Having written last month about the need to see marketing as a way of taking the long view of a business and it’s plans, rather than just the promotion of it’s products, it was enlightening to hear about one retailer’s success by following this path at the recent IJL.

IJL continues to improve the business development events on offer and many of them were oversubscribed. One of the most well attended, with standing room only, offered insights into how one company doubled its turnover within 3 years. It was the first time the speaker had owned his own store, having worked within the manufacturing sector previously, and this meant that he had the advantage of starting with few preconceptions. The owner was Jonathan Lambert, who has worked hard for the industry, in both the BJA and the NAG.

Jonathan, describing his approach as “business common sense” detailed all of the moves he has made to achieve the business increase he aimed at. His 12-step program was outlined in detail and it essentially followed the broad sweep of any good strategic market based plan; that is, Jonathan examined both his market environment and existing company, set objectives, then drew up a strategy and outlined tactics to meet his overall goals.

Jonathan first outlined the Always Theory which most will be familiar with: “If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got!” He had bought an existing business, in a market town of 23,000 people, which was profitable, but not enough so. The business had to change in order to meet Jonathan’s objective of doubling turnover, with increasing profitability, within 2 years. He was first to point out that the plan slipped and changed along the way so that the 2 years became 3 but that is in the nature of all plans! He achieved his goal but had to modify his timescale, which was an ambitious one.

He had already examined the local town and further research reinforced his belief that he had made a right decision in wanting to move the store from its mid market positioning to a more upmarket one. For example, he had found a database that showed how many millionaires lived within 10 miles! Gradually he networked with business’s that would also be selling to the same customer base such as Mercedes, Porsche, Belgium chocolate makers and, of course, a wedding dress shop.

Having worked as a Sales Director Jonathan had seen many Independent stores but he still made it his job to travel and meet other retailers. He is first to say that if he spots a good idea, he will happily adopt it, whether it comes from within the trade, or from other outlets. Core to his plan was to outline a set of standards that his new store would hold. This meant, said Jonathan “No Mum rings!” Out went clock sales, low quality silver and much 9ct. Many would shy away from the danger of losing existing customers by keeping them and trying to attract new ones but the danger is of being stranded in a marketing no mans land. Having the clarity of a plan meant that everything that Jonathan Lambert Fine Jewellers (which was the new store name) did was with the overall objective in mind..... even if it meant losing the old customer base.

A strong belief in using experts, as appropriate, meant calling in a company to design the new image and brand name. This was then reflected on all POS material and the colours of the new store design, which was done recently. This emphasis on experts also led to a desire to work with a limited number of suppliers, who had strong brands, and who all believed in genuine working partnerships such as Bien, Di Sento, Alfred Terry and Swatch.

Were all these changes done at the same time, 3 years ago? Jonathan pointed out that in the early days he had to make a choice. “We decided to change the stock first and then fund other changes as business grew. Our last step, the refit of the store, was only done recently but led to another increase in business. This has now taken us to over double the turnover level of 3 years ago”.

The many questions at the end showed that others were very interested in the points made and led to Jonathan repeating his belief in making a plan, and focusing hard on it.

Dennis Allen, Business Development advisor, can be contacted at dennisallen@school-house.biz