From ways of working to new partnerships and changes of direction, the pandemic has brought out the best in retail as well as posing challenges. Directors of start-up businesses and big retail names share their takeaways.

JP Then, co-founder, Crosstown Doughnuts

We have had a number of important learnings. Firstly, the importance of accepting that the previous rulebook may need to be ripped up. 

JP-Then

There have been some major habitual changes among our consumers, and we have to listen to them and the macro-environment on how to shape our businesses for the future. 

Online channels should be considered a pillar to all retail businesses beyond incremental revenue, so brands need to keep investing in this and bringing experience into their businesses.

Secondly, we have learned the value of leaning on our peers, of being collaborative rather than competitive. During lockdown, we partnered with Millers Bespoke Bakery and The Estate Dairy (and other great London suppliers) to create The Crosstown Collective.

We were one of the early initiatives to deliver grocery boxes to help feed Greater London and leverage our strengths – access to great produce from food suppliers, logistics, centrally located CPUs. 

“We never set out to sell milk, eggs, fruit and veg, but we had to pivot and we collectively saved the jobs of our great staff and connected with our consumers in a new and meaningful way”

I see the Crosstown Collective as one of our greatest achievements. We never set out to sell milk, eggs, fruit and veg, but we had to pivot and we collectively saved the jobs of our great staff and connected with our consumers in a new and meaningful way.

In terms of what we would have done differently, to be honest I think the fact that we are still surviving says a lot. It was the right move to stay trading in an online capacity and our biggest challenges now will be going into Q4 and Q1 next year. 

I consider this to be like chapter one of a crazy new book that was unscripted. We are anticipating there to still be many more learnings coming up and we have to remain nimble and open-minded.

Hjalmar Ståhlberg Nordegren, chief executive and co-founder, food rescue app Karma

During the peak of coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown in our UK market, our core app experience was no longer fit for purpose.

HSN

Our immediate challenge became how to support the hospitality industry, and provide a safe experience for customers still looking to rescue food and reduce waste.

Within the app, our tech team put everything aside to immediately build out the product to allow for contactless pick-up and delivery.

There were a lot of learnings around door-to-door delivery when we pivoted to the deliveries first in Sweden and we realised we needed a third-party operator to help make this process as smooth as possible.

So for all our home deliveries from the app in London, we have partnered with a great team at Orkestro who have made the process simple and seamless.

The past six months have been incredibly challenging, but it has also given time for us to reflect on our purpose and our ultimate desire to create a company that balances profit with sustainability.

“I would urge everyone in the industry to join forces and support each other where possible”

Looking back over the year so far and what I’ve learnt, I would urge everyone in the industry to join forces and support each other where possible. Collaboration and collective action are not only sustainable but also make business sense, especially during a time like this. 

 

Louise Stonier, chief people and culture officer, Pets at Home

Keep the customer at the heart of all decision-making and communicate with your colleagues in the most personal way that you can. 

Louise Stonier

You cannot operate a business without your colleagues supporting you, so make sure you have a purpose and that your colleagues know what it is.

Our colleagues looked to us to provide guidance and leadership and so the role and speed of our internal communications became more important than ever.

Probably the most obvious learning to talk about is the power of human communication and bringing a personal touch to communications. Our chief executive Peter and I fronted daily videos to our entire workforce during the earlier stages of the pandemic and the feedback from colleagues was amazing. 

We were honest, truthful and transparent. Nobody knew the answers at that stage, and being brave enough to show that was a pivotal point in the way our communications were viewed.

We also ensured that our communications were two-way – we launched a buddy network connecting the leadership team with every single store in the country. 

“Nobody knew the answers at that stage, and being brave enough to show that was a pivotal point in the way our communications were viewed”

Having a fairly big group of stores coming together to discuss issues gave our leaders a huge advantage of allowing the most critical issues to be picked up right away.

In our eagerness to keep our colleagues informed, on occasion we missed the mark on tonality in written comms. Not only did this highlight the effectiveness of the daily video briefings, which completely allowed colleagues to ‘feel’ the message being personally delivered, it also made us re-look at what and how we were communicating messages in the written sense. 

A good learning would be to personally address something on video, followed up by written comms for colleagues to digest in their own time.

 

Miranda Cresswell, chief marketing officer, Tails.com

We’ve had a lot to be grateful for. We’re born digital, we deliver to your door, and we’ve worked hard to build the trust that allowed us to be a source of comfort and continuity as lockdown began. 

Creswell, Miranda

It hasn’t been straightforward. We’ve revised and revised our approach several times, and had to make big cuts to our original plans including our face-to-face events in shopping centres and high-footfall locations across the UK, which would have been a key test for us this year.

And, of course, we’ve relocated most of our team to home working. This taught us to be more human with each other, while also being there for our customers whatever happens.

To which point, while our operations team rapidly put new health measures in place in our factory to ensure uninterrupted supply, our customer experience team went fully remote within 24 hours, while handling a 40% spike in contacts. 

This was a moment where all teams and customers could see our mission and purpose in action.

“In a world where everything changes, we have found that the most useful question to ask is what will stay the same”

In a world where everything changes, we have found that the most useful question to ask is what will stay the same. And we come back to our Tails.com values, which have guided us every day. To be customer-led, game-changing, team-spirited and to make every day count.

So, as always, and maybe more now than ever, guiding yourself, teams and company with purpose and values is the crucial starting point from which to build and grow.

 

Comments are taken from Retail Week Live’s report, Beyond 2020: Lessons in innovation and acceleration. You can download your copy here

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