32 top retail brands reveal 32 success secrets
TRANSCRIPT
© 2015 all rights reserved | www.proonto.com | 917 624-9021
Ever wished you had the chance to sit down with the CEO or founder of one of the most successful brands ever and ask them what is their
success secret?
Well, even though we can’t really arrange that meeting for you, what we can do is present the most valuable words of wisdom from the most
successful people in the business.
So are you ready?
Let’s go!
01
© 2015 all rights reserved | www.proonto.com | 917 624-9021
“There are going to be some people who
never want Wal-Mart. That’s OK”
Wal Mart CEO, Lee Scott
01 BE REALISTIC
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“Success is making ourselves useful in the
world, valuable to society, helping in lifting
in the level of humanity, so conducting
ourselves that when we go the world will be
somewhat better of our having lived the
brief span of our lives.”
Target Founder , George Draper Dayton
02 GIVE BACK TO SOCIETY
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“One of the things which make any
company successful, in particular the Home
Depot, was that we understood and catered
to the customer.
If it didn’t sell, it didn’t make a difference
what we thought or our research told us.
They told us if it was successful by buying it
or not.”
Home Depot Founder Bernard Marcus
03 VALUE YOUR CUSTOMER
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“What we need to do is always lean into the
future;
when the world changes around you and
when it changes against you – what used to
be a tail wind is now a head wind – you
have to lean into that and figure out what to
do because complaining isn’t a strategy.”
Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos
04 MAKE THE BEST OUT OF EVERYTHING
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“The brilliant moves we occasionally make
would not have been possible without the
prior dumb ones”
CVS/ Pharmacy founder Stanly Goldstein
05 MAKE MISTAKES
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“Walgreens switched its focus from
profit per store
to
profit per customer visit.”
Walgreens Former CEO Charles Walgreens
06 BE CONSUMER CENTRIC
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“There is only one boss.
The customer.
And he can fire everybody in the company from
the chairman on down, simply by spending his
money somewhere else”
Sam’s Clubs Founder, Sam Walton
07 KNOW WHO THE REAL BOSS IS
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“What makes eBay successful – the real value and the
real power at eBay – is the community.
It’s the buyers and sellers coming together and forming
a marketplace.
eBay Founder, Pierre Omidyar
08 BUILD A COMMUNITY
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“As a company, this team has an amazing track record
of transformation, business success and driving
shareholder value, and our management team has
clearly understood and embraced the need for change,
the need to innovate, and to evolve in what is a rapidly
changing market.”
Coach CEO Victor Luis
09 ALWAYS BE PREPARED FOR CHANGES
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“Never let making a profit stand in the way of doing the
right thing”
Publix Founder, George Jenkins
10 NO MATTER WHAT- ALWAYS DO THE RIGHT THING
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“This goal is now at hand.
I now desire to build this business into the largest and
most successful of its type in the world, owned and
controlled by those who have built it.”
Lowe’s Founder, Carl Buchan
11 BE AMBITIOUS
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“We want you to take the initiative, and we’ll support
your efforts to deliver exceptional service.”
Nordstrom Founder John W. Nordstrom
12 EMPOWER YOUR EMPLOYEES
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“Our view is we want to have a company for the long
haul and continue to grow the sales and grow the profits
fairly and make sure there’s always opportunity for our
employees to grow”
Costco CEO, Craig Jelinek
13 GIVE YOUR EMPLOYEES OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW
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“The consumer today
is bombarded with information
and all they want to know
is what is it going to
cost them every day”
Dollar General CEO, Rick Dreiling
14 UNDERSTAND YOUR CUSTOMER
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“I do believe you have to get away sometimes…
to get a fresh perspective.”
Victoria’s Secret CEO, Sharen Jester Turney
15 KNOW WHEN TO TAKE A BREAK
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“I think the more a big, well known brand
like Macy’s can personalize the
shopping experience
the better chance you will have at
fending off all forms of competition.”
Macy’s CEO, Terry Lundgren
16 IT’S ALL ABOUT PERSONALIZATION
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“We have the possibility of having
relationships with every single customer
we do business with regardless of whether they use a
Kohl’s charge or not.
That gives us the ability to communicate one on one
with us with them.”
KOHL’S CEO, Kevin Mansell
17 BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS
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“Customers deserve to know the
ramifications of their purchase decisions,
and it is this knowledge and the
choices it inspires that can empower
those in the industry making the case for responsible
behavior.”
Tiffany & Co. CEO Michael J. Kowalski
18 EDUCATE AND INFLUENCE YOUR CUSTOMERS
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“While I’m really proud of what the team has
accomplished over the past two decades,
I’m even more impressed with our people’s commitment
and enthusiasm to keep driving our business forward”
Staples CEO, Ronald Sargent
19 SHOW YOUR CUSTOMERS APPRECIATION
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“There’s a great deal of similarity between retailing and
hospitality”
Best Buy CEO, Hubert Joly
20 YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE YOUR MOST VALUABLE GUESTS
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“It’s not enough to give courteous service, we must give
knowledgeable service”
Autozone Founder, J.R. Hyde III
21 ADD EXTRA VALUE TO YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE
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“Cooperation is the life of this business.
The secret of the success
of this company
rest upon this
one word”
Avon Founder, David H McConnel
22 NEVER WORK ALONE
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“I think the culture sees its okay to take risks, its okay to
take a step forward and remain open to what you can
learn.”
Whole Foods CEO, Walter Robb
23 DARE TO TAKE RISKS
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“Our company continues to demonstrate values that,
from the beginning, set us apart—
creativity, risk-taking, integrity, loyalty, doing what’s right
and staying focused on our customers”
Gap Founder, Donald Fisher
24 STAND FOR REAL VALUES
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“We still do everything that we think is right, long term
and short term, and it comes out right.”
Bed, Bath and Beyond Founder, Warren Eisenberg
25 TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS
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“People like consistency.
Whether it’s a store or a restaurant,
they want to come in and see what
you are famous for.”
Old Navy Founder, Millard Drexler
26 BE CONSISTENT
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“We must first picture in our minds the aims we strive
for;
we must behold a vision of what we long to be”
Sherwin- Williams Former CEO, Walter H. Cottingham
27 KNOW WHAT YOUR COMPANY STANDS FOR
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“Think of the genius bar at an Apple store –
that could give you a hint about what
we’re talking about”
Shoppers Drug Market CEO, Dominic Pilla
28 GET INSPIRED BY OTHER COMPANIES
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“The way you continue to position the brand and keep
its momentum is to continue to focus on great technical,
beautiful products”
Lululemon Athletica CEO, Laurent Potdevin
29 INVEST IN THE PRODUCT
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“We can do so much to make the world a better place. The
advantage of financial well- being can make a person
indulgent, rob him of the true measure of meaningful
accomplishment and allow him to live a shallow life; or it can
give him the ability to make a difference in the world that
cries out for compassion, action and commitment.”
Ross, dress for less Founder, Stuart G. Moldaw
30 MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD
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“Our value proposition
has resonated with consumers for 37 years,
across different geographies, retail climates, and in both
strong and weak economies.”
TJX CEO, Carol Meyorowitz
32 MAKE SURE YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION IS BELIEVABLE
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Every one of these people had found their way to the top by being creative and by being able to think outside of the box. It takes patience and perseverance- but most importantly, it’s all about learning. So take these bullet proof pieces of advice and think how you can implement them and make them your own.
Change is the end result of all true learning
Leo Buscaglia