MAXIMISING NEW STORE OPENINGSNigel Peckham

I have opened over 200 new stores around the World. My first opening was as a 21 year old store manager for a luxury fashion and textile group in Southern Africa where we struggled with

contractor issues, border closures and importation problems not to mention language. Then as area manager in the UK for a chain of newsagents and convenience stores where we operated with head office support and shop

fitters and ran a very slow but effective opening and refurbishment program. I moved on to run a franchise in the convenience sector and opened over 40 stores, some brown field sites, other already trading as

independent stores. I managed the shop fits directly with shop fitters, suppliers and marketing. I then progressed to Operations Manager for the J Sainsbury’s Locals and opened stores for them all across London and the Home counties.

Here we were handed a turn key operation by the shop fitters and FM team, with my role focusing on the product merchandising, staff recruitment and operational standards.

I was then headhunted into Poundland as Operations Director and later onto 99p stores as Managing Director where we opened over 100 stores in a very short time period during the worst trading period in living memory. Here we had to deal with Private equity partners and present pre acquisition reports, budgets and timelines for approval.

I have spent the last 5 years operating as an Independent consultant advising International retail groups from The Arabian Gulf , South Africa and across Europe on ways to improve their operational efficiencies.

I have experienced store builds and openings that ran like clockwork, but carry the scars from many that didn’t. The advice in this note is gained over many years and from experience across many continents and store types. I have operated in top level corporations and family run entrepreneurial businesses, all had their good and bad points when it came to store openings. Store sizes have varied from 300sq m to over 10,000sq m with fit out budgets running into tens of millions of pounds.

So I have the T-shirt and have seen most things that can happen in a fit out and at an opening. This presentation is to promote my business and to act as a guide to my peers and those that follow.

I hope it proves useful.

Nigel PeckhamRetail Operations Specialist.

Start as you mean to finish... It is vital to have a detailed strategic plan for new store acquisitions

and to have stringent protocols in place to manage variations.The plan must include store location criteria, target adjacencies,

minimum and maximum footprint requirements, warehousing capacities, delivery access, customer entrances and shop windows.

Utilising location planning software is dependent on the store format and brand. It is not possible to rely solely on software to locate stores due to the wildly varying factors in any given location.

New brands and emerging markets need even greater focus on location planning due to the greater demands of brand building.

No store location is perfect!In order to meet a challenging store roll out plan it is

essential to know what is acceptable and what isn’t.A site visit report sheet must be drawn up and used

by all parties visiting potential sites.The visit report sheet will evolve as lessons are

learned.The ratio of visit reports to acquired sites shows how

accurately your team and strategy are aligned.Post opening reviews are vital to improve future

performance.

You’ve find a site, now what?Pre opening checklists are required for all aspects of

the store fit out and pre-opening phases.Dedicated resource must be made available for on-

site management and progress reporting.Central control of all new store activity is vital to

ensure management are aware of progress.Quality control and on-site decisions must be the

responsibility of someone authorised to act.The FM team must provide management with

forecasts for key delivery dates on the store.

Budgeting costs and salesSales forecasts must be made based on similar

stores in the group or a reasonable estimate against any known competitors in the local area. Sometimes it is just a best guess; +/- 50% is not unheard of !

Fit out costs cannot be a guess, they have to be detailed and known ahead of sign off on the project.

Change will happen. Variances must be noted and reviewed post opening for future reference.

Post opening reviews at set intervals are vital to improve budgeting accuracy for future stores.

People -most important.A great store manager has more effect than any

other single aspect of a new store opening.Try to use existing managers for all new stores.Avoid opening stores at peak seasonal times.Training is key to ensuring a great opening.Plan experienced staff to support the new store for

both pre and post opening periods.Ensure payroll has all new staff details and full

record of hours worked before the payroll is run.

Set the standards.All new staff must meet the company standards with

regard to education, appearance and attitude.Do not be afraid to remove any staff with poor

attitude early. Bad apples and all that!Ensure all existing staff supporting the opening are

ambassadors for the business.Show staff how to display stock, how to replenish

fast sellers and what to do if something goes wrong.Encourage questions and suggestions no matter

how trivial or mundane they may seem to you.

Lots of new faces.Make sure all contractors and visitors know who is in

charge of the site.Staff must know who the “manager” of the store is

on any given day. A picture and a name go a long way!

All visitors prior to opening must sign in/out.Advise staff of any head office visitors again with a

picture/name if at all possible.Operate a secure store prior to opening, ensure

everyone is challenged to produce ID. A slack store prior to opening will most likely remain so afterwards.

Issues and changes to plansThings will go wrong. Changes will be needed.The unexpected will occur.It is how you deal with them that matters. Resolve

what you can on-site. Notify others about the rest.DO NOT HIDE BIG ISSUES – TIME IS SHORT.Log issues and detail actions taken.Keep focused on what you can effect. If it “rains”

deal with it as best you can and move forwards!

Fit out.The PM must resolve all issues and ensure delivery

of the store to the retail team on time.Variations on cost and quality can be reviewed later.The store layout and equipment must be detailed on

a CAD plan at completion for use at head office.A full inventory of equipment should be produced.Snagging and outstanding works must be detailed

by the FM team on the handover date.All contractors should be off site pre merchandising.

MerchandisingA detailed store plan showing departments and

sections for merchandise layout is vital.An experienced team of staff and managers should

be used to layout the stock on the shopfloor.New staff should have time working in another store

replenishing stock prior to their store openThere must be sufficient time to merchandise and to

order any missing lines and back up stock.Any opening promotional material must be available

for staff to check off for availability of all lines.

First impressions count!New stores are usually supported by a raft of special

offers to attract new customers to your opening.The greater the incentive; the greater the reaction,

leading to greater pressure on your team to deliver!It is vital that marketing and buying are on the same

page when it comes to opening offers.Do not over promise and under-deliver!Customer goodwill and loyalty are key to the

success of a new store.

First day fever!The marketing worked.The store was ready.The customers came.

How to maximise an openingGood opening Great opening(in addition)Fit out completeOpened on timeFull of stockEnough staffPromotions all availableManagers in placeSenior management happyPromotional media all activeLots of customers arrive

Staff are trained and excitedManagers are fresh not

exhaustedBack up stocks ready to

replenish the opening offersStore is able to change the

digital media as requiredPoS is ready to replace sell

outs and avoid empty displays

Opening day checklistAre the tills active and all scanning? Test each one.Have all the staff arrived?Does everyone know what they have to do today?Are any back up staff on hand?Managers should have sections to look after.Back areas are vital for staff replenishing stock,

taking breaks and dealing with cashing up etc.Pre builds of promotional replenishment lines may

be required depending on opening discounts

Pre-opening marketingThis needs to be right for your brand; for the location

and appropriate for your customers.The stronger the brand, the greater the impact on

the area and the greater the customer response.The level of discount on offer for any opening

specials raises the rate of sale on those lines and thereby the need to ensure availability of those lines.

All too often opening specials sell out in a short space of time but the local marketing media continues to promote those lines for days afterwards.

Everyone loves a bargain!

Prepare back up stocks of the best offers on any advertising.Task staff as replenishers of ends and dump stacks etc.Ensure managers are mobile within the shop floor scanning for issues throughout the day.Avoid the “Royal” tour of head office visitors on opening day distracting managers.Ensure zonal control of staff in large stores to maintain high presentation standards.

Can you have too many customers?

•In a word YES.•Control of excessive numbers of customers is key to a good opening.•Prepare for every eventuality in advance.•Print ticketing in case of needing to control access at the front doors.•Provide free sweets and drinks if needed to your customers while they queue.

Dealing with unhappy customers at an opening.Allocate a patient member of staff to deal with

unhappy customers, more if required.Give them authority to act on given issues.Have discount vouchers to give as an apology.Station a senior manager at a given location as a

“go to” solution for serious issues.Resolve the underlying issue if at all possible to

avoid creating more unhappy shoppers.Learn lessons for the future from your customers!

The biggest mistakes.Not planning properly.Poor communication between site and head office.People hiding issues.A lack of training time for new staff.Store managers being over worked.Head office staff getting in the way at an opening.Insufficient stock of the main promotions.Inflexible marketing programs.Lack of reviews of issues after an opening.

Contact Please fee free to contact me if you need help with

improving your store opening program or post opening performance for new stores.

I have a number of associates and between us we can offer a wide range of consulting and operational support to retailers.

Mobile: +44 (0) 78899 64548Email: nigelpeckham@virginmedia.com