design:retail - June 2014 - (Page 38)

searching for steve jobs 038 Creating Delight ROBERT HOCKING RETALE MATTERS robert@retalematters.com @rhockinguk T WENTY YEARS AGO, I listened to Canada's retail leader share how he'd gone from bankruptcy to owning a store of renown and proﬁtability on the basis of applying common sense to the customer experience. I had reason to think of him recently on a retail tour of three of the United Kingdom's biggest ﬂagship department stores. At one, experience reigned supreme; at the other two, disinterested staﬀ and poor visual merchandising resulted in zero emotional connection. What a difference an experience makes. Visiting these stores inspired me to track down that same Canadian retail pro, Donald Cooper, to understand his thoughts about the retail experience and how he created his store, Alive & Well. Cooper was born into a family whose legend was linked to a sports equipment brand that at one time employed 3,000 people. Coming from the supply side of the business, he had a unique point of view. "Because I was a manufacturer, I'd been listening to retailers complain for 20 years about...everything," Cooper says. "Success was due to their brilliance; failure was beyond their control. I started formulating what a great retail experience would be like. I could think of tons of reasons not to do things, but always one reason to do it: it will blow people away and our competitors won't have the creativity and courage to copy me." When he won retailer of the year, Alive & Well was not only proﬁtable with sales per sq. ft. almost three JUNE 2014 DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM "People didn't make the eﬀort because of what we sold, they made the eﬀort because of how we sold it." DONALD COOPER times the national average, but it also became famous. He says the difference was his relentless drive to create extraordinary customer value and delight in the experience. "Most businesses lack this kind of clarity, but it all starts with commitment," Cooper notes. "Commitment is diﬀerent than 'goals;' goals can be missed, commitments are 'soul'-based." While times have moved on, the essence of his strategy remains sound. He created a pirate ship play area in the center of his store because "women can't put on clothes with kids screaming to go home, and it [was] my problem to solve the customer's issue," he explains. He found that women often came to the store with husbands in tow, a species less than enamored with shopping. Thus, he created a "man zone" featuring massage chairs and TVs to keep them distracted. He allowed shoppers to take an unlimited number of items into the change room, explaining that they'd take in 27 pieces and buy 23 of them. His view is that brands are always prattling on about trust, "but what says, 'I don't trust you' more than a sign that says 'maximum three items in the change room'?" he points out. When he introduced free diapers in the washrooms, competitors said, "You're nuts, people will steal them." But, Cooper feels retailers should expand their hearts and minds. "Many retailers today believe that if you give the customer an inch, they'll take a mile," he says. "My view is that if you give them a mile, they won't take anything." When Photo courtesy of THINKSTOCK/ISTOCK/VALLENTIN VASSILEFF http://www.DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of design:retail - June 2014

design:retail - June 2014
Contents
Editor’s Note
Show Talk
On Trend
Inspirations
We Love This!
We Love This!
Designer Picks
Innovation
Postcard
Have You Heard?
Mingle
The Visual Eye
Searching for Steve Jobs
Araldi1930
The Creative Factor
Meny
adidas
Products
Backstory

design:retail - June 2014