Giving an aging retail chain a complete makeover has called on all the career skills of one young manager. A key task has been to create great staff.
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Entrepreneur: Amy Sznicer, Retail Operations and Marketing Manager
Company: Brown Sugar Australia
Business type: Clothing manufacturing and retail
Founded: 1977
Employees: 175
Turnover: (2005 - 2006) $18M
Head office:
Contact details: +61 3 9254 0173
The Brown Suger Story
Remember Brown Sugar? Not the Rolling Stones song but the fashion label of thirty years ago? Like an old record label, the Melbourne-based women's fashion chain had been spinning in circles for many years. And then came Amy Sznicer.
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Key learning points:
- Service first - All the striking ads, hi-tech back-office systems and detailed strategic plans won't mean a thing without motivated, well-trained customer-facing staff.
- Expect performance - Work should be a place where people have fun, are rewarded and are valued for what they do. Linking those goals with an expectation of superior performance is a key to success.
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Amy, 30, was head-hunted by Graeme Yeomans (then, ARL Managing Director) to resurrect the flagging brand in 2005. Her job title - retail operations and marketing manager - reflected the extent of the brand facelift needed. Amy's background in retail fitted Brown Sugar's need. In just over 10 years, she had risen from a shoe sales assistant at Athlete's Foot in Perth to area, state and national roles at well-known retail businesses such as Sportsgirl and the Brazin group.
Amy has been mentored by Martin Dalton who wanted her to turn Brown Sugar into a contemporary, national brand. It needed a new look, plenty of new stores, improved customer connections and a new approach to sales and service. Amy's task has been to oversee the rebirth of the chain, including launching up to 50 new stores over the following five years.
The Challenge
At its most basic, shop-floor level, retail is all about display and face-to-face sales and service. If the store looks untidy, or the staff members are inattentive, customers will run to one of many competitors. And in women's fashion, eager competitors infest the shopping malls and streetscapes. A key challenge has been to create a highly motivated and competent team at Brown Sugar.
The Solution
Hiring, motivating and training staff are central to Brown Sugar's turnaround. As the business changes image and expands, getting important information out - and making sure it is read - is vital in an organisation that has been adding a store a week at some hectic periods. Amy started a weekly newsletter - Sugar Essentials - that has to be read and signed by all staff. It details visual merchandising directives, procedural changes and promotional launches, which ensures that advertising and marketing drives don't fail when customers reach a store only to be met by puzzled looks by confused staff members.
Amy applies the tough lessons she learnt as a store manager at Sportsgirl in Perth in the early 1990s to her staff at Brown Sugar. Her mentor then was Simone Binet. Amy says: "Simone taught me to be honest with staff and to take constructive criticism. If a store wasn't up to scratch, she told you. I actually looked forward to her visits because I learnt so much and she was interested in my development."
If a staff member has a personal problem - often reflected in workplace performance - Amy tries to turn the problem around during confidential one-to-one discussions. One of her principles is that at work, you have a space to let go of problems and be in another place where you are truly valued and can have some fun. The approach is successful more often than not.
Providing a uniformly smooth and satisfying customer experience is crucial to the success of any national chain. Each month, Amy brings store managers together to focus on sales results, internal promotions and Brown Sugar's innovative "First in Focus" program (a program that measures service and presentation levels in all stores monthly). Amy's expectations of her managers reflect those placed on her by Martin Dalton. "He has taught me to measure everything and analyse situations from different angles in order to add value to the customer."
The customer is always the focus, even for those in the executive office. All management staff spend at least one day each month in a shop. Amy says: "It is a great way of getting feedback from staff and customers."
Rigorous attention to meeting key performance indicators and sales targets is combined with plenty of goodies for those who perform well. Amy awards team prizes such as visits to day spas and fine dinners. Retail is hard, demanding work, which makes knowing how to have some fun important for staff.
And how does Amy juggle her many other tasks? Amy's first answer is: time management. She says: "I need to stay organised or I would be lost. And I continuously reprioritize To-Do lists. It is a way of life." Away from work she is a champion equestrian show rider, which is all about display and performance too.
The Result
Brown Sugar has had record year-on-year sales growth, cut expenses and improved its processes, resulting in higher profitability. Brown Sugar plans to open 8-10 stores in 2007-08 with as many refurbishments on remaining older concept stores.
The chain's customer-members have soared from 10,000 to nearly 30,000 in the past two years.
Amy's professional achievements were recognized in 2006 when she was chosen as Telstra's Australian Young Business Woman of the Year.
Special Note to Readers: Since recording this interview, Amy has left Brown Sugar to pursue her future dreams