Last week I was honoured to be invited by a fashion retailer to the launch of its new Winter 2014 range. I was the only outsider and I was fascinated to find out what makes this retailer so successful. The launch was to the stores, mainly company owned, but with some owner operated stores which purchase wholesale. This is a substantial family owned company with hundreds of outlets worldwide – both southern and northern hemispheres. The product range is aimed at the higher end of the mar
ket.
Humility
Despite the success of the company, the owners are humble. There are no airs and graces. What you see is what you get. They lead comfortable lives but there is no flash. This breeds a feeling of egalitarianism and equality and one can sense the ease with which everyone relates to management.
Mucking in
The executives get into the thick of things, sleeves rolled up and participating in the processes of the business. The ivory tower simply does not exist in this organisation.
Part of the family
The above contributes to the feeling of camaraderie. Everyone feels that they are part of the family. There are no elite condescending fat cats sitting in their air conditioned offices dictating from on high.
Hospitality
The attendees were treated to an enjoyable meal – not caviar – but extremely good nosh. The executives naturally sat among the attendees.
Fun
The models were members of staff and walked the catwalk as if they were professionalss, pirouetting, moon walking, and corkscrewing to the delight of their friends. Nevertheless intense attention was paid to the product.
Listen and act
After the show the range was divided into categories and an executive sat at each category. The attendees circulated and provided their input on the products. Careful notes were taken, but this was not lip service. The company actually acts on the input of the people at the pit face. Another contributor to the last point.
Passion
In all my years in retail, I have never seen passion as it was displayed at this launch. All attendees wanted to be there and they participated to the full. One could see that they ate, drank, and slept the products. This wasn’t about rewards to get people motivated, it was pure unequivocal raw passion.
Wouldn’t we all kill for a culture like this? Easier said than done, I guess. It took more than 60 years and many generations to develop. But if you don’t start now, you’ll never get there.
Stuart Bennie is a retail consultant at Impact Retailing www.impactretailing.com.au and can be contacted at stuart@impactretailing.com.au or 0414 631 702
