John’s Blog

Pinterest may have only appeared in 2010, but it is one of the most valuable tools for retailers. It reached over 45 million consumers in the month of July (2013) in the USA alone. A report in USA Today on 22 August 2013 by Jefferson Graham showed that it is being taken up rapidly by retailers at the big end of town, but has slower uptake with small retailers…it is

Jason is a subscriber to this newsletter and the Qantas magazine had this new book as a must read in their in-flight magazine in August. This is an excellent book and one I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Many of us are focused on the retail aspects of our business and we miss the importance of sourcing product. As Jason mentions one of the formula for success is getting the sourcing right.

This is the topic of one of my presentations at present. Think about what is usual and what is unusual. In the last few weeks we have had a major social media driven business buy the Washington Post…who saw that coming? Plus the launch of AmazonFresh, a same day delivery service launch on the west coast of America. The changes are coming fast and furious and one reason we all

While I was on Vancouver island I came across this sign at a man’s hairdresser. Take a close look at it, it is really targeting the consumer and putting a smile on their faces.

All the time I have worked in the USA it has been clear that American’s love their lawns and a green lawn around the house is a status symbol. Until climate change I would have said the lawn was here to stay. But, now consumers are changing their thinking patterns. America is facing extreme weather conditions on a more regular basis and that includes drought. Scarce water means less water

Many of you will be aware that one of my new presentations is entitled Ghost town, Clone town, Home town. This presentation looks at what retailers in communities need to do to make sure their town is unique retail experience. On my tour of Vancouver Island, Peter Kenyon told me I must got to Chemainus. What he did not tell me was what experience I would have. This is one

Retailing is changing and community based retailing with the right vision is a growth area. Being local in business means being part of, and engaged with, the community. But, the challenge is does your local consumers know you are local and what is your strategy to develop local community engagement. I am often told by local retailers “Everyone knows I am local”. This comment was said to me by a

In July we had a marketing opportunity we had all known about for nine months. The birth of Prince George. But, how many retailers took advantage of this? On the day of the birth, Sam, an apprentice at River’s Lifestyle Centre in Melbourne built a power display to celebrate the birth. He used product that was attractive, but not selling. The plan was the display would be in set up

Research carried out by Quindco.com and reported in the International Express in early July shows that when men go shopping with their female partners it takes the average man 26 minutes before they get irritable. The real breaking points are they are getting hungry, they are missing a TV sports program or they are dragged back into a shop they have already been into. This has a major affect on

This is probably the most common word that retailer is likely to hear from consumers. Why do customers say “Just looking” and what can we do about it? I believe that “Just looking” consumers split into three groups Group one – looking so they can buy online Group two – responding to sales staff who have not read the situation Group three – browse shoppers The challenge is what can

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“Imagine in two years time, you will walk into a retailer and there is an interactive wall. Instead of getting products off the hanger, you can see how different things might look on you. Then you send it to the dressing room or home or add to your wish list.” Deborah Sharkey, E-Bay in Australian Business Magazine, 16 June 2013. Times are changing at a rapid speed, this is already

Gary Wilburn: Director of Design and Sustainability. Adopting a sustainable, resilient approach to Retail Design is becoming ever more attractive to the operator, developer and landlord. With energy costs rising and environmental awareness ever more prominent in the consumer’s daily routine, we need to consider how adopting a sustainable approach can be of benefit to your business as well as the planet. Whether the economy is strong or challenging, differentiating

Many of you will be aware that I believe this is the next big retail initiative, it will combine retailing and tourism. At present I am writing a book on Culinary Tourism which I hope to get published next year. In the meantime I am noticing a number of initiatives taking place. I was impressed with the Strawberry week promotion that took place in Ireland in June, but, amazed that

While I was at the Newsagent Conference in the UK where I was the keynote speaker I was fascinated by some research presented by John Kenny of the Today Group. The questions asked of retailers were: What do shoppers do when they are unable to find a product?” Retailers response – 55% come and ask, actual action – 1% of customers did “How much sales are lost do to not

Over the last few months I have been promoting Culinary Tourism as one of the big trends. I recently spoke at the FACET (Forum Advocating Cultural and Ecotourism) Culinary Journeys Conference in Manjimup in Western Australia and was interviewed by the ABC National Radio along with Barry Green (Boronia Farm) about Culinary Tourism for the morning rural report in the South West and Great Southern. To listen to the interviews

It has been a busy few weeks for me, I actually visited 8 countries in five weeks, hence I was not sure what day or time of day it was. I managed to be in Wales for the most perfect weeks weather. I led a New Vision workshop for retail farmers from the UK and Ireland. This was a great success and if you click below you can see a

What has John been up to this month? He was the keynote speaker at the UK newsagents conference, Local Shop Summit which was held in Torquay on the 11th of June. The theme was “Get Local Right”. [The Local Shop Summit is an Independent-only conference that provides actionable advice from leading suppliers as well as inspirational seminars, video case studies of fantastic retailers and countless opportunities to network.] Watch the

As a retailer you need to know how your customer service stacks up and you want to know straight away. With the arrival of the internet and social media, often, the local community knows before you do. I was therefore intrigued to see a new Phone App be developed in West Australia. Take5Refresh is a Phone App the retailer pays for and then offers free to their customers. It has

On my journey North I stopped over in Dubai and stayed with Danny Powell who is a client and the manager of Dubai Garden Centre. In my conference presentations I have been promoting the fact that in today’s world garden centres need to excel at plants and gardening, but also need extra categories. Dubai Garden Centre excels at this and is one of the most vibrant garden centres around at

Last year at the Irish conference I mentioned a Facebook promotion that garden centres had developed in Australia. The Irish industry took this idea on board and this spring launched a campaign “Spread a Little Happiness”. They distributed plants in the community and customers had to give the plant a girls name and register them on Facebook with a local independent garden centre. The industry got radio coverage and 6362

In conference presentations I talk about the fact that in the next five years we will see the biggest changes in our lifetime. Remember 2002? Basically only ten years ago…look at what has changed in internet use, and how it affects our marketing. in 2002 we had 9.1% of the global population using the internet…now 33% in 2002 it took 16 secounds to load a page…its now 5 seconds in

The Irish Retail Excellence conference was excellent and it was great to meet old and new friends. The retailer who is leading the way in Ireland is, in my opinion, Easons. Connor Whelan and the team are doing a great job. Check their store out on Google pictures. I was intrigued with some merchandising ideas. Wine sales increased by 20% when displayed by price points rather than any other system.

Channel 7 is one of the major TV stations in Australia. During the week of 8th April I presented a session on the Garden Guru’s show on retailing and marketing of strawberries. It caused quite a reaction. It’s interesting – how you have to present yourself in the media. I said “Many researchers believe that organically grown strawberries taste better than those grown by traditional methods.” I thought I was

I have discovered two books that could be of help to you in business. One is focused on the farm market industry and the other on the garden industry and both are from Ontario in Canada Pot It Up By Frankie Flowers {yes, that is his real name} The garden industry today is about providing solutions for the consumer, not selling “stuff”. Frankie, a retailer and grower based in Ontario,