P&G: Retailers’ Friend or Foe?

Posted on December 15, 2014 by bermanevansretail
For decades, Procter & Gamble has been recognized as one of the most cooperative and supportive channel partners. It advertises widely, offers frequent coupons and other promotions, and provides in-store support.
But now, Andrew Elliot — a vice-president at WD Partners, a global shopper strategy and design company based in Columbus, Ohio — has published an article provocatively titled “Does P&G Need Retailers Anymore?”
As Elliot states:
“Procter & Gamble’s $89 million distribution center near Dayton brings jobs to the region, but as part of a supply-chain overhaul, it also represents the inevitable – and potentially dramatic – transformation of the retail landscape. The distribution center would ‘dramatically innovate the way we supply our customers,’ Global Products Supply Officer Yannis Skoufalos said when the news was announced, allowing P&G to ‘respond to customers and our consumers in a way we have never done before.’”
“That language might sound vague and coded at first blush, but it couldn’t be clearer: P&G is scaling up its direct-to-consumer capabilities. [emphasis added] The distribution center merely represents a cold, hard capital fact, the culmination of less capital-intensive strategic moves in recent years by the consumer products behemoth. Seeking to grow sales in all areas, P&G has been taking an ‘all of the above’ approach in the battle of brick-and-mortar versus point and click.”
Click the image to read more.

 

 

Posted in Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Are YOU Doing What Employers Are Looking for During the Job Search?

Posted on December 11, 2014 by bermanevansretail
Are you doing all that you can to excite potential employers?
As Tracey Parsons, CEO of CredHive (a job-credentialing firm), writes for Careerealism, there are several things that employers seek in candidates:
  • Follow instructions — “At my company, we require you to join our database. We only use our own tool to identify talent for our open positions. We don’t take resumes. We don’t believe them. But, that’s our requirement. So, when people do what we’ve asked, we are happy. We look at their work samples and try to find the best hire based on what they’ve done.”
  • Use focused communications — “When you focus your communication on solving business problems, I love you for it. I can imagine you doing the job right away, because you get it.”
  • Show that you understand the company — “This tells me three things: First, you took the time to read our site and understand our personality. Second, you understand our brand enough that the learning curve when you start isn’t steep. See, I can already see you working here when you write in our voice. And finally, it tells me that you also see alignment.”
  • Show examples — “Nothing beats examples! Examples are awesome and help you stand out. If you have a portfolio, Slideshare, CredHive, links to documents, spreadsheets, reports, project plans, ideas, and presentations from Dropbox, send them.”
  • Ask intelligent questions — “You should be curious about our company, its trajectory, my management style, and the team. You need to ask good questions to help yourself make a well-informed decision. When you ask good questions, I can tell you are curious and that you are thoughtful.”
  • Do a good job of following up— “Nothing seals the deal like a smartly crafted follow-up message. First, there’s the follow up thank you note. I have to admit as digital as I am, I do like a nice hand-written note. But, the E-mail type is also a really nice thing. The net, always send a thank you note.”
Click here to read more.

 

Posted in Career Useful Information, Careers in Retailing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Cognizant’s 2014 Shopper Experience Study

Posted on December 10, 2014 by bermanevansretail
RIS News and Cognizant have published a report on the state of the shopper experience in 2014. More than 5,300 respondents in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and China were surveyed.
As RIS News’ editorial director Joe Skorupa notes at the beginning of the report:
“The insights and recommendations highlighted in this study are intended
to help retailers focus on what is important to consumers by analyzing the likes and dislikes shoppers express with the shopping experience. The aim is to help retailers prioritize investments that range from in-store and online interactions to omnichannel integration and flexible fulfillment.”
“The overarching themes that emerge are that retailers should strive to make shopping quick and easy, offer high value products at affordable prices, and avoid mistakes that disappoint shoppers. To help retailers accomplish these goals, this report uncovers practical tips and methods retailers can deploy.”
“By finding areas where retailers are underutilizing their capabilities — such as mobile apps — or poorly delivering them — such as loyalty programs — our intent is to highlight gaps that can be closed to produce revenue growth and satisfied customers. Looked at in a proactive way, gaps are really opportunities by another name.”
Click the image to access the report.

 
Cognizant Study 2014
 

Posted in Global Retailing, Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Part 8: Putting It All Together | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment