Treat Your Store Leaders Like CEOs and Reap the Profits
Zara shows us it's possible
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You're an absolute legend.
Zara is a Spanish multi-national retail clothing chain. If you've never been in a Zara, it's bright, white, and fashion-forward. The company specializes in fast fashion, accessories, shoes, and beauty. Zara had 1,885 stores in 94 markets as of early 2023.
The Wall Street Journal published an article this week about Zara. The title is Why a Zara Store Bet Big on the Maxi Dress This Summer. But that's not the interesting part. The article's subtitle is the interesting part: Fashion retailer arms managers with a bevy of data and authority to act on it in a bid to keep ahead of rivals.
Now, I want to know more about that part.
Here's where it gets good.
"Zara is going local, giving store managers control over their shop's inventory, displays, and designs. The strategy relies heavily on its proprietary data system and a willingness to break the standard fashion-chain practice of making centralized decisions on stores' behalf." - Wall Street Journal.
Read that again.
Zara is giving store managers all the information they need and encouraging them to run their stores in alignment with their location and customers' needs.
This type of thinking goes against everything we're raised to believe in retail at the store level. Typically, the corporate office decides what to buy and where it will go on the floor, and they roll it out across the brand.
It doesn't matter if you're in Alaska, California, or New York City. Every store looks the same. Shorts go on the front table in February, and that's that. They don't care that it's still zero degrees where your store is located - It's time for shorts!
Zara is changing all that.
(Oh, also, they’re killing the game. Zara’s profits last year were 60% higher than H&M’s)
"A typical retailer is top-down," said Patricia Cifuentes, an analyst at Spanish investment firm Bestinver. "Zara does it backwards—they're bottom-up. They identify trends in the street, in the stores, and then they adapt to them. Store managers are the linchpin of this system." - Wall Street Journal
As a former store manager, let me be blunt. If I had the opportunity to work in an environment like this, I would've never left the industry.
Retail is losing legacy leaders because they don't let them evolve and grow. You get to a certain level, and that's it; you get stuck. If you want to learn more or contribute on a higher level, you move out of the store.
That's the dumbest thing ever.
Store leaders operate their stores as business owners. They always do - whether they have access to data and can work autonomously or not. So, why not give them more decision-making power? Why not let them truly run their building?
Zara gets it. They understand that each store leader runs that door like a CEO, so let them. Give them the tools and let them make the call. They know their neighborhood and their customer better than anyone else. Let them run it.
More of this, please.
MAILBOX
I got this question recently -
"How do I handle when I quite literally tell my boss "I'm drowning in shipment!" As I'm one of the bigger volume stores in my district… and I have been receiving non-stop shipments and transfers from other stores,… yet not received any additional payroll or support to get it all done.
Their feedback was, ‘Remember what we learned in the training. Delegate, follow up, and get it done within the 24-hour period!’… instead of feeling like I had someone to throw me a life vest, I was left to drown. I feel quite overwhelmed and feel like I'm in the wrong for reaching out for support."
Oh, upper management, sometimes you are literally the worst.
Please tell me, how does "Delegate, follow up, and get it done within 24 hours" actually help this leader?
I'll give you a hint - it doesn't. It doesn't help them at all. So, this leader turns around and messages a tenured leader on LinkedIn whom they don't know for advice (me). Really think about that for a minute.
Retail leaders are getting zero guidance from their bosses. They’re getting the run around and left feeling defeated.
Don't get me wrong, I'm super happy this person reached out. However, this person is not the exception. Retail leaders across the country are feeling this every day.
“I'm overwhelmed.”
”We're drowning.”
”I don't know where to start.”
”I'm not getting any help.”
I hear it regularly.
How do we fix it? Sure, I'm a piece of the puzzle, but the industry needs to take a long look at itself. Understand that your management style is causing confusion, over-working, and burnout.
Here is my reply to the question.
"Do you have a mathematical breakdown that your company uses? Like - each shipment box should take 30 minutes - or something like that? I found that when I could do that math and show it to my bosses - 'Hey - we received X numbers of shipment boxes and X numbers of transfers, which is going to equal X amount of payroll...therefore, we are drowning.' I was more likely to inspire them to give me more resources.”
Be specific. It's hard to argue with math. You can also throw in - 'We do X amount in volume every hour, and my shipment people get pulled to help customers.' Or whatever. Math is your friend."
If you don't have a mathematical breakdown of how long each shipment box should take a person, what are you even doing? How do you know if they're on track? What's the goal?
When you have a target, you go fast.
When I worked in shipment, it was a race against time because we knew the goal. It was thirty minutes per box - GO!
"Delegate and follow up" is not a measurable goal; it's management-speak. It's busy work. It's something I can tell you to sound smart, which leaves you utterly confused because a crucial component is missing - the HOW. How fast can we go? How much shipment do we have?
"Tyler has a four hour shift. His goal is eight boxes of shipment before he leaves. If he gets though ten boxes it means he's a super star."
Better, right? Right.
LEVEL UP
One thing you can do today is to be a better leader.
Going with the above scenario -
Give clear, actionable directions.
Who
What
Where
When
Why
How Long
Who - Tyler
What - Shipment
Where - Men's department
When - 4:00 pm
Why - denim floor set tomorrow. We need all the men's products out before he leaves. How Long - He has a four-hour shift. He has seven boxes of shipment. His goal is to get out the shipment and help recover before we close the store.
Avoid saying, "Tyler, you're working on shipment today. Okay, great. Let me know if you have questions."
Guess what? You will be left with a shipment not done for your men's denim floor set the next day. Because Tyler, like anyone else without a goal, will work and then roam around, talk to people, and get distracted. Guaranteed. And you may be too busy to notice.
Let's Connect
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You're the absolute best.
Fantastic! Zara is an inspiration I didn't know about. And your super clear and specific example of how to direct an assignment is perfect!
I know we were just talking about this the other day, but to really see how it is laid out is mind blowing. I would have LOVED to work for a company with this type of structure.