nickshanagher

In 2004 Dieter Brandes leaked the secrets of Aldi’s success in his book, Bare Essentials , that is now available on Amazon for an amazing £196.90 a copy (it goes up and down) or maybe in an e-book format for a fraction of that price. (There is talk of a new English edition soon.) Don’t buy the book because you want to emulate Aldi as it is too late for that. But do make sure you read it if you want to be a better retailer. This is every bit as good as Sam Walton’s Made in America. Brandes was a top manager with Aldi for 14 years and marvels at how this secretive company’s simple formula was so widely misunderstood by competitors. The formula for success was a surprise for its founders, too. But Karl and Theo Albecht were astute business people who quickly recognised how the money was made and then kept the discipline. Put simply, the secret to making money is to stock a tight core range and sell lots of every product. While Walmart sells 100,000 items, its average turnover per ...

Tyler Brûlé writes a column at the back of the FT every Saturday and talks about his hectic week shopping in Italy, partying in Tokyo, swimming in the Baltic, and so on. In other words his is a demographic most local shops will not have living near them... Even so, his advice to Stephen Clarke, the incoming chief executive of WHSmith, which used to dominate the UK magazine retailing market on its own, makes useful reading for a local retailer wanting to benchmark his business. Mr Brûlé's five point wish list is: print is not dead and you should broaden your range so that you are a place to discover new titles and not just to find the expected turn down the lighting a bit so your shops are warm and inviting add a bit of wood (oak or ash) experiment with a few smaller kiosks focussed on the best in print for high traffic sites better stationery please. If  Mr Clarke decides to pass on the ideas, perhaps you could make good use of them.

Generally acknowledged to be doing well, there are three things in the latest Waitrose results to consider. First, like-for-like sales were up by 2.2 per cent, which shows the impact of its price matching branded goods sold by Tesco. Second, own brand ranges now account for more than 50 per cent of its sales mix, which suggests that its margin mix is being protected by these products. Third, the second half of the year is likely to see slower growth.

How much do suppliers really value local retailers, is a question that independent shopkeepers often ask themselves.   Open to the same competitive pressures as the big supermarkets and competing for the same shoppers, independents often feel they are locked out of the best deals and can’t buy at the prices the grocers sell for. A new edition of Store Wars , co-written by businessman Greg Thain and former Cadbury marketer John Bradley, provides some great answers to the question. Most importantly, they advise manufacturers to support weak retailers. Before independents get too hopeful it has to be said that Thain and Bradley argue that in the past 10 years a major switch in power has happened. After around a century in control, the big brand manufacturers are now number two to the likes of Walmart and Tesco. This has implications for all local shops. There are two reasons for the success of big retail. Firstly, they now know more about their shoppers and market to the...

Local and proud it says on this internal sign in the Gosforth branch of Loco, a new concept store from Nisa, that I visited last week. I am yet to meet the owners of North East Convenience Stores but the brothers have set out their stall with this execution. When we arrived we were warmly welcomed by the staff, who were pleased that we had travelled from London to look around. It was a Tuesday afternoon and not especially busy. Even so, the shop was immaculately merchandised. The coffee assortment looks great. So too the chilled bottled lager...which demonstrates an attitude towards having a comprehensive range rather than profit optimisation. This seems to be in keeping with the whole shop which has a very high quality finish. Great flooring and lighting plus good signs...  And still there are some areas for improvement, with this deals end unit looking cluttered... And this offer doesn't pack a punch. But this is mere quibbling. Loco as executed in Gosforth...

At the launch party for Pro-retail 2012 held in London this January most of the independent retailers there told me they were inspired by Palmer and Harvey’s taster event for the Futurezone. The Futurezone is a multi site feature of this year’s Pro-Retail trade exhibition to be held at Telford on 24 and 25 April. So when I saw the pre-publicity for Michio Kaku’s new book, Physics of the Future , and its promise to show what the world would be like in the year 2100, I was inspired to have a read and to report back to local retailers on what the future holds. The book delivers on this promise but on so much more as well. If you are a business person who likes new ideas and to think about what may work this is a book for you This paragraph from his introduction hooked me. If you like it you will love the book. “Later, when I was in high school, I decided to follow in the footsteps of these great scientists and put some of my learning to the test. I wanted to be part of this great r...

Shoppers don’t enjoy shopping this category, says Doug Walker of Heineken at a press conference where he and his team are launching their Star retailer initiative. His job title is a mouthful: head of off-trade customer marketing. In the press release he is quoted as saying: “Star retailer isn’t anything ground breaking or new”. However, it is notable. Not only does it have a strong basis in research but it also demonstrates the credibility of good category management.   In the flesh Doug is on a mission to sell more beer and cider and you have the impression he could talk for a day about sales performance and future targets. Local retailers, he says, should pay attention to four key enablers: which are about creating a positive perception of beer and cider, selling higher value brands, selling responsibly and making shopping more fun. He is armed with an array of power point slides and a simple planogram for the category and a three year programme. Doug is also talking about ...

Bob Gorton's book Boosting Sales  (Bloomsbury, £9.99) available on Amazon,  gives the owner of every business a lasting insight into the simple rules that will help you make more money than you are today. The success of the book is not because it is full of new ideas but because it presents simple business rules in a way that is easy to grasp and easy to follow. "I once tried sport parachuting," Bob writes, "and when I had stopped trembling for long enough to listen to him, the jump master taught me a very important lesson. He said: 'Once you are out there, look at the white cross on the ground, because people generally hit what they are staring at.' So those people who look hard and constantly at the competition...seem to find a lot of it. Look hardest at your customers, you will better understand their wants and needs and find more customers." The book is organised logically. Bob is an engineer and he is sharing the rules for business success, rul...