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Business Review 2006 from
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Retailing constants
Nicola Taylor
de Gruchy
'JERSEY'S different, you know'. That was the message I was told repeatedly when I first joined de Gruchy. Three years later, I can only agree. Whole-heartedly!
What isn't different, however, is retailing, which, unsurprisingly, is the same the world over, it's how you choose to operate and manage your business that makes that all important difference.
I am privileged to work for de Gruchy, which I now know to be part of the island's heritage, which will be around for a lot longer than I am, and therefore which must be treated with respect. We do that by listening, as far as we are able, to what our customers have to say, whilst continuing to improve every aspect of the business.
My vision for de Gruchy is to be the 'Island's Store of Choice' in all that we do. Ask any member of my store team, and they will be able to tell you what our store objectives are, which cover everything from always exceeding our customers' expectations to ensuring that we offer the best range of products guaranteed to be good value for money. Sounds easy, but trust me it's not.
Expectations
Not only do the buying team have to constantly source new, exciting product with that element of difference, but they also have to ensure the 40,000+ items on sale meet the quality, individuality and pricing expectations of the discerning Jersey customer, while keeping in mind their sales and profit targets. We are, after all, accountable to shareholders demanding a return on their investment. Added to this, they also have to bear in mind our pricing policy, which guarantees that we will always be cheaper than the UK high street, normally by at least ten per cent. Challenging to say the least.
The success of the de Gruchy buying team has been realised with a wider range of products and brands being exclusively available at de Gruchy.
I strongly believe that the key to a good business is the team that work for you. By my own admission, I am a hard task master, who doesn't settle for second-best, although word is that occasionally I have been seen smiling.
Seriously, good communication is vital and if your team don't know what you are trying to achieve, how on earth can you expect to get there? To that end, among other things, we have regular staff committee meetings (where team members can say whatever they want, although the key point is to let people know what is going on and to ask for ideas on what we could do better), weekly newsletters, daily tannoy announcements before the store opens and a pretty much 'open door' policy. Staff are encouraged to say what they think.
Communication also includes that from the customers, and I am always pleased to receive feedback - good or bad - in order that we can take action to put right any wrongs, or to congratulate those who have done a particularly good job. Fortunately, the latter usually outweigh the former, although admittedly, occasionally we do slip up, and for that I apologise.
Another of our objectives is that we are striving to be the employer of choice - that is the first point of call for any individual looking for a career in retail. Our training is such that all new staff go through an induction programme before hitting their department, and our subsequent training and development programme continues to improve, the ultimate aim being that we provide the individual with all skills they require to do their current job better, and that staff are given the necessary skills before being promoted, rather than watching them sink.
Our multinational workforce reflects the diversity of the current Jersey population, yet de Gruchy still strives to retain the traditional service upon which our reputation has been built.
Daily I find myself determining our advertising and marketing plans, display requirements, promotional calendar and training plans, dealing with recruitment and payroll issues, chartering a plane to fly over a customer order because they are unable to accept why I cannot get their purchase across from the UK in the next eight hours, analysing sales, explaining to the powers that be why I did/didn't achieve budget yesterday, agreeing the maintenance programme, and that pretty much sums up a typical day. Working in retail is a fantastic career, although one which you probably either love or hate, it's hard work and on the odd day, all you get is complaint after complaint.
Everything we do is for you, our customers. I value every single customer who walks into de Gruchy and trust that you will continue to do so, all I would ask is you remember that whilst we continue to strive for perfection, if we don't always get there, sometimes it's not our fault.
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