Retail lessons from the Orgill playbook

Las Vegas -- The seminar here at the Orgill Dealer Market was titled “The Fundamentals of Great Retail,” with the word “great” crossed out and replaced with the word “effective.”

Why? Greg Stine explained: “This is a humbling business. We’re all learning, and we’re all experimenting as we go.”

What works in some markets may not work in others, added Chris Freader. The executives from the Orgill subsidiary Tyndale Advisors presented lessons learned from the retail field  and together hammered on the importance of long-term planning.

The concepts of effective retail boiled down to three steps: buy smart, market effectively and merchandise wisely.

It sounds simple, but the key is execution. "If you don't do all three well, it doesn't work,” said Stine, VP of marketing.

Tyndale Advisors manages CNRG, a multi-format, multi-brand company with more than 80 locations. This pool of retailers, ranging from small hardware stores to large pro dealers, gives Orgill executives a diverse field to study retail concepts. "Just because it works in Raleigh Durham, it is not necessarily going to work in Portland." said Freader, director of merchandising for Tyndale Advisors.

The executives promoted the concept of trial and error combined with careful tracking of what customers want and when they want it. Use history as a tool to make informed bets on merchandise, they said. “Learn from the results of your strategies,” advised Stine. “If you’re not studying this carefully, then a year from now, you won’t have learned anything.”

Other advise from the Tyndale Advisors:

• Keep your endcaps simple – “one, two or three items.” Focus on price image and minimize blank space in these important areas of the store.

• Change endcaps often. “If you can run your hand over the top of the boxes on an endcap , and you can pick up dust, then something is wrong,” said Freader. Endcaps should not be permanent. “When customers are walking through the stores, it’s very important that they’re seeing change around the store.”

• Ideally, a store should plan four to 12 months out. “Done right, you’re doing most of the work at the buying stage,” said Stine. “The work that gets you the money, the customers and the lift in sales is at the buying stage.”