It was to be the first, but not the last, reference to the anxious mood about the economy during the two days of the event – hardly surprising given the turmoil in the banking markets and Alistair Darling’s underwhelming Budget.
Sir Stuart Rose said he thought the slowdown would last into 2010, while John Lewis chairman Charlie Mayfield admitted that retailing had become “pretty tough, pretty quickly”.
If you weren’t there, this might give you the impression that it was two days of doom. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. There was no wallowing in misery; the debate was all about how to retail through the tough times and even capitalise on them.
Take Dunstone, for instance. Although he was frank about how challenging the market is, he pointed out that there’s nothing any retailer can do about it. He went on to explain that, despite the slowdown, Carphone Warehouse is continuing to innovate, going through a process it calls “radical transparency”, where it is taking the extraordinarily brave step of listing any operational problems it is experiencing for its customers to view on the internet.
He wasn’t alone. HMV boss Simon Fox described how a raft of plans, from new-look stores to backstage gig passes, are being put in place to bring the company closer to its customers, while veteran retailers Lord Kirkham, Tim How and Paul Kelly emphasised how the right mindset had helped them come through past recessions stronger.
The big lesson was that the answer to a hard market isn’t inertia. Unless you’re one of those retailers for which survival is the only priority, there are plenty of things a downturn allows you to do.
You can get better deals out of your suppliers, pick up good staff, drive a harder bargain with landlords and buy advertising at knockdown prices. Most importantly, it is a time to look long and hard at your business and make sure that it is as efficient and customer-focused as it can be. That way, when the market comes back, you’re ready for it.
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