027: Benchmarking The Best Stores In New York (part 1)

Benchmarking is a great way to keep an eye on the external retail world. Store visits will help you understand the market, get ideas and find new opportunities. In this episode, hear from BJSS retail consultants, David Gore and Jake Knowles about how they went about benchmarking the best stores in New York.

You should pick up a copy of their store visit report: Concrete Comparisons. You’ll find detailed reports from 30 of the best stores in New York, including pictures, expert insight and a detailed set of scores.

In this episode, find out:

• Why physical stores still matter.
• The reason why benchmarking is important right now.
• The approach and methodology to take a systematic and logical approach to store visits.
• A great tip to record your thoughts of store visits easily and quickly.

 

 

Introducing David Gore

David is the Head of Retail at BJSS.

He has worked for Aldi, M.H. Alshaya Co. and Capgemini and is a senior consultant with both UK and international experience. David has a proven track record of business leadership and business turnaround, with the delivery of results in varying geographies, cultures and across business lines.

Connect with David on LinkedIn or at david.gore@bjss.com.

Introducing Jake Knowles

Jake is a Retail Management Consultant at BJSS.

Previously with Capgemini, he has worked as a Global Change Stream Lead for the largest Home Improvement Retailer in Europe. Also, Jake has delivered projects looking at making complex changes to a retailer’s Planning and Buying functions as well as developing and deploying an insight led CRM.

Connect with Jake on LinkedIn or by email: jake.knowles@bjss.com.

Store benchmarking methodology

In the episode, David and Jake shared how they went about benchmarking through store visits. They laid out 3 criteria when comparing stores and then assigned a score to each.

Using a logic approach like this helps to ensure that you compare “apples to apples”. In fact, this is key to help keep you focused as you are visiting stores and continue to keep an eye across everything.

3 benchmarking categories

1. Brand – The ability to surprise and delight customers, offering a differentiated experience which creates a genuine and authentic relationship with customers, based on trust and integrity.
2. Digital – Delivering relevant and individual interactions across all touchpoints, subtly introducing technology to reduce friction and be in a position to respond quicker to customer needs.
3. Experience – Becoming a seamless, customer-centric organisation which reacts and adapts to the individual customer’s needs, combining customer service, convenience, comfort and personalisation.

Setting consistent scores

Then, against each of these, every store was allocated a score based on a pre-determined scale.

• Score 1 – Lagging. Corrective action is required or the gap to other retailers will widen.
• Score 2 – Industry Average. The expected level in the industry. However, these retailers need to ensure that they continue to evolve and don’t get left behind. They can out-do the competition by identifying and investing in strategic opportunities.
• Score 3 – Best in Class. These retailers are ahead of their competitors and lead their format or category. They have a strong focus on their target market and deliver a clear proposition.
• Score 4 – Industry Leader.These retailers are significantly ahead of the industry. In fact, they are setting the bar for retail. “Industry leaders” may not necessarily excel across all areas but do so at those which matter the most for their business.

Get the report: the best stores in New York

BJSS are giving you their New York store report. It’s a great read and you should definitely pick up a copy now.

Pick up your free copy now from bjss.com/stores.

In the report, find out about 30 of the best stores in New York. David Gore and Jake Knowles visits some of the big name brands as well as smaller retailers. The report includes:

• Who wins between Nike and Adidas?
• Does Amazon’s 4 Star store cut it?
• Which retailers are using in store technology well (and who is not!).
• The 1 retailer that scores top points for brand, experience and digital.

Just go to bjss.com/stores to get your copy. Plus, you can email Jake at jake.knowles@bjss.com to get yourself a printed copy.

Remember to subscribe now to listen in to part 2 of this conversation.