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Retail SMART |
The
Keys to a Second Store |
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By:
Dennis A. Conforto
Chairman & CEO of A-Z Media Group, Inc. |
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In my series of articles on the retail grind, the eighth way you know you’re out of the "Retail Grind" is when you can add a second store because your staff at your current store is highly trained and motivated.
Knowing when to open a second location is one of the most important decisions a retailer can make. Of course, the first rule of opening a second store is when the first store is profitable. Opening a second store adds a layer of complexity that is not found within a single store operation.
The single most important thing you must have in place to open a second store is a highly trained and motivated staff. Without a good staff in place to help manage the day-to-day business, the second store will not be profitable and the first store will suffer.
A multi-store company is only as good as its weakest employee. To succeed, training is a must; and creating a system to motivate and inspire the team is the key to ongoing profits. Often store bonus programs are the motivational key. Use a combination of sales and store profits to create the formula.
A trained, motivated staff will know how to properly up-sale the consumer and keep the store displayed correctly. Motivated sales staff maintain proper inventory between stores and consistent pricing for the same merchandise within the same company.
Opening the first retail store is more about merchandising and marketing excellence, while the opening the second store is more about operational excellence. In opening a second store, profitability requires that you have a Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Manual. SOP Manuals outline all the processes involved in store operations. Operations include everything from how to open the store in the morning to the procedure for closing the store at night. Other procedures
covered include:
• Money issues: bank deposits and balancing out the cash drawer.
• Inventory Issues: how to take perpetual inventory.
• New Merchandise Procedures: how to price, package and display merchandise.
When opening the second store take along the lessons you have learned from the first store. Don’t hesitate to make improvements in the stores layout and design in your quest for the perfect store. With the opening of each new store, you have more data so you can operate less on feelings and more on fact.
And opening additional stores leads to some of the greatest magic in the retail industry. It is the constant improvement that comes with each additional store that leads to what JC
Penny once said about true success: "True success only comes through the duplication of your efforts through others." In other words, when your competition starts to copy your layout, your inventory, and your training, you can be sure you’re successful.
The keys to opening a second store only come after making the first store a success and then duplicating your efforts in the second store without you having to be there. True retail success comes after you have made your own staff great. If you own a retail store today then you must see that your primary job at the end of the day is to be a master teacher. Train your staff to know everything you know, and then how you think. The keys to open a second store should only be granted because it comes on the heels of a first store that is making money as a result of not the owner but of a highly trained and motivated staff.
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