18-19_David Robertson.qxp_Grid 30/10/2023 23:33 Page 1
OVER THE
COUNTER
BY DAVID ROBERTSON OF JP POZZI, ELGIN AND BUCKIE.
taking
stock Inset: Like retailers, boxers can punch above their weight due to the support from their extended team be that employees, family members or friends.
On Saturday morning I slipped on my headphones and pressed ‘Play’ on the Simon Jordan Interview series and embarked on tackling our stockroom. My biggest weakness in business has always been the amount of stock we carry. Every year I set this as a goal to myself. Buy less. Only buy what is really selling. Don’t be tempted…but I find it hard to say “no” while sometimes move on too quickly without really getting rid of the old stock. Anyway, having spent six hours in that stockroom made me ‘take stock’ on the values of team playing, especially in this frenetic golden quarter. I really love the way our stores look right now. They are literally bursting with colour, gifting, cards and all manner of other things. We often hear, “oh I like your Elgin shop better” or “I like your Buckie shop better!” and this largely comes down to the individual team members and how they display products, reflecting their personality and tastes. This is something I feel should be encouraged as we don’t want rows of soldierlike product and the same boring displays in a cookie cutter style. Indie stores thrive on individuality and this is fostered right from the top as my mum really drives the direction of how the stores look. We have a WhatsApp group which is called ‘shop displays’ that we use to share what our different stores are doing as well as any different ideas or examples of good practice from out and about. I know lots of stores that constantly work with a ‘sale’ message, but I believe that standing firm with your pricing structure is key. I am always suspicious of stores that seem to be constantly on ‘Sale’, so we limit ourselves to two sales a year so that customers don’t wait to buy. But that does of course mean we have a full stockroom! While in the process of tidying 18 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
up I felt myself start to get angry as I found vases on shelves not put back in their boxes, ranges that should have all been together spread across the stockroom and a sense of if I moved the wrong way or turned too quickly I was going to knock things down! After six hours in there I didn’t feel that I had achieved much and was all geared up for having serious words with our team. I was tired, fed up and probably as annoyed with myself as anyone else. However, with a bit of reflection, I realised that we have been running tight, staff wise, so probably they simply haven’t had the time to put things away properly. Our type of stockroom doesn’t make it easy either and of course the volume of stock, especially just now with Christmas upcoming, is challenging. I know that I am not ruthless enough with stock and really need to move things through better. Ultimately, I haven’t been Right: The Europe team’s Ryder Cup victory was down to team work and preparation, just like good retailing.
looking/helping these challenges. Teamwork is crucial in every business and in every sport. This weekend my plan was to relax a bit and watch the rugby World Cup quarter finals - truly a team sport. A few weeks ago, Europe smashed the Ryder Cup and the win was firmly put down to the way that the European team gelled. In what is essentially an individual sport they did everything to support and work with each other. All the players spoke about the preparation. They spoke about the detail and the clear instructions. They spoke about getting to know each other, both in and out of a work environment. This caused me to question whether I’ve been giving my team