(Re)fit for nothing

As a retailer, I’ve been involved in many a refit, in many guises, over the years and of course the target is to create a better shopping experience and grow sales. But the short-term pain shows in the till and that means customers have been disappointed.

Sainbury’s refitted a store near us a while back and it was a military operation. It involved creating a massive tented shop in the car park and they did their best to minimise customer impact (lost sales) especially with arch rivals Tesco on their doorstep. It was impressive.

But it can be done sooo poorly. A grocer near where we’re currently living is refitting, but the chaos and customer impact (lost sales) is immense. Yesterday, there was no frozen offering at all and bakery, fresh produce, dried goods, housewares and various other departments greatly reduced. Meanwhile, the Heston Blumenthal (oops there’s a clue) display was intact and there was plenty of room for a full display of Halloween toot (merchandise).

Fear not, this is all to make room for a grand sushi bar (I know, big margins) and a dry aged beef counter (niche or what). Clearly Charlie Boy’s partner grocer have done their market research and have no fears that their shoppers with empty baskets will defect to the only other grocer in town, a brand spanking new Lidl, with instore bakery and mounds of sushi for 2 quid.

Every aspect of trading must be considered from the customers’ perspective, you can’t just leave a refit up to planners and engineers in Store Planning, whose preoccupation will be the project rather than any impact. The short-term sales losses must be fed, with the investment costs, into the ROI.

I consult selectively, sharing my knowledge and experience, only when approached, with companies who I believe genuinely care about engaging with their customers.

Graham Hardy Consulting

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Email: grahamreallyis@gmail.com

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