a large number of small businesses. There was plenty of coverage of the damage to the neighbouring public house - but even with that coverage it didn't really focus on the damage to the business but merely introduced the idea that minor celebrities chose to drink there on occasions.
Camden market is iconic - it is not at all glamorous, but has stuck to its own particular marketing strategy with huge success over a large number of years. It is in an area that is not especially prosperous and brings in large numbers of people from across Greater London and way beyond to sample their special brand of market trading. What self-respecting twenty-first century hippy would not shop at Camden? This is a real example of where SME retailers make a visible difference to a locale.
Let us hope that the London Borough of Camden and the Greater London Authority, ensure that the many small businesses that are affected are supported during this period of disaster and that the market is able to begin trading again in the short term.
Applause for the Royal Borough
It is true that they are not the only Royal Borough, not even within Greater London, but I have to say that Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council are winning my vote with their well considered ideas and views on retailing within their Borough.
There's is a borough with some significant retail related names - there's Harrods for one, and certainly London's antique capital - the Portobello Road, and what about Notting Hill and Kensington High Street. This borough, hemmed in by the City of Westminster in the east and Hammersmith and Fulham borough in the west, has a real feel for the need for market differentiation and diversification.
I would recommend that every planning authority with one or more retail hubs within its boundaries take heed of the report published by the Retail Commission set up by the Leader of the Council, chaired by the Mayor and including such luminaries as Sir Terence Conran. It makes recommendations to government to change the planning law; it makes recommendations to local authorities (especially its own!) and also to others with a vested interest in retail centres.
The Commission reported and, this is where the applause needs to start, not only was the Council brave enough to enable the Commission, but when it reported the Council went on to support the vast majority of its recommendations. There are too many to report here, but suffice to say that they recognise the needs of SMEs, they recognise the importance of SMEs to the local economy and, they recognise the need for market differentiation, even with adjacent centres.
Well done, the Royal Borough!
There's is a borough with some significant retail related names - there's Harrods for one, and certainly London's antique capital - the Portobello Road, and what about Notting Hill and Kensington High Street. This borough, hemmed in by the City of Westminster in the east and Hammersmith and Fulham borough in the west, has a real feel for the need for market differentiation and diversification.
I would recommend that every planning authority with one or more retail hubs within its boundaries take heed of the report published by the Retail Commission set up by the Leader of the Council, chaired by the Mayor and including such luminaries as Sir Terence Conran. It makes recommendations to government to change the planning law; it makes recommendations to local authorities (especially its own!) and also to others with a vested interest in retail centres.
The Commission reported and, this is where the applause needs to start, not only was the Council brave enough to enable the Commission, but when it reported the Council went on to support the vast majority of its recommendations. There are too many to report here, but suffice to say that they recognise the needs of SMEs, they recognise the importance of SMEs to the local economy and, they recognise the need for market differentiation, even with adjacent centres.
Well done, the Royal Borough!
Wednesday, 30 January 2008
Retail Development Bill
It is good to see that Parliament is, at least, trying to address some of the issues that disadvantage smaller retail businesses. A private members bill proposed in the House of Lords by Lord Cotter entitled "Retail Development Bill" was moved on 22nd January.
It proposes a number of different measures which, to my eye, are unfortunately not aways consistent with the best interests of small retail businesses because of the potential for unintended consequences. There are, nonetheless, some good things contained within the bill and for that I applaud Lord Cotter's attempt at persuading Parliament to adopt them.
In part one the bill demands that 'relevant authorities' "must have regard to the need to support and promote the development of small retail business". Surely a statement that has to be supported, that is until the good work is watered down by "where the authority considers that such support would be in the best interests of the local community". It is a sad fact of life that given a choice local authorities will claim shortage of resources and turn to large businesses to provide an injection of investment; in so many cases this seems to have the effect of leaving small businesses dealing with a dynamic town centre that first moves away from where their investment lies and then watches as the local services are re-focused toward the new bright and large scale retail sites - leaving the SMEs in relative isolation from their traditional customer bases.
The bill does try to address this in some way by the creation of the 'Office of Retail Planning' (ORP); perhaps they would be able to ensure that the local authority was truly mindful of the needs of the local communities or their micro-economies. They would certainly be able to deal with 'land-banks' if section 9 were adopted, and the holders of the land-banks were unable to persuade the ORP that they really did intend to seek planning permission some time in the next year - no-one would think of putting forward a scheme that would never be accepted by any thinking planning committee - would they? Mind you, in defence of the bill there is a consultation clause in respect of what the bill defines as class three retailing applications which will embrace a significant area (up to five miles of the proposed development); but the smaller scale retailers opinion is likely to be subsumed within the opinion of the residential opinion, and the residential opinion is likely to be uninformed about the disbenefits to the local economy.
The attempt by this bill to distinguish between sizes of retailer, in order that the small ones are not disadvantaged by policy or other factors, is a brave one. The bill defines three classes of retailer and the class one group would be more protected - however, if the class one retailer expands, but wishes to stay where their business has developed they could be disadvantaged by the bill. It would be reasonable to argue that you cannot have it both ways, but the problem is not one of large or small retailers, rather the current problems, in my view at least, are about ownership and capital. A small business that grows to become a large business, but remains in local ownership, is of equal worth (proportionately) than its smaller neighbour to the local economy. A large business that parachutes in, where the capital flows are towards distant shareholders and institutions - even where their local manifestation is no larger than the large local business - is of significantly less value to the local economy. This bill does not acknowledge that fact, which is a shame and an oversight.
Personally I think the bill is flawed, but, and it is a big but - I believe that Lord Cotter's ideas will open debate and that is a good thing, and probably the best thing that a private members bill can hope for.
It proposes a number of different measures which, to my eye, are unfortunately not aways consistent with the best interests of small retail businesses because of the potential for unintended consequences. There are, nonetheless, some good things contained within the bill and for that I applaud Lord Cotter's attempt at persuading Parliament to adopt them.
In part one the bill demands that 'relevant authorities' "must have regard to the need to support and promote the development of small retail business". Surely a statement that has to be supported, that is until the good work is watered down by "where the authority considers that such support would be in the best interests of the local community". It is a sad fact of life that given a choice local authorities will claim shortage of resources and turn to large businesses to provide an injection of investment; in so many cases this seems to have the effect of leaving small businesses dealing with a dynamic town centre that first moves away from where their investment lies and then watches as the local services are re-focused toward the new bright and large scale retail sites - leaving the SMEs in relative isolation from their traditional customer bases.
The bill does try to address this in some way by the creation of the 'Office of Retail Planning' (ORP); perhaps they would be able to ensure that the local authority was truly mindful of the needs of the local communities or their micro-economies. They would certainly be able to deal with 'land-banks' if section 9 were adopted, and the holders of the land-banks were unable to persuade the ORP that they really did intend to seek planning permission some time in the next year - no-one would think of putting forward a scheme that would never be accepted by any thinking planning committee - would they? Mind you, in defence of the bill there is a consultation clause in respect of what the bill defines as class three retailing applications which will embrace a significant area (up to five miles of the proposed development); but the smaller scale retailers opinion is likely to be subsumed within the opinion of the residential opinion, and the residential opinion is likely to be uninformed about the disbenefits to the local economy.
The attempt by this bill to distinguish between sizes of retailer, in order that the small ones are not disadvantaged by policy or other factors, is a brave one. The bill defines three classes of retailer and the class one group would be more protected - however, if the class one retailer expands, but wishes to stay where their business has developed they could be disadvantaged by the bill. It would be reasonable to argue that you cannot have it both ways, but the problem is not one of large or small retailers, rather the current problems, in my view at least, are about ownership and capital. A small business that grows to become a large business, but remains in local ownership, is of equal worth (proportionately) than its smaller neighbour to the local economy. A large business that parachutes in, where the capital flows are towards distant shareholders and institutions - even where their local manifestation is no larger than the large local business - is of significantly less value to the local economy. This bill does not acknowledge that fact, which is a shame and an oversight.
Personally I think the bill is flawed, but, and it is a big but - I believe that Lord Cotter's ideas will open debate and that is a good thing, and probably the best thing that a private members bill can hope for.
Sunday, 27 January 2008
The alternative view
It is time that the SME Retail population of the UK was truly represented by a single effective voice to enable it to respond with a generally more considered opinion to the policy makers. At present there are a plethora of organisations and trade associations who claim to be 'the' truly representative group - but are they?
Take the British Retail Consortium, for example; they claim to be the mouth-piece of all retailers, including SMEs - but it costs around £3000 to join their ranks. Yet they are extremely influential at the highest levels - that, by the way is not a criticism, simply an observation.
There are literally dozens of other organisations, yet many concentrate on particular product sectors - the cycle trade, bakers etc; then there are the more general SME organisations, within which the particular needs and problems of SME Retailers are subsumed. All of these organisations have their individual strengths, but none can really claim to be the true representatives of SME Retailers with their interests alone to be considered.
Take the British Retail Consortium, for example; they claim to be the mouth-piece of all retailers, including SMEs - but it costs around £3000 to join their ranks. Yet they are extremely influential at the highest levels - that, by the way is not a criticism, simply an observation.
There are literally dozens of other organisations, yet many concentrate on particular product sectors - the cycle trade, bakers etc; then there are the more general SME organisations, within which the particular needs and problems of SME Retailers are subsumed. All of these organisations have their individual strengths, but none can really claim to be the true representatives of SME Retailers with their interests alone to be considered.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
