Woolworths launches pick n’ mix on line today

Woolworth's Pick n' Mix

Shop Direct Group launches the new Woolworths website today complete with a very cute Pick n’ Mix selector. Whether pick n’ mix on the internet will really take off remains to be seen. You have to choose 99p’s worth of each option and it costs £1.50 to deliver orders of under £5 and £3.50 for orders of over £5. Also where’s the instant, mouthwatering gratification… but you couldn’t have Woolies without Pick n’ Mix!

The other categories for sale are a main shop with kid’s clothes, toys and technology, an entertainment shop with DVDs, Games and Books and a party shop (self explanatory).

Interesting to see how this brand fares on line. Woolies has left a gap on the high street but does the online offer fill this gap?

Store Communications – Learn from the best

While not necessarily the best at store communications, mobile phone retailers certainly have a lot of communicating to do! There is lots more communicating required with complex phone features and tariffs than there is with loaves of bread so I was really interested to read about Carphone Warehouse’s approach. Carphone is also currently changing its customer approach to be much more service oriented and less overtly sales led to fall in line with the Best Buy philosophy, and of course to improve customer service – even more communicating required.

So, in summary, here’s how they do it. General communication goes through a company intranet CPWtouch, a new platform for operating procedures called How2 is launching and there is already a task management system call Customer First Companion. There is also a weekly update on the company called Chalk Talk. These systems are used in combination for maximum effect. Carphone Warehouse is also using external help to measure service scores for each store.

Of course the Carphone Warehouse is a large retailer selling an exceptionally complex product so they need sophisticated and comprehensive communication systems. It is all about horses for courses. You need the level which is right for your business.

Store Communications – what level are you at?

There are probably four levels of communication systems:

1. Phone, fax and post – Can be friendly and its slowness means that stores are not overwhelmed with tasks and information but is slow, expensive and reduces business agility.
2. Email only – Vast improvement in speed of communication but is uncontrollable. Tasks and information for stores proliferate at an alarming rate and it is hard to see who has done what.
3. Email with an information only intranet – As per email but with the added advantage of ensuring that everyone can findto up to date information.
4. Full store communication system – Systems which manage tasks in stores, collate feedback and ensure access to the right information. Our store communication system RAPID  falls into this category.

There is a general trend over time for retailers to be moving up these levels. The speed of movement depends on the size of the retailer, the level of central control exerted by head office, the propensity towards the use of systems and the complexity of the product sold.

Which approach is right for your business at the moment?

Is the recession just what your business needed?

One of the themes from number of speakers at the Future Focus was exactly that question and I thought that this was exactly the right time to stop and take stock. If you take the start of the recession from the collapse of the Lehman Brothers in September 2008, we are 9 months in now, time enough to review the success of strategies.

This is relevant to retailers, retail technology suppliers and consultants alike. In fact any business.

What are you doing differently? Is it working? Are you doing enough differently? What were doing before the recession which you look back on now as crass extravagance (you can rest assured that many consumers are doing this one!)? How can you make sure that when things pick up, you don’t become complacent again? Have you changed so much for the better that, the challenges of the recession have been valuable lessons which will stand you in good stead for the future?

Can the owners of gift cards get their money if a retailer goes into administration?

Three things have happened together in the last couple of days:

Retail Week ran an article about the problems faced by customers who have Principles giftcards

I read an article based on some research by Zebra Technologies saying that money sitting on gift cards totals £30m in the UK

I was contacted in error by someone who has £60 worth of Bay Trading gift cards and has been told that she cannot spend them in store.

Are consumers who are holding gift cards and vouchers really at risk of losing the value of them if the retailer goes into administration? Presumably they can put in a claim to the administrator like any other creditor? Is it right that the administrator can continue to trade to gain the most value from the stock in the business but refuse to accept gift cards? Is there a government body who will guarantee the money?

Whatever the case, it seems like a good idea if we get out and spend that £30m quick!

What does the Retail Operations team really need from a system?

Well, as the authors of the RAPID store communication system, we at Retail Answers like to think that we have a pretty good idea of the answers to that question. We work with customers such as Thomas Pink, Moss Bros and Borders to make sure that we keep RAPID up to date and address the issues our clients face.

Retailers with physical shops are facing major challenges with tough trading conditions, rising business rates and stiff competition from online retail. The Retail Operations team is in the front line of this, yet frequently is the least equipped department in terms of systems, often making do with email or even in some cases phones and faxes.

So just to make sure that RAPID is rising to these challenges, we are hosting a RAPID consultants day tomorrow and have invited the leading consultants in the area of retail operations to get their feedback on RAPID. We are very excited to share what we are doing with RAPID and gather new ideas and have a productive discussion around this big question.

What do you think of the new Retail Week?

The new format Retail Week has had a couple of weeks now. It certainly fits in your bag more easily. I like the opinion pieces in the centre section of the publication but what has happened to the technology page? There is still an indepth technology article but there is no specific technology news page.

I suppose we will just have to rely on Retail Technology, Retail Systems and Retail Speak… and this blog of course.

Has The Hut been reading my blog?

No sooner do I highlight what a great brand-building job Zavvi’s high street presence did but The Hut (who now owns the online Zavvi) announces that it is going to launch on the high street. Currently The Hut is pure play e-commerce operating its own site alongside white label sites for people like ASDA. The plan is to open banks of unmanned touchscreens with chip & pin machines in shopping centres. The aim being to build The Hut’s brand.

Kiosk vendors should take note…

The Retail Week Blog

I have just found the Retail Week Blog by Tim Danahar known as the Retail Day. Not strictly about retail technology though. Really think I should have found it sooner but it was only started on Dec 3rd. Glad to see this blog pre-dates a proper magazine like Retail Week!

The Ultimate Swing to Technology

It has been no secret over the last few months that the only retail channel where there is any growth is e-commerce. The credit crunch (now downright recession) has been hitting retailers hard and many are improving or launching websites to compete. The ultimate move to the web however, is when a brand built on the high street moves entirely online. This can be seen in a few examples, some more high profile than others.

Woolworths' blog

Woolworths’ fall into adminstration over Christmas is perhaps the best known example – and where is the Woolworths brand going to survive? Shop Direct Group has purchased it and plans to launch a Woolworths e-commerce site. See the Woolies Blog for updates on progress.

Zavvi e-commerce site

Zavvi, another high profile Christmas collapse, has also survived on line. The Hut has purchased the Zavvi e-commerce site and is already trading. This is particularly interesting as the Zavvi brand only had a year or so to get established on the high street after it was rebranded from the Virgin Megastore. The high street is still an extremely powerful method of establishing a brand.

ProCook e-commerce site

Finally, a lesser known example, ProCook (purveyor of saucepans and all things cullinary) is reported to be closing its 18 high street stores to concentrate on e-commerce. It will however be keeping 13 factory outlet stores. The website currently shows 13 stores.