BUILDING BETTER RETAIL —A CONVERSATION

Chris Allinotte, WRLA

WRLA President Liz Kovach sat down recently with Sarah Hounslow, President of Burlington Merchandising & Fixtures (BMF), and Marc Atiyolil, editor-in-chief of Home Trends Magazine, and one of the two hosts of the Marc & Mandy Show (CITY TV, GLOBAL). They got together to discuss what makes bricks-and-mortar shopping so different from the online version important and how paying attention to the in-store experience can have a tremendous impact on sales! Please enjoy some highlights from their conversation, and tune into the WRLA podcast for the full interview!

Liz Kovach (LK): So we’re here today to talk about “building better retail” and talking to experts who are helping to create some of those customer experiences that we really want to see to build brand loyalty.

Marc Atiyolil (MA): And I think it’s so important. It’s so timely because after, you know, the pandemic and everything, we want to have those customer experiences. We want to make sure that when you’re walking into a store, you see all these amazing displays and everything and that’s really what is making that difference between brick and mortar and online. I think we really need to have that hybrid. You know, like it’s great when we have online where we have that instant service. So, you know, everybody’s used to that. But you cannot recreate a customer experience online. You’re talking to your computer, you’re talking to a chat box. That’s not fun. Like, who is it? It’s like a stock photo of a person. I’m like, is that really who I’m talking to?

LK: You made a really great comment earlier when we were speaking about, you know, the pandemic and brick and mortar and of course, people talking about the difference between brick and mortar. And you made a comment that if you’re wanting a product now, you want to go into a retail store where you want to later you’re going to purchase it online. So why don’t we talk a little bit more about that and the relevance of brick and mortar?

MA: Yeah. And you have such a great point, Sarah, to where you were saying that, you know, we’re always thinking about warehouse space. Right. And you can have so many different products in the warehouse, but if you’re not creating a customer experience, I should say when you’re walking into the store, then you never see it. So what are some examples that you have where you’ve done something?

Sarah Hounslow (SA): We have a great fixture system which will allow you to actually shrink that back stockroom and have everything kept in the overstock. And we’ve got a banner system that allows you to hide all of the unsightly overstock and keep your inventory levels where they need to be and improve your customer experience. Because if somebody comes in and you don’t have stock on your shelves, they don’t want to stick around and wait for you to go back to the warehouse and try to find it.

MA: So we’re very impatient.

LK: Yeah. Yes, we are.

MA: I feel like I don’t know if this is because I’m a parent or what it is, but I when I walk into a store and that’s that whole online presence, that’s happening is it’s creating consumers that want that instant result. We’re that fast-food nation where we want something right then and there, and if we don’t get it right away, then we get upset.

We’re very spoiled that way. We are. But what we need to do is with brick and mortar, we need to reinvent brick and mortar so that people feel like they have that customer service, that interaction, that face to face. And also, instead of having everything in the warehouse, maybe things that you haven’t sold in ten years, why don’t you bring it out and create these amazing displays?

You had a great example where you said, you know, if you’re selling, let’s say, lots of siding, why not do a siding display? When I walk into a store and as a designer, I want to see (big) samples. If you give me this little sample, I’m like, what am I going to do with this?

SH: It makes it really hard to make confident decisions quickly. And when they’re there in your store, that’s when you want to be able to engage them, upsell them, potentially. Allow them to make those decisions confidently and quickly so that you make that sale.

MA: And what a great way to upsell them, just like you’re saying is by having that display. Because if I go into a store, you show me an image on your computer screen, I could have done that from home. The only advantage that you have is that pop-up display, because then I can see the difference between, let’s say, a vinyl with a cement board and I can touch it and feel it and I can see what it’s going to look like on my house. If I look at a picture, I may not be able to see the difference. And a lot of times, consumers, we can’t visualize things. So you can explain it

LK: Like with paint swatches sometimes, right? If you don’t have the ability to even use a little bit of a sample and have a bigger size to really to really get a good visual of what it might look like when you’re going to go with these colors.

MA: So yeah, and then I was a brand ambassador for an actual paint company for years. And, that was one of the things when we come up with the colours of the year, everybody’s like, “I don’t know if that’s possible. Like, I can’t.”

SH: And most people wouldn’t actually use the color of the year, but it gets you thinking outside of your comfort zone.

LK: And you know, Sarah, you were talking earlier about how 80 per cent of the materials that are sold are lumber and building materials that are shown.

SH: Yeah, in a lot of these independent home improvement retailers, 80 per cent of the business is LBM and yet LBM is not really showcased inside retail stores. So allowing you to create displays, and larger samples, really your goal should be to become the destination in your market for these types of materials so that you’re the first place that people think about when you’re going to be shopping for siding or roofing or something like that.

MA: We’re always wanting to sell that house or that big package. But why not take some of the building materials and build a shed that showcases your siding, that showcases your lumber, that showcases all of it, because then it gives you an idea. Everybody’s always thinking like, you know, they want to sell the $200,000, $300,000, half a million dollar project. But if you can somehow do these pop-up displays for a weekend project … if I’m shopping there every single weekend when I’m building a house, I’m going to come back and it becomes brand loyalty.

LK: Yeah. So what are some of the barriers from your experience? Because both of you have experience on the retail side, a lot more than I have, in terms of setting up stores and working with owners. What are some of the barriers that you have found that have prevented people from making these changes to build better businesses?

SH: I think people just don’t know where to start and they don’t have the resources or the head offices that have the resources to be able to help them to renovate their stores and really think strategically about what they want to be in and what they don’t want to be in. And sometimes when you go through all of the categories that you carry in your store, some of the biggest, most important decisions to make are what to delete. What categories are just taking up space? A lot of these independent retailers, they don’t have the luxury of having the square footage that big box store has. So, to be able to really decide which categories you want to be competitive in and then do really, really well in those categories. But sometimes you get stuck in the day-to-day and you don’t have that.

LK: And so right now, that’s an interesting comment that you made, because right now there is a lot of business owners who are actually working in their business and not working on their business. And it’s a challenge with the post-pandemic and labour and such. But this is a really good segue way because for January at our yearly showcase, the theme is going to be building better retail and BMF is coming on as a new sponsor. We’re really delighted about this partnership opportunity, and we really want to encourage people to take some time and come and work on their business. So what does “Building Better Retail” mean to both of you and why should people come and see you this year in January?

SH: So, to us, building better retail is more than just building better “retail.” It’s building better businesses, building better customer experiences, building more profitable businesses, brand loyalty, more engagement with your staff. All of these things are so important to building better retail and they’re really the building blocks to getting there.

LK: That’s amazing.

MA: The big thing is, I think that we’ve been we’ve spent the last couple of years kind of in survival mode. You know, we’re just like constantly changing and everything, but we just need to sit down and analyze our business. And I had a meeting with a friend of mine. He said, Marc, I don’t know what to do because him and his business partner couldn’t agree on where the company was going. And I said, ”how do you guys deal with that?” And he said, every single year the executive team sits down and we basically plan out the year. And it doesn’t matter how big or how small you are. You need to analyze it. Dollars and cents. Where are you making money? Where you losing money? That’s where you’re figuring out what you need to push and what you need to improve on and then building displays on how to upsell. If 80 per cent of your business is selling tables or two-by-fours, then it doesn’t matter what it is. You want to maximize that. What else can you sell them on? What are the complimentary products?

LK: Absolutely. Well, and we’re really we’re committed to building better retail and building better businesses because we realize that there’s so many facets to it. And so we are definitely going to have education sessions or opportunities for attendees to come and listen to our speakers that are not just designed for the owner, they’re intended for everyone so that they can be inspired and that they can realize there’s such a huge opportunity, even from a career perspective.

But thank you so much to both of you for joining us and to our members. I’ve learned a lot and I’m really looking forward to all of you coming in and seeing the building better. Retail spending a little bit of time with Sarah and her team talking about how they could work with you to perhaps build your store for that next legacy project.

MA: We’re looking forward to the show, as well!

SH: We’ll see you in January.

LK: Bye for now!

Remember to check out the WRLA Podcast: Building Better Retail episode for the full conversation! Available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you like to listen to podcasts.