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By John Stanley I recently worked with a Council who were developing a new library and I was asked in by the Librarians to provide some visionary direction. To maintain confidentiality, I will not name the organisation, but while working with them, it dawned on me that libraries are different to retail establishments, but not […]

A Message From Santa By Jurek Leon My first job in retail was as a professional Father Christmas for a group of retail stores�at the age of 17. On leaving school, I�d come to Australia with my parents on holiday from Scotland and decided to stay for a couple of years to work and study.

Christmas Snippets To Share With Your Team By Jurek Leon Make this year a �Ho, Ho, Ho� rather than a �Ho Hum� event. Here are a few snippets from Jurek Leon�s new e-book �The 52 Terrific Tips For Christmas Workbook� to get you started. Focus on your team Christmas can be an extremely stressful time

Trash is Now Fashionable By John Stanley It must be at least a decade ago that I started seeing recycle bins appear in garden centre car parks in New Zealand and Australia. Many retailers found that they were not the success they thought they would be and removed them from the parking lot. But, everything

Every Man His Shed By Fiona Emberton Retailers have long ignored men and their needs but this situation is fast changing. Men have been seen lurking around shops uncomfortably, often at the door or flipping through magazines. Now, successful retailers are realising that men in general have very different needs as shoppers. We recommend retailers

Garden Centre Retailing is Changing – Living Room Retailing is the Future By John Stanley Plant sales down by an estimated 15%; key consumers commenting on garden centres being boring and gardening as a hobby losing popularity with the new consumer. Is this the decline of the garden centre or a new opportunity for entrepreneurial

Target Your Business to an Age Group, Not to the World! By John Stanley As a consultant working with retailers, one of the first questions I ask a client is can they paint a picture for me of a typical customer. Some clients can be very specific, whilst others just give me a blank look,

The Ups and Downs of Horticultural Retailing By John Stanley In July 2005 I had the opportunity to work with garden centres in the U.K. and South Africa. This gave me the chance to take a snapshot of the industry in the winter and summer and at the same time. What was surprising were the

Nobody Reads Signs and Other Popular Myths By John Stanley People don’t reads signs, you heard people say it, you have had said it yourself. What is the point of putting a signage strategy in your business when nobody reads them in the first place. Let’s look at his popular myth in more detail. Firstly,

Be a Brave Heart, Now is Your Time By John Stanley I recently experienced one of those strange weeks in retailing that occasionally occur. I was working with clients in the U.K. during the infamous 7/7 week in London. The week started with celebrations and confidence as Londoners realised they had won the 2012 Olympic