Once upon a time the Aisonne sales team was invited to call on Tiffany & Company Japan. Sales were not what they would have wanted them to be, and a concerned individual in the local organization arranged for us to meet with their then Sales Director. On meeting this gentleman, we asked one of our favorite questions: “How often do you visit your stores?” His response was, “Oh, I’m not that kind of Sales Director.”
Gap founder and then-CEO Don Fisher’s first question to me some years ago was the most important one to ask in retail: “Can you see yourself in the stores?” The answer creates an immediate and critical distinction. If one answers yes, all the other possibilities open up. If one answers no, there may be some other area of value to be pursued, but it won’t be related to retail. In retail, it is the store that is “head office” — everything else exists to support the store.
This question is so important, it is still one of the first we ask. Because there is only one kind of successful retailer, and you’ll find that successful retailer in their stores.
One of my first and most memorable encounters with Nobukazu Muto, now President and Representative Director of Isetan, was a chance encounter upon the opening of Shinjuku Isetan one morning. There, in the lineup of store staff to greet the day’s first customers, was Muto-san, who even then, as head of the Main Store, was arguably the most powerful man in Japanese retail.
Show me a successful retailer and I’ll show you a leadership team that visualizes themselves in their stores, connecting with their customers, and stores that directly benefit from the physical presence and constant support of a leadership attuned to market needs and opportunities.