and the retailer is stepping up to the plate...
While attneding last weeks ALEx conference (Annual Leaders ExChange put on by RILA, Retail Industry Leadership Association) i got to see the glimmer of a new face for retail. Now THAT sounds DEEP doesn't it?
We began the event as usual with a CEO roundtable complete with interactive devices for audience participation. (This is a very cool thing
to add to any meeting, btw, as it actually gives the audience feedback from every member in the room on the given topic pr polling question.) This audience was asked what their #1 concern this year has been. The amazing response was overwhelmingly Health Care!!!
Yes, retailers have turned the corner and are now viewing their organizations as major corporations that need to attract and retain excellent people. As was pointed out in yet another round table conversation, the 7% overall gain we have seen in retail this year; dispite gas prices, credit card rate increases, the housing market decline, and yes, war; has been largely due to a strong, visionary, tech savvy management team who values good people and respects their customers! WOW, i said!!! Retail has come of age.
It has not been enough that retail and the extended retail industry (that includes consumer goods and distribution) has provided bizzillions of jobs to bizzillions of people (don't quote me on those numbers
Retail is finally recognizing and demanding recognition from others that our industry is not just about the minimum wage employees who execute the plan, it is about the talent in the organization that creates the vision and can build a plan for minumum wage employees to execute successfully. One of our panelist made a comment i really liked when he said that successful people in our industry must be able to speak in the 18 dialects of the customer. Now that takes talent!
Retailers have to get it right these days or they will not make it. The game is hard and fast. The real players will be embracing technology from the top down, they will be looking for the kind of talent they have never looked for before, they are stepping up to the plate to look beyond just merchandising. and of course, they must develop a brand that connects to the customer's lifestyle. So of course we have come all the way back to my favorite topic, ME! It is all about ME, the shopper next door. I think we may be getting surprisingly
close to adopting my ME Factor approach! What do you think????
Sincerely;
The Shopper Next Door
We began the event as usual with a CEO roundtable complete with interactive devices for audience participation. (This is a very cool thing
to add to any meeting, btw, as it actually gives the audience feedback from every member in the room on the given topic pr polling question.) This audience was asked what their #1 concern this year has been. The amazing response was overwhelmingly Health Care!!! Yes, retailers have turned the corner and are now viewing their organizations as major corporations that need to attract and retain excellent people. As was pointed out in yet another round table conversation, the 7% overall gain we have seen in retail this year; dispite gas prices, credit card rate increases, the housing market decline, and yes, war; has been largely due to a strong, visionary, tech savvy management team who values good people and respects their customers! WOW, i said!!! Retail has come of age.
It has not been enough that retail and the extended retail industry (that includes consumer goods and distribution) has provided bizzillions of jobs to bizzillions of people (don't quote me on those numbers
Retail is finally recognizing and demanding recognition from others that our industry is not just about the minimum wage employees who execute the plan, it is about the talent in the organization that creates the vision and can build a plan for minumum wage employees to execute successfully. One of our panelist made a comment i really liked when he said that successful people in our industry must be able to speak in the 18 dialects of the customer. Now that takes talent! Retailers have to get it right these days or they will not make it. The game is hard and fast. The real players will be embracing technology from the top down, they will be looking for the kind of talent they have never looked for before, they are stepping up to the plate to look beyond just merchandising. and of course, they must develop a brand that connects to the customer's lifestyle. So of course we have come all the way back to my favorite topic, ME! It is all about ME, the shopper next door. I think we may be getting surprisingly
close to adopting my ME Factor approach! What do you think????Sincerely;
The Shopper Next Door
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